15 Seconds

An unusual love triangle: Two brothers, 25 and 35 years old, share an apartment in Montreal. The older one, Claude, is unemployed and lives off welfare. The younger, Mathieu, works. However, Mathieu is handicapped, suffering from cerebral palsy. He lacked oxygen for 15 seconds at birth, and this has affected his motor functions, his movement coordination, his articulations, but not his intellect. In spite of his handicap, he works, drives his car and leads, on the whole, a normal life. The only thing he lacks is the experience of sex, which he wants to have with Charlotte, his brother´s ex-girlfriend. Mathieu asks Claude to let Charlotte live in their apartment for three months so that she can get 'used' to him. Then, perhaps, he can find out about love. This gives rise to a number of original, humorous, touching and sometimes troubling situations. Who is truly handicapped? The part of Mathieu, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is played by an actor afflicted with the same handicap. The original theatrical presentation won the Governor General´s Award for best dramatic francophone work. The adaptation from stage to television was done in such as manner as to approach a docu-drama. It is provocative, funny and liberating.