My last memory of Mr. Lussier is quite recent and dates from the last Cannes Film Festival. It was not yet clear if the last Scorsese would be presented at the Festival and even less sure if it would be in competition. I decided to write to him to ask him, telling him that I imagined him overwhelmed at the Festival and that I imagined that he would probably not have time to answer his messages during this week on the road and that I wished him a good festival. As you can imagine, the response was quick. In a most polite formula, he even added a piece of information or two. It struck me how professional he had been with a stranger.
It is with great sadness that I learned the news. It’s like I lost a friend. Marc-André was, for as long as I can remember, my favorite critic. I would never go see a movie before checking to see if he liked it. Sometimes I only looked at the stars or now the ratings he gave the movie before going there and I kept the pleasure of reading his review after seeing it. I often laughed noticing that we had enjoyed the same moments and hooked on the same others. I had the pleasure of being able to tell her how much I appreciated her once on a plane. I sat next to him and thanked him and told him how important his opinion was to me. He was a little uncomfortable and said to me, “Wow, that’s a heavy responsibility that you place on me.”
I am truly saddened by his passing. I trusted him completely in his appreciation of films. It’s rare these days to be 100% trusted. He was a great specialist who made us want to go to the cinema! Smart, subtle, and sometimes funny in interviews, he will be missed!
He leaves a great void; like a movie that stops before the last scene. No more sound or picture. Its coverage of Cannes was a delight with its anecdotes, its descriptions. He will be greatly missed.
I am greatly saddened that he left much too soon! I always read his reviews first. They were detailed and simple at the same time, such a pleasant read! I knew Marc-André when I was a teenager, we come from the same hometown. We danced together in Montreal North. He was not a great dancer, but I understand today that art already spoke to him. He was very shy at the time, my memory of him is simply his smile. I will miss his articles. Thanks for sharing his passion!
The reference for cinephiles who read it with devotion. Always accurate in the details, benevolent for the creators and so enthusiastic when he discovered the hidden pearls. A big miss now every Friday that cannot be replaced because it is so unique.
He is a legend of film criticism. As a cinephile, I lose a reference. A sad day for Quebec cinema.
I like going to see movies in theaters. I see at least 30 a year. Every Friday, I consulted your newspaper to find reviews written by Marc-André Lussier. I was curious to know his opinion on the latest films. I will miss not reading his texts in your pages anymore.
I did not know him personally, but his columns have always fascinated me. His family, his friends, La Presse and his readers have lost a learned man who had a passion to discover and to pass on his discoveries.
Marc-André forged the inveterate cinephile that I have become. I am only 40 years old but I have read every text and every review of Marc-André avidly since I was 18. I really feel like I’ve lost a friend. We did not know each other, but he nevertheless, in the shadows, turned my life upside down and gave birth to an undying passion for the seventh art in me.