Year: 2011
Runtime: 77 min
Language: French
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Inspired by a tragic real-life event, Polytechnique depicts the horrifying attack on École Polytechnique in Montreal, where a gunman targeted female engineering students. The film explores the devastating impact of this senseless act of violence, portraying the immediate aftermath and the profound grief experienced by the survivors and the community. It offers a stark and unflinching look at the tragedy and its far-reaching consequences.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Polytechnique (2011), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
A young man meticulously prepares his rifle and writes a heartfelt message to his mother before heading to Polytechnique Montreal, an engineering school. Inside a classroom, he disrupts the lesson by entering with his weapon drawn. Demanding the men vacate the room while instructing the women to remain, he demonstrates the seriousness of his intentions by firing a shot into the ceiling. As he proclaims his animosity towards feminists, the terrified women protest their non-feminist beliefs, yet he callously opens fire, leaving some dead and others wounded. The chaos escalates as he roams through the hallways and cafeteria, specifically targeting women in a premeditated attack.
Among those caught in the turmoil is Jean-François, a male student who received the order to exit the classroom. Instead of fleeing, he bravely returns to confront the shooter and assist the injured victims. Meanwhile, Valérie and Stéphanie, two women who manage to survive the initial onslaught, play dead, hoping to escape the killer’s notice. Unfortunately, Stéphanie later succumbs to her injuries, amplifying the tragedy of the day.
As the rampage continues, the assailant finds another classroom where he ruthlessly murders a female lecturer. In a moment of despair, he takes his own life, resulting in a gruesome mingling of his blood with that of his victims.
In the aftermath of the massacre, Jean-François, plagued by guilt for having obeyed the order to leave and abandoning the women, tragically ends his own life through carbon monoxide poisoning. Valérie, now wearing the Iron Ring—the professional symbol of Canadian engineers—discovers that she is pregnant. Determined to instill love and resilience, she resolves to teach her potential son to embrace kindness or her potential daughter that the world rightfully belongs to her.
Last Updated: November 08, 2024 at 03:46
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Bleak, intense dramatizations of devastating historical events.If you were affected by the stark realism of Polytechnique, explore more movies like it. These films are intense docudramas based on real-life tragedies, focusing on grief, survival, and societal impact with an unflinching and respectful gaze.
Stories in this thread follow a linear, often straightforward structure to recount a specific, tragic event. The narrative thrust comes from the factual unfolding of the incident and its immediate, devastating consequences, prioritizing emotional truth over complex plotting.
Movies are grouped here for their shared commitment to portraying real-life horror with stark realism, their overwhelmingly dark tone, heavy emotional weight, and their focus on the raw, painful aftermath of catastrophic events.
Stories of imminent threat and the fight to survive a sudden attack.For viewers who appreciated the high-stakes tension of Polytechnique's central sequence, this list features similar movies. Discover other films with fast-paced, confined survival scenarios where characters face sudden, extreme violence and fight for their lives.
The narrative pattern revolves around a sudden, catastrophic incursion of violence into an ordinary setting. The plot is driven by the immediate, life-or-death struggle, often unfolding in real-time or with a tight focus on the event itself and its traumatic aftermath.
These films are linked by their masterful building of claustrophobic dread, their relentless pacing during critical sequences, and their exploration of the psychological and physical toll of surviving a concentrated, high-intensity attack.
Don't stop at just watching — explore Polytechnique in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Polytechnique is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.
Track the full timeline of Polytechnique with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.
Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Polytechnique. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.
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Discover movies like Polytechnique that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.
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