Matthias & Maxime

"Best friends forever."

2019 2h 0m FR

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

64%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 520🍅64%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 9,437

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two childhood best friends are asked to share a kiss for the purposes of a student short film. Soon, a lingering doubt sets in, confronting both men with their preferences, threatening the brotherhood of their social circle, and, eventually, changing their lives.

“Best friends forever.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas
Matthias
Xavier Dolan
Maxime
Pier-Luc Funk
Rivette
Samuel Gauthier
Frank
Antoine Pilon
Brass
Adib Alkhalidey
Shariff
Micheline Bernard
Francine
Anne Dorval
Manon

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Xavier Dolan
Writers: Xavier Dolan
Languages: French, English
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Xavier Dolan, shot by André Turpin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jean-Michel Blais. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Xavier Dolan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas and Xavier Dolan and Pier-Luc Funk carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Best friends forever.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt8767908 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Xavier Dolan directs. André Turpin behind the camera. Jean-Michel Blais scores. Xavier Dolan cuts. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
3Directed by Xavier Dolan, shot by André Turpin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jean-Michel Blais. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Xavier Dolan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas and Xavier Dolan and Pier-Luc Funk carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Best friends forever.".
8IMDB entry: tt8767908 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: André Turpin
Original score: Jean-Michel Blais
Editing: Xavier Dolan
Production design: Colombe Raby
Costume design: Xavier Dolan
Makeup / hair: Erik Gosselin
Runtime: 120 min · 2h 0m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Matthias & Maxime (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 60/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 9,437 votes
MPAA: Not Rated
US box office: $374,739

Awards

3 wins & 11 nominations

Also by

Xavier Dolan

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2019-08-12
★ 8/10
It’s hard not to be swept up by ‘Matthias and Maxime’. This is a film made with such love and care, sincerity and grace, showcasing everything that makes Xavier Dolan such an arresting filmmaker and distilled into their purest form. What made my heart soar was in how it laid bare how complex human relationships are, how pointless such binaries as gender and sexuality are, how love between two people is greater than simply defined as friendship or romance. ‘Matthias and Maxime’ refuses to play into such simplistic categories, instead celebrating the wonder of love and human connection without the need for them. Maybe some viewers will try and pigeonhole the protagonists as “gay“ rather than just two people in love to make themselves feel more comfortable, much like the bi-erasure in many responses to <a href=“/article/review-call-me-by-your-name-beautiful-beyond-description“>‘Call Me By Your Name’</a>, so pointlessly obsessed are we with useless outdated labels, but that would be such a loss to their experience of the richness of this film. ‘Matthias and Maxime’ is a quiet triumph, a tender love story beautifully told, a reminder of how deep the rivers of love can go, how violent travelling them can be and how so very worth the journey is. - Daniel Lammin Read Daniel's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-matthias-and-maxime-a-magical-film-on-the-complexity-of-friendship-and-love
CinemaSerf2022-03-27
★ 6/10
I was rather disappointed by this effort from Xavier Dolan. Perhaps writing/editting and starring in the film robbed him too much of objectivity when it came to actually watching this bit of a non-story. He portrays "Max", a young French-Canadian man who is about to emigrate to Australia. At a party with his childhood friends, he and handsome best pal Matt (Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas) get lumbered with starring in a video being made by one of their number's pesky younger sister. The scene involved the two of them kissing - something neither had done (as an adult) with a man before. What ensues is a slow, deliberately so, depiction of the complications that this kiss has on their relationship. "Matt" has a long term girlfriend, so his reconciliation with his "new" feelings for his friend take on a different guise from those of the single "Max" who has issues with his recovering addict mother. Sadly, though, too much of those repercussions are presumed on us by the director and not demonstrated to the audience. It doesn't need to be a cheesy traditional romance, nor a sex fest, but we are left to imagine or envisage that they want each other only because we know that's what the film is about - not because we are presented with much tangible, or even implied, sense of desire. Indeed the others in their group more readily flirt and banter than the two in the title. It doesn't have a beginning, middle and end - it just has a middle. A rather interestingly filmed and quite well put together middle, but a middle nonetheless. Certainly worth watching - I think Dolan has something about him - but I wanted more from the characters and the story - as it is I just felt like a rather unsatisfied observer.
badelf2025-11-08
★ 5/10
As much as I like the work of Xavier Dolan, this film was very disappointing. It was predictable, dull, and just not showing anything new or creative. I look forward to his next fantastic film.