Denys Chapdelaine

The story takes place during the colonization of the Laurentian region in Quebec towards the end of the 19th century (approx. 1885-90), near Sainte-Adèle. An unscrupulous man, Séraphin Poudrier, dominates the small community using his wealth. Mayor of the village, he will marry Donalda Laloge, after her father, unable to repay his debt, gives her to him in marriage. Donalda, a gentle and submissive woman who was promised to the handsome Alexis Labranche, rather, he will live his life according to the wishes of this petty and contemptuous miser, but will never let his situation get him down.

On the eve of her final moments, a woman recalls her alcoholic past. She revisits her entire youth, including a binge that, at 46, cost her everything she had: "Loneliness and aging are themes that impose themselves on me, in one form or another. As for alcoholism, it fascinates me because of the revolt it underpins, and revolts me because of the unhappiness it creates around itself.

Omertà or Omertà, The Code of Silence is a Quebec television series of 11 forty-five minute episodes, created by Luc Dionne and aired from January to April 1996 on Radio-Canada. In France, the series aired on France 3 in 1998. A second season, titled Omertà II – The Code of Silence, had 14 forty-five minute episodes and was broadcast between September and December 1997 on Radio-Canada. A third season, titled Omerta, The Last Men of Honor, had 13 episodes and was broadcast from January to April 1999, on Radio-Canada.