August 32nd on Earth

After surviving a car crash with no injuries, a fashion model named Simone finds herself staring into an emptiness that fame and glamour can't fill. She becomes convinced that motherhood might lend her life a sense of purpose she has been craving. She turns to her closest confidant, Philippe, and asks him to father her child. He hesitates, uneasy about crossing the line into a favor that could alter both their lives, and he sets one condition: the act must happen somewhere in a desert. So the pair depart from Montreal on a tight 24 hour pilgrimage to Salt Lake City, hoping to discover the right barren landscape to begin anew. Along the way the trip becomes a test of friendship and a meditation on what people are willing to risk for meaning. The desert offers a blank canvas that invites questions about identity, desire, and the costs of forcing a personal narrative.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, August 32nd on Earth stands as one of his early features and a quiet landmark in Quebec cinema. The film features Pascale Bussières as Simone and a compact, devoted cast. The film favors intimate close ups and long takes, letting actors breathe on quiet exchanges as the landscape looms.

Box office: Worldwide gross figures for this title are not widely documented, reflecting its festival circuit roots and limited international release. Its reception remained primarily within Canadian and festival circuits. The movie circulated mainly in Canadian markets and art house venues.

Though not a household name, the film is often cited by cinephiles as an early example of Villeneuve's restrained storytelling. It hints at his fascination with moral ambiguity and how stark landscapes mirror inner states.

Critical reception highlights the film's quiet mood, patient pacing, and the way it probes loneliness and the search for meaning in a modern life. It centers on desire, responsibility, and the moral costs of intimate decisions. Restraint in dialogue leaves silences to speak for themselves, inviting reflection.