In filmmaker Sébastien Chabot’s feature debut, influential gardener and horticulturalist Frank Cabot recounts his personal quest for perfection at Les Quatre Vents, his twenty-acre English style garden and summer estate that was opened to a film crew for the first time ever, shortly before his passing at the age of 86.
Nestled amongst the rolling hills of the Charlevoix County in Quebec, Les Quatre Vents has become one of the world’s foremost private gardens. Created over three generations, it is an enchanted place of beauty and surprise, a horticultural masterpiece of the 21st century.
Through interviews with Cabot, and admirers such as former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, the film highlights his extraordinary scope and vision. Beautiful cinematography invites one to stroll Cabot’s gardens and explore different worlds crafted out of trees and hedges. This poetic documentary, set to Luc St. Pierre’s evocative classical soundtrack featuring some of Frank Cabot’s favourite pieces by Saint-Saëns, Schubert, Schumann, Bach and Mendelssohn, shows the harmonious relationship between people and nature and offers a compelling call for preservation.
The Gardener is a documentary reflecting on the meaning of gardening and its impact on our lives.
“Cabot’s garden is a wonder to behold. Through the lens of Chabot’s beautifully shot film, one gets a sense of the understated opulence, attention to detail, natural aesthetic instincts and cool dramatic flair which combined to make a visit to the premises a life-changing experience.” (T’Cha Dunlevy, The Montreal Gazette)