Starring Patrick Huard and Sarah Mutch. In English and French with English subtitles. Rated 14A.

Disco was the end of civilization as I had known it. Bodies talked instead of mouths. The ancient union of sex and wit had been broken, perhaps forever.

Nowadays, disco is scorned by just about everyone, even though the “damage” has never really been repaired.

Funkytown deals with the late-’70s Montreal phase of this phenomenon, and director Daniel Roby and screenwriter Steve Galluccio approach their subject matter with intelligence and panache. On the one hand, we watch the airheads of the “me decade” dancing their polyester asses off; on the other, we watch the political landscape of Quebec change on a profound level. Thus, TV host Bastien Lavallée (Patrick Huard), a media celebrity modelled after Alain Montpetit, pursues Adriana (Sarah Mutch), a gorgeous but talentless supermodel, while the Parti Québécois wins its first election. Record producer Gilles (Raymond Bouchard) intimidates his son Daniel (Franí§ois Létourneau) as one corporate head office after another moves to Toronto. As for Italian-Canadian disco king Tino (Justin Chatwin), he’s more preoccupied with his sexual orientation than he is with the upcoming sovereignty referendum.

A refreshingly democratic film, Funkytown is the first Québécois feature since Bon Cop, Bad Cop to unfold in both official languages. All the characters, both gay and straight, have romantic problems, and these difficulties are granted equal weight (a nice touch that will remind many viewers of Six Feet Under, minus the formaldehyde and the talking stiffs). The soundtrack is likewise extremely authentic (even if, doubtless to cut costs, many of the classic tunes are shrewd covers of the originals).

And, for the record, I still loathe disco. It’s just that, against all the odds, I happen to love this film.