Xavier Dolan blasts Netflix for altering aspect ratio of drama Mommy

Boundary-pushingCanadian director Xavier Dolan, known for employing striking visual presentations in his movies, is criticizing Netflix for altering the aspect ratio of his uniquely presenteddramatic filmMommy.

The outspoken film auteurposted on Mondayan angry letter he sent to the U.K. branch of thestreaming content firm questioning why his 2015 film was presented in a modified manner. He reported being informed by fans who watched the film on Netflix.

"Who has bestowed on you the right to revise my choices, and how competently haveyou pondered the impact of such decision both on my film and the public," the letter states.

"Take it as it is, or remove it."

Mommy,a drama about a working class mother who enlists a neighbour to home-school her troubled son,is believed to be the first movie presented in 1:1, or square,aspectratio.

At a few key moments, the screen expands to a more conventional1.85:1 ratio.

A spokesperson from Canadian distributorSeville Filmsconfirmed to CBC/Radio-Canada on Monday afternoonthat the British distributorof Mommy, Metrodome, hascontacted Netflix and that the company will fix the problem.

Netflix also told Dolan on Twitter that it would look into the matter.

A bold vision

Dolan, 25, sparked film festival and industrychatter with therelease ofMommy, his bold fifthfeature film, last year.

"I know a lot of people are saying, 'Oh, 1:1, how pretentious,'' Dolan told The Hollywood Reporter in an August interview about the experimental attempt.

"But for me, it seems a more humble and private format, a little more fitting to these lives we're diving into."

Mommy shared the jury prize in the main competition of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and won France's Cesar Award for best foreign film in 2015.

Dolan, who also directed Adele's highly successful Hello music video in IMAX, is at work on his sixth film: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, which will be his English-language debut.