Sickening cycle

My wife and I are (yet again) down with the cold / flu / allergies (or maybe a combination of all three). I have a sore throat, ear ache and doesn't feel good in general. I feel a little feverish from time to time. It's probably the result of the constantly changing weather—warm, rain, cold—and the air conditioning still running in many places. The days (and nights) are definitely getting much colder. We haven't got a summer yet and fall is already getting close...

It started friday. Then I had a good night sleep and felt much better. My throat didn't hurt anymore but I was still quite congested. However, tonight (sunday) my entire body is hurting. When will this end? I just hope it won't last too long because I have so many things to do that it makes me want to cry. I really don't want to be bedridden for a while. I'll try to get a good long night of sleep tonight again...

I hope my immune system will recover before we get that second wave of the H1N1 the scientists say we might get sometime this fall...

It seems that each time I am starting to feel better and gear up to spend my energy on something productive I am getting sick again. And when it's not my health there's always something coming up to do at the last minute (some phone calls or emails requesting attention, a computer problem, etec.). With the day job keeping me busy and tired, all the household stuff to do on my days off (laundry, clean up, visit a museum to keep a promise, etc) and all those festivals or conventions to cover, it has been hard to move forward with production.

The guilt coming from all those tasks that I don't have time to do is pilling up on all the stuff that is on my mind lately (the new working schedule to prepare for, the MWFF, the computer update, web page, blogging, health problems, etc.) so my head really feels foggy and tired.

The good news is—after losing the secure block of working hours that I had at two libraries on sunday and monday—I was able to get a three-day block at the Plateau Mont-Royal library for the Fall schedule. It will offer me a little job security (at least for the Fall) and hopefully it will allow me to fall back in a routine that will be more productive and less stressful. Not working in a different library from one day to another and in a closer place (half-an-hour of public transport instead of one hour-and-half) will certainly help.

Repartir la machine... à écrire

Le travail en bibliothèque se fait un peu moins envahissant (quoi que combler mon horaire demande encore beaucoup d'efforts mais je travaille à des bibliothèques plus proche et perd donc moins de temps en transport—je retrouve également un peu de ma forme mentale et physique mais ce que l'âge prend est perdu à jamais) et comme les choses semblent se stabiliser un peu j'essai de me remettre à écrire un peu plus (dans mon carnet de notes et en ligne). J'ai toutefois encore beaucoup de difficulté à me concentrer et écrire représente toujours un labeur très lent. Une simple petite critique minuscule comme celle de YUL 871 me prend encore tout un après-midi (bon, ça inclus la recherche documentaire et d'images, ainsi que la mise en page, mais tout de même!). Les retards de production du magazine (si frustrant et désespérant qu'ils soient) me motivent, de même que d'assister à la WorldCon (et relire mes vieux textes et projets) m'a aussi beaucoup stimulé. Enfin, à force de m'y mettre et d'écrire tout ce que je peux (on n'écrit pas toujours ce que l'on veut), ça semble me revenir peu à peu... Qui sait, peut-être pourrais-je même un jour me remettre à la fiction.

YUL 871

“Un ingénieur européen de passage à Montréal doit attendre deux jours un rendez-vous d'affaires. Pour tuer le temps, il se promène dans les rues, et se met à la recherche de ses parents, dont la guerre l'a séparé dès l'âge de quatre ans. L'aventure s'amène sous les traits d'une fillette de onze ans et d'une jeune beauté. Rencontres de hasard qui, pourtant, le marquent et l'obligent à se définir.”

Ce film est un bon exemple du cinéma Québécois des années soixante où l'on s'efforcait encore de courtiser le public Européen. Le choix d'un acteur Européen relativement connu et le fait que les acteurs locaux parlent avec un accent “Radio-Canada” en sont la preuve. Je trouve d'ailleurs fort heureux que des classiques de notre cinéma soient disponible ainsi sur Dvd (produit par DEP, le dvd ne semble pas disponible sur leur site, ni à la boutique de l'ONF mais l'est encore chez Archambault et Renaud-Bray) ou même par l'entremise de l'initiative Éléphant de Québécor ($2.99 via Illico-sur-Demande de Videotron, en HD de surcroit!). Pour ma part, je l'ai simplement emprunté à ma bibliothèque de quartier.

Classé drame psychologique, YUL 871 est un film plutôt contemplatif où il ne se passe pas grand chose—un peu comme les films Japonais ou les films Européens de l'époque. Le héros, de passage à Montréal, doit tuer le temps et fait quelques rencontres sans véritable conséquences (il déambule dans la ville avec une fillette qui finit à l'hopital, il a une aventure avec une belle blonde qui finit par en épouser un autre et il n'établit aucun liens avec les parents qu'il recherchait depuis son enfance). Si ce film n'est pas sans mérite (après tout il a remporté le prix de la meilleure réalisation au Festival International du Film de Chicago), il est toutefois parfois maladroit dans son montage (les transitions sont souvent terrible) et la post-synchro laisse vraiment à désirer. Chose amusante, l'actrice principale (Andrée Lachapelle) n'est même pas mentioné sur la couverture du Dvd alors que Jacques Desrosiers (qui ne fait qu'une brève apparition sans dialogue) lui l'est. Somme toute, c'est un beau film mais qui est un peu ennuyant. Toutefois la chance de voir Montréal telle qu'elle était dans les année soixante rends le visionnement de YUL 871 beaucoup plus intéressant.

Je dois cependant avouer que j'avais une intention bien précise quand j'ai emprunté ce film: mon père a participé au tournage en tant que technicien du son (le site internet de l'ONF mentionne soixante-dix films auxquels il a participé) et ma soeur ainée, Johanne, y a également un bref caméo auprès de Charles Denner.


Mon père à l'ONF, Ottawa, cir. 1950
Ma soeur Johanne avec Charles DennerYUL 871. Canada, 1966, B&W, 71 min.; Dir.: Jacques Godbout; Scr.: Jacques Godbout (dialogues par Jacques Languirand); Phot.: Georges Dufaux, Gilles Gascon; Ed.: Victor Jobin; Prod. Des.: Frédéric Back; Cost. Des.: Dinardo, Licha; Music: François Dompierre, Stéphane Venne; Sound: Claude Pelletier; Prod.: André Belleau; Cast: Charles Denner (Jean), Andrée Lachapelle (Marguerite), Paul Buissonneau (Antonio), Francine Landry (Fillette), Jean Duceppe. Rated G.

    
    YUL 871 © 2006 Office National du Film du Canada. Tous droits réservés.
La photo de mon père est tirée du documentaire NFB Pioneers: Michel Brault.

Picture gallery update

I have added several new pictures' albums to my MobileMe Gallery showing all the places I've visited in the last few weeks.

Eiji Okuda part of the MWFF's Jury

The Montreal World Film Festival has announced that this year's jury will include Eiji Okuda:

“Other members of the jury include Japanese actor-turned-director Eiji Okuda, Quebec actor-producer David La Haye, Spanish writer-director Fernando Méndez-Leite Serrano, French director Pascal Thomas, French film music composer Reinhardt Wagner, and Diane Demers of Montreal, who was chosen in a contest to represent the public on the official jury.”

“Eiji Okuda began his screen career as an actor in 1979, winning awards and critical notice for his work in Japan and at international festivals, including Kei Kumai's Mt. Aso's Passions at the Montreal World Film Festival in 1990. He won numerous honours for his playing in such films as The Sea and Poison (1986) and Death of a Tea Master (1989), including a Japanese Oscar for his performance in Bo No Kanashimi (1994). He made his directorial debut in 2001 with Shojo. In 2005 he produced Claude Gagnon's Kamataki, which won four prizes at the 2005 MWFF. His A Long Walk won the Grand Prize of the Americas at the 2006 MWFF.”

Also, the MWFF website just released the programme's schedule as a PDF file.

A few links / Quelques liens

Here's a few librarian-related links that I found interesting a while back and that I wanted to bring to your attention, but I forgot / was too busy / too lazy, etc. (Quelques liens en relation avec les bibliothèques)

A short list of Manga that won't freak parents out

A l'occasion des récents congrès de science-fiction (WorldCon, Boréal) tenu à Montréal, le site du “Réseau” des Bibiothèques de Montréal a publié un article qui présente un très bref historique de la science-fiction avec quelques suggestions de lecture (the Montreal Libraries network website offers, in french, a quite short historic of science-fiction with a few reading suggestions).

I'll try to post more of that kind of links in the future (J'essairai de poster plus de ce genre de liens à l'avenir)...

And for more link suggestions, please check the “Shared Items” section on the right column -->

Montreal World Film Festival 2009

In a press conference held on August 11, the Montreal World Film Festival revealed the programmation for its 33rd edition. The festival will be held from August 27 to September 7 and will offer over 450 movies from 78 countries, including 240 feature-length films and 130 world premieres!

Unfortunately, this year is a slim pick for the Japanese movie aficionado as there are (so far) only seven movies and two documentaries being shown at the festival.

First of all, and most importantly, there are two movies in the “World Competition” category (COMP):

• Dia Dokuta (Dear Doctor) directed by NISHIKAWA Miwa, 127 min. A much loved small town physician mysteriously disappears one day. It’s only while searching for him that his colleagues, friends and the townsfolk begin to discover exactly who their doctor is. (COMP) 9/2 9:00 CI.02.1; 9/2 21:30 TM.02.2; 9/3 13:40 CI.03.3. ( IMDb / Official website / Trailer )
• Viyon no Tsuma (Villon's Wife) directed by NEGISHI Kichitaro, 114 min. When her husband runs into financial trouble, Sachi obligingly goes to work in a restaurant to pay off his debt and discovers that she has value beyond being a housewife; she is now an independent woman. (COMP) 9/6 9:00 CI.06.1; 9/6 21:30 TM.06.2; 9/7 14:00 CI.07.2. ( IMDb / Official website )

There is one movie in the “First Films World Competition” category (PRE):

• Nisesatsu (Counterfeit) directed by KIMURA Yuichi, 96 min. In 1950, in the chaos of postwar Japan, a young hustler has a plan to solve his school’s — and the village’s — financial problems: make fake 1,000 yen notes. (PRE) 9/5 13:00 L12.05.2; 9/5 19:20 L12.05.5; 9/6 14:40 L12.06.3; 9/7 21:30 L15.07.6. ( IMDb / AsianMediaWiki )

There is one movie in the “World Great” (Out of Competition / Hors Concours) category (HC):

• 60 sai no Love Letter (Dear My Love) directed by FUKAGAWA Yoshihiro, 129 min. 86,441 love letters — mostly messages written by one spouse to another voicing unspoken appreciation for lives shared over the years — DEAR MY LOVE, examines the different situations of three particular couples. (HC) 9/1 18:40 L15.01.4; 9/2 12:10 L15.02.2; 9/3 14:40 L15.03.3. ( IMDb / Official website )

There are three movies in the “Focus on World Cinema” category (REG):

• Chanto Tsutaeru (Be Sure to Share) directed by Sion Sono, 108 min. Shiro’s struggle with his father’s cancer and impending death leads to a realization that he must communicate his love and admiration for the man before it is too late. (REG) 8/28 19:20 L15.28.5; 8/29 11:40 L15.29.1; 8/30 10:00 L15.30.1; 8/31 19:30 L15.31.5. ( IMDb / Official website / Trailer )
• Kouryo-Shibounin (The Faceless Dead) directed by Kishu Izuchi, 112 min. When a 24-year-old wannabe writer gets a call one day informing her that “Ms. Misaki Takigawa” has been hospitalized, she is puzzled: she is Misaki Takigawa. Why would anyone be using her name? (REG) 8/28 12:40 L10.28.2; 8/30 19:00 L10.30.5; 9/7 10:20 L10.07.1. ( Official website )
• Samayou Yaiba (The Hovering Blade) directed by MASHIKO Shoichi, 122 min. When his only daughter is raped and killed by two youths, widower Hideki Nagamine is bitter and inconsolable. He knows they will be tried as juveniles and he is determined to exact revenge. (REG) 8/28 21:30 L15.28.6; 8/30 12:00 L13.30.2; 9/1 19:00 L11.01.2; 9/2 16:30 L11.02.3. ( IMDb / Official website / Trailer )

And there are two documentaries (DOC):

• Eatrip directed by NOMURA Yuri, 78 min. For Yuri Nomura, who studied cooking, developed menus for restaurants and writes for culinary magazines, the way to people’s feelings is through their stomachs. (DOC) 8/29 12:10 L11.29.1; 8/29 19:20 L11.29.4; 8/30 14:30 L11.30.3. ( Official website / Trailer )
• Grandmother, a short directed by KAWAMURA Yuki, 34 min. Masa, an 83-year-old Japanese grandmother, has just spent 50 days in a coma. Her family gathers to be with her through this difficult period. Her death is an opportunity to reflect on nature and the meaning of life. (DOC) 8/28 14:30 L16.28.3; 8/29 14:40 L10.29.3; 8/30 21:30 L10.30.6. ( Official website )

Unfortunately, I was so busy with work, various projects and the covering of other festivals that I missed the programmation press conference itself. So, I don't have any pictures or video footage to show you. However, as usual (we've been covering the MWFF for ten years now!), we will do our best to screen all those movies and report on them (whether in the magazine — in print or digital edition — or on the web page or on my personal blog or a combination of those). We will also attend all the movie press conferences that we can.

In any case, as soon as we have new information I will update this entry (updated: 8/15, 8/21, 8/22, 8/23, 8/25, 8/26) or make new ones.

This calendar shows the schedule of the Japanese movies' screenings.

WorldCon

I will be all week-end (6 - 10 August 2009) at the 67th WorldCon, Anticipation, which held at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal.

There are lots of anime & manga related panels, as well as panels on electronic edition, Quebec Science-Fiction, and tons of other interesting subjects. There are also many famous writers attending the convention (Neil Gaiman, Charles Stross, Robert Silverberg, etc.). The entrance fee is quite pricy but I am sure it is well worth the experience.

This calendar gives you an idea of the activities I am planning to attend. There are so many panels that I will have some serious choices to make!

Panel cancellation

I deeply apologize to all the people who came to my Otakuthon panel for nothing.

Unfortunately, my wife got sick and I ended up spending several hours in the emergency ward of an hospital thus preventing us to attend the panel. I am really sorry for this.