L’envol du monarque
Add to selectionDownload PDF
 

Claude Messier was an author and free thinker. His disease unbearable, he became one of the first Canadians to obtain the right to smoke marijuana legally, and later became a vocal defender of the therapeutic use of cannabis. Mr. Messier was devoted to the rights of the disabled, whom he called "his people". He denounced their being hidden away and treated like children, and defended their rights to have "normal" lives as part of society. He studied literature at the Université du Québec à Montréal and wrote several books. Confessions d’Un Paquet d’Os, published by Éditions VLB, promotes empowerment and creativity for the disabled. In Canada’s 2000 election he was a star candidate for the Bloc Pot, a party fighting for the decriminalization and normalization of marijuana use. This isn’t a film of voyeurism, pity or mockery, but a portrait of a man who lived fully and who continued to push the limits when most of us would have been stymied. Claude Messier wanted to share with the public his view of life and pass on his creative energy to people with time on their hands. He was a model of perseverance, dignity and creativity when faced with the ignorance of supposedly "normal" people. In this film, to convince his disabled friends that they can "fly" like other people, he decides to take up skydiving.

Awards and mentions
Prix Judith Jasmin, entrevue ou portrait
Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec
Montréal
2005
2005
Canada
50:00
Original language
French

Share

Facebook Twitter

Credits

Direction
Yves Langlois
Assistant Director
Marjolaine Langlois Dubuc
Screenplay
Yves Langlois
Cinematography
Denis Dubuc
Sound
Édouard Faribault
Editing
Yves Langlois
Participants
Claude Messier
Cast
Diane Jules
Shakti Langlois
Claude Lemieux
Online Editing
Claude Lemay
Music
Carl Tremblay
Raôul Duguay
Art Direction
Richard Lanthier
Production
Yves Langlois
Jean-Luc Compagnat
Les Productions Lany

Technical information

Color
Color
Image format
4:3
Sound
Stereo
Shooting format
Betacam

Documentation

Images
Keywords
Disability, Illness, Intellectual life, Hospital, Dream, Hope

Additional videos