"Driven by Dreams" "I have this to repairfor a friend." "It took a real nose-dive." "It's shot." "These pieces go here." "It'II be fixed up like new." "And it'II fly againjust like before." "That's... ifI manage to work in the shop, if I'm not stuck in the hospital for 56 silly reasons." "It's really such nonsense." "I don't want to sit down and say," ""I'm going to die." "I'm sick." "My hip gave out." "Now, I've been having strokes." "Sit there and..." "No!" "Sit and wait for death, no way." "They'II find me on the ground here, out in a field... either holding a remote or helping someone." "But not sitting in a chair watching TVwaiting for death." "Forget that." "Oh, no." "First of all, it wouId be boring as hell." "Sitting there saying, I'm here to die, waiting for a heart attack." "It'II get you either way." "May as well do something!" "You may as well do something before it hits, #while# it hits." "I had an attack this morning." "A bloody good one at that." "It hurt, then it passed." "No choice." "If it hadn't passed, we wouldn't be talking now!" "But see?" "Here we are." "Did this the other day, no problem." "There." "The animals must have all left and gone home." "Goodness, when I came here this maple was just little!" "She's getting old like me." "Looks good on one side, bad on the other." "I got no rotten parts like this." "IfI do, they don't show." "She'II fall some day." "Look." "Here, she's growing!" "She's still growing, look." "She grew a Iot in summer." "old, but still plugging." "She could last another... 25 years." "Tomorrow's the First?" "Not next week, the week after." "He got his fiImer out." "Not much this year." "They threw my party last year." "I didn't know." "I didn't film that." "October 17." "Tomorrow's the First." "Then all next week and the week after, then here." "It'II be my birthday." "Eighty-one years old." " Starting to get old." " Pretty much." "But I'm good." "I complain." "My legs hurt." "But good Lord, among my old schoolmates, I'm just about the best." "I still complain." "Yesterday, I fed the deer, got ready to go into town, took down my swing, dug up the tomato plants." "At night I was tired." "My legs hurt." "old legs." "When I get pins and needles, I do this and it stops." "Gotta be nuts to do this..." "Damn crazy." "More than passionate." "Insane." "WE BUY OLD FRENCH-CANADIAN FURNITURE, PAINTINGS" "It's quiet." "The store's quiet." "Doesn't matter." "Stock is hard to find." "Oh, Iet me tell you." "Nice things are hard to find." "And getting more scarce as time goes on." "I signed my lease at the store." "One year, with an option." "When I'm 75, that bejust about it." "I think I'II give up." "No kidding, 75 is quite something." "Hey, take a look at this!" "Let me show you something fun." "Look at this." "Just look at this." "This is soldier Lebrun." "Isn't this great!" "And here's a drawing of Girouard by the prisoners of 1837." "The notary, Girouard." "And look at this one." "Here's Louis Cyr." "These are rare!" "I don't want them back on the market." "No, I'd rather give them to the museum than sell them." "That's it, sir." "We've been in this field 50 years specializing in French-Canadian furniture the entire time." "I was among the first francophones." "When I started, 50 years ago, I was told I had no business there by the Westmount dealers." "I'd go to auctions and hearthat." ""You'II neverfind a buyerfor that."" "So, it's to send back to France." "This is beautiful." "It's $90." " How about that one?" "It's more expensive." "More expensive." "This one's $375 because it was made by Adrien Leduc, a well known artist." "It's all hand-made." "It must date from 1900, 1920." "Yes, it's beautiful." "This one's nice." "Very beautiful." "I also have..." "This one's a beauty too!" "Look." "These are all antiques, rest assured." "They were real decoys." "Here's my room." "Oh, goodness." "Your home." "Yes." "AII my stuff." " Don't film the mess." " No." "That's me singing." "That's the Gavotte from Manon, "Chantons, rions sans cesse."" "A nice one is..." ""Bonjour, ma belle"." "An englishman meets a French girl." "I sang it as a concert encore." "Everyone loved it because I say, "But I Iike the english very much."" "#You are a very bad boy...#" "#I Iike EngIishmen very much.#" "This is crazy..." "It's here somewhere." "At 2 and 4 years old." "This is the youngest." " beautiful..." "First communion." "And this was at my convent boarding school." "already ajoyfuI little girl." "Yes." "I was happy singing." "They always made me sing, so I was always happy." "I accompanied myself on piano." "I liked that." "They made you sing in" " I sang what Grandpa taught me." "He taught me songs." "What do you mean?" " He sang, I sang with him." "He showed me:" "These will be my stars." "I'm obsessed." "I find the Americans don't act right." "I'm happy with this!" "I'm rarely satisfied so fast but I'm really happy with these stars!" "They're not stars." "They're bombs." " Bombs." "I didn't knowthat." " Look." "I've often done paintings based on major events," "like that thing in New York," "September 11." "This painting here is the columbia." ""The final seconds of columbia"" "I intend some day to do a show with all the events that affected me." "I've painted them all." "Oh, shit." "The floor is so far down." "It's not what I imagined but hold on to your hat." "It'II come." "There." "Even with blue in it," "I Iike it better like this." "There, now it looks good." " Eh, girls?" "Come and see." "Coming." "What do you think?" "It's bursting." " Now, I Iike it." "You know best, Raymonde." " Here, I got it right." "Yes, you got it." "Better not start backwards." "It's kicking." "Started backwards." "That's right." "Come on." "I'II be able to fly my planes for4 or 5 more years." "When my reflexes deteriorate, I'II have to stop, but I'II still enjoy watching them fly." "Hey, I'm 72." "I won't live forever!" "people don't think about it." "We think in numbers of years." "Like that actor who died at 82." "That's 10 years." "Let's say I have 10 years left." "Ten years is a Iong time!" "Ten years is 10 summers, 10 times the greening of lawns, 10 times seeing snowfall, feeling cold and hot 10 times, seeing flowers 10 more times." "only 10 times in 10 years!" ""Ten years" is a Iong time, but when you think in flowers, grass, snow..." "When I see grass, I think, "One less time seeing that."" "This winter, when the snowfalls, I'm going to watch it." "There." "That's the house... when we lived there." "It's been abandoned 14 years." "It's getting old." "It's an old memory." "I've been living in town for 16 years as of September." "I Iive here with my wife, my boy and me." "When I get bored in town, I go up and look at the place." "The stable was a Iot nicer with animals!" "It has seen better days." "That's life." "Looks like rain." "In summer, we cut wood together." "My son works." "Friday afternoon and Saturday he cuts wood." "I help him." "It's my hobby." "It'II be a nice cool morning to go there." "There's an ant." "Where?" "There." "Step on the hydraulic!" "You'II get caught!" "Cut up from below oryou'II get caught." "Bring it up here!" "AcoupIe inches higher!" "We'II try..." " The saw's stuck!" "Where's the other saw?" "We got it loose!" "Yeah." "Chain her up and let's go!" "I cut down the biggest maple in my grove." "She was here when I came, 60 years ago." "She got old and I had to cut her down." "She was my nicest big maple." "We'II get caught in the rain." "Doesn't matter, our maple's down." "What beautiful rain!" "I've always done it." "I drew well in school." "Even when I got married, when the kids were young, I did art." "It was a need." "My friend PauIine brought me to Brother Jérôme's." "When we got there, we fell in love with that technique." "What I liked about Jérôme was... #you#were the important thing, not your work." "He was my mentor." "The last drawing we saw him do was one that says, "Excuse me, I'm busy dying."" "They found it in his bed when he died." "fortunately, once I hit the canvas, I stop shaking." "Now, I'm done." "Fortoday." "After convent school," "I wanted to do something in life, but what?" "So, I asked my teacher how one became a nun." "She said, "You write... to the Mother House and they send you forms." "If they accept you, they'II answer back."" "That's what happened." "If I hadn't been in music," "I don't know what would've happened." "I wouldn't have spent my whole life teaching children and adults." "But music was foreseen too." "It was foreseen in the destiny of my Iife." "Music came into it." "I was full of music." "I always did everything in music." "I Ioved what I was doing, I liked my students." "What I compose comes from me." "I Iike that." "It's like my children." "I enjoyed everything I did." "You convey the words well." "See?" "It gets better as we work on it." "Yes, I should hope so." "But even with your accompanist, you'II have to" "But if you didn't tell me about certain things, I wouldn't know." "Yes, foIIowthe meaning of the Iyrics." "I just stopped in October." "Singing orteaching?" "Teaching." "But overthe past 4 years, I've taught only adults." "I nevertook college students, because I'd have to keep a student for4 years, keep teaching 4 more years." "If I'd taken new students this year, it wouId mean" "I'd teach 4 more years!" " Enough's enough." "Yes." "Know how old I am?" "Ninety-one." " If you took a student" " I'd be 95." "Enough." "Look how elegant its movement is." "It's making steel hearts beat." "Yes, cIock-making is making steel hearts beat." "Not always easy though." "But it's one of the most beautiful crafts there ever was." "AII hand-made, every part." "It's the only escapement made." "Understand?" "It's from '47." "I was born in '28." "Think how old I was, only 19." "This is the part here." "See, this is the escapement here." "Look at this balance." "This is it." "I made only this part here." "With faster, slower." "This regulates the time." "It ticks the seconds." "Understand?" "Each stroke is a second." "There are 60 teeth." "That's it, damn it." "You'II go mad when you hearthis." "It's an "automaton"." "Sing, you bugger." "That's from about 1890." "I repaired some in New York." "beautiful, mechanized ones extremely valuable." "Moving robots..." "Some played piano." "I even saw monkey orchestras decked out in Louis XVI costume." "Some played bass, another drums, cymbals, etc." "One of them could've sung." "The dog's not mean." "I go through here in winter to block the cold." "Let's go." "Move, kitties." "still messing up your cage?" "It's a raven." "Not a crow, a raven." "people brought him here." "people who bring us injured or sick animals." "We treat and release them, but not him." "He doesn't fly." "He flies 10, 15 feet, that's it." "He lacks plumage." "The former owners found it original." "But they took away that bird's freedom forthe rest of its life." "Just incredible." "Human stupidity at its best!" "Come here." "Mama's little girl." "My wife went to visit montreal and was attacked and raped on the street while going out shopping at 2:00 p.m." "She was in the hospital 10 months." "When they started letting her out weekends, a woman brought her a baby raccoon." "AII was well." "Her health was good." "She said we should do for wild animals what they did for her." "WILD ANIMAL REFUGE ALL WELCOME" "He'II be two." "He's leaving this spring." "He'II get through winter." "We managed to save him." "With antibiotics and the works." "We saved him." "Yes, I spent my youth..." "My father worked for CN rail." "I spent my youth near railways." "Sometimes I act like a kid and count cars." "Once, I counted 138." "That's what I did as a kid." "I Ioved that." "My father died when I was nine." "And I took overfor him." "To defend my family," "I became "the man"." "I was little, so I got really mean." "people feared me and respected my family, or I set upon them." "I lived that way to protect the weakest, people in hardship." "There." "Hey, sylvain!" "Put your hat on." "You might get sick." "You're used to wearing a hat." "Put it on." "Go back." "Go on!" "You're not allowed!" "Good." "That's our life's work, ourjob:" "come along and take guys that society discounted as unproductive, and make them functional and productive in society." "Here, at Ieast they're useful." "I change this once every 3 weeks, more or less." " careful..." " Move!" "Go on, go eat!" " Thanks, Marc-André." "You're welcome." "We're cutting this forthe United States." "Forthat city..." "New York." "It's going to New York." "Seems it's for decoration in cemeteries." "Forthe dead." "They put fur branches instead of flowers." "We're leaving for winter!" "will you come cut wood in the spring?" "Oh, yes, depending on health." "They buried someone my age yesterday." "One day, I'II get up and that night, I won't walk." "That's life." "Age advances." "Abuyer came around." "I don't want to sell." "This is mine." "He'II sell when he's dead." "When he can't drive." "I still drive." "We'II gather up these chairs." "Yeah, they're dirty." "Won't wash them this year." "Want to see them inside?" "We don't eat much." "He didn't feel well yesterday morning." "I said, "I know... that living with someone who needs constant help, whose movements are always limited and who must be helped," "I know it's discouraging and stressful foryou." "But what can you do?" "I'm your wife!"" "Turn it." "That's the top." "Isn't this beautiful!" "It's so beautiful!" "Rosemarie, gabrielle..." "They all turned out so well!" " This is what you wanted, eh?" "Yes!" "areal family photograph!" "It's wonderful!" "Eh, Gérard?" "It's excellent." "A nice, big portrait." "You're so handsome there!" "well, I'm the oldest anyway." "True." "Hey, I'm crying." "This'II be your last time in my room." "The university bought the place and, in april, they're taking 4 whole floors - I'm on the first floor " "half the building." "Then, in 2005, we're going to LongueuiI." "We're moving everything." "It's sold to the university." "In april, you're moving..." "I move to the 5th floor, way down at the far end." "The opposite side." "For 18 months." "Then we move again." "This time, to LongueuiI." "Thank you!" "You don't want to go." "fortunately, we'II go die there and be buried in LongueuiI cemetery." "That'II be handy." "But you're not going off to die." "You still have your health." "Yes, I'm healthy." "There." "Wait 'til I'II see if it works." "There, it works." "Look at the pie-maker, and the dancer in front." "Look at him dance." "Look at this, Serge." "I'II zoom in..." "Great, I see the violin." "The whole thing works:" "the guy making pies..." "Anotherjerking off..." "The guy who made this stayed in camps like this." "He slept there." "An old guy who lived... who reproduced his experience." "Raise the hydraulic!" "May as well go, eh?" "We won't pass this way again." " No." "I did it!" "Gérard invited me on a plane ride with him." "To Lachute." "Not far." "Then back again." "But on the way back" "We got caught in a storm!" "We flew into it like flying into a wall." "The sky was white." "The plane flew into it, bang!" " Like a brick wall." " It went "boom"." "When it went boom, he lost his bearings." "Went off course." "We were in the dark!" " It was dark." "We landed on a farm." "I said, "Watch the fence!"" "He stepped on the gas and we made it over." " That saved us..." "Wejumped the fence." "Stepping on the gas..." " He revved the engine." "I didn't lose my cool." "Maybe I never had any." "How long did you fly?" "From 1964 to '89." "flying is like... being in heaven." "In the beautiful clouds." "occasionally, you pass a cloud." "You see another." "You fly under it." "The beautiful blue like you see outside now." "#I met you, just like that#" "#You didn't do a thing to try and please me#" "#Yet I Iove you with an ardent love#" "#And nothing will ever take that away#" "#You will always be my love#" "#I believe in you, as in supreme happiness#" "#I may run away but I still come back#" "#I can't help it, I Iove you.#" "That's all." "He really liked that song." "And I sang it when I was sixteen!" "When I met him." "He'd come to the house and I'd play." "And 56 years later, I'm still singing it." "So, that's it." "I did that painting right after he died." "I think it's my best one." "Are we doing birds?" "My mind's not on birds." "hold on." "Here, I'II make you a bird." "Here's one." "Here's two." "I Iike that." "Coming?" "We'II take it outside to dry." "You never know when they'II bite." "Never." "Sometimes, I've waited 8 straight hours for sweet fuck all!" "No guff." "Nothing." "May as well have gone fishing in the bathtub." "Othertimes, though- I got one!" "It's gonnajump!" "Look down there." "See?" "It's not big, though." "But when it flips around..." "My knee gave out." "Are you all right?" "Yeah, fine." "I got one bad knee." "It locks suddenly and I can't walk on it." "I just have to let go." "Nice!" "Nice, eh?" "#Just called to catch up." "call me, I'II be in and out today." "Bye.#" "OK, Iet's call him." "Hey, doggie." "What do you want?" "Bored, eh?" "He misses his mistress." "It's bad." "My wife's paralyzed, from here to there." "For life." "She fell down." "It's bad." " Is she young?" "Marguerite's sixty-seven." "Yes, sir." "It's not very funny." "You don't live 45 years with a woman and cast her off with a wave of the hand." "Awoman who gave you 3 children." "You don'tjust drop her." "Yesterday, the doctortoId me to my face, she'II never walk again." "Imagine." "Now, it's her arms." "Her arms work a bit." "He says they might improve." "They're giving hertotaI rehab." "She can't talk because she's intubated with wires everywhere." "It's not funny, I swear." "I feel like chucking everything." "The store..." "The idea is just to make a trace on the canvas." "So that it's just like something already passed, but is gone." "Like a life." "You Ieavejust a trace." "Nothing more." "I'm keeping those." "I don't know..." "It's still a paradox." "She's breastfeeding but she's not happy." "When I had my children, I found that hard." "Like that." "She gives the baby her breast but she's overwhelmed." "I'II keep it." "Standy by your work, Iet them figure it out." "Why are you doing this?" " So that only the best is left." "I'm going!" " Mr PéIoquin." "Yes?" "hello!" "How are you?" "Howare you?" " Funny greeting, eh?" " It's the thought that counts." "What happened?" " I had another stroke." "You ask, was that my last summer?" "If everyone thought this might be their last summer, the world would work so much better." "Quite a Iot better." "We wouldn't need war." "No need with only one summer left." "No one would need to hate anyone." "I guarantee if this were your last summer, you wouldn't be here filming." "You'd be in montreal loving everyone around." "That's what's needed." "That's the only true thing." "The only true thing." "Yessir!" "The light." "careful." "Go gently, over here." "Not in this car!" "This won't fit in." "Yes, I'II get it in." "I'II take care of it." " Come sit in the front..." "The end of the world." "There." "You're lucky I'm smiling!" " How are you taking this?" " badly." "Tomorrow will be fine." "You're all a bunch of liars." "I'II be lucky to find my dressing gown tonight." "I'II lend you mine." "See, there are 3 floors here, and two there." "But the view's nothing like before." "It's like a prison!" "I'm in the red brick, and I see the grey brick." "And, you'II see, we're going into the St-André." "There, I'II have to turn around." "I have to go down my hall backwards because I can't turn around." "See, it's quite small." "This is it." "Look at my view." "In the Iast 2 months, I realize I've really lost... half of..." "I don't know what..." "my way of Iife." "I'm not Iike I was." "I'm not the same." "I keep on living anyway, that doesn't bother me." "But I feel it." "Don't know why." "It's because of the move, of course." "I don't want to complain." "I don't want the others to notice." "It's none of their business." "But I feel it." "She was my best friend!" "We were together40 years as friends." "My alter ego." "I should be here!" "I'm going to be cremated, so I asked them to bury the case here." "If possible." "simple." "It's just a little box." "Give me your hand." "It won't rain!" "We'II try another." "The yellow one." "So, get set." "Look, she's growing!" "The wind will tip her over, but she's a beauty." "Like a life." "Atrace." "Look and look again." "That is beautiful!" "Adaptation:" "kathleen FIeming And Médiatextes, MontréaI"