TRIPTYCH
Michelle?
Michelle?
Ready?
Yes.
I just have to pack a few things.
Before I drive you home, we'll stop
to pick up some things for tonight.
What would you like to eat?
I don't know.
Pasta? Meat?
Pasta would be good.
Could we also stop
to pick up some lipstick?
I must be pretty pale.
There are no mirrors here.
I think I'll put those in the bag.
I don't know if I'll have enough space
for everything, though.
Give me the books.
I'll put them in the suitcase.
Good morning, Mrs. Lavalle.
Good morning.
- How are you feeling this morning?
- Good, good. Very good.
I feel calm and rested.
We will carry on
with the same drugs.
Three times daily with your meals.
Two tablets each time.
Two is a lot.
You may feel weary
with the change of environment,
but you will get better
within a few days.
I also prescribed an antidepressant.
Take it.
Thank you.
Good luck.
May I speak to you for a moment?
Honestly, I'm not sure
she's ready to leave...
but the system is overloaded, so...
make sure she takes her pills.
- Okay, goodbye, Doctor.
- Goodbye.
Where's your prescription?
In the bag.
You have to keep it in your hand.
We'll stop at the drugstore.
Where exactly is it?
Must be in the bottom.
- Michelle...
- It was there.
Without the prescription,
we can't leave.
We'll stay here until we find it.
Maybe it fell under the bed.
Good.
I spoke with the bookshop owner.
She agreed to take you back part-time.
Ah, that's good.
Your sister, Marie, called.
If she can get some time off work,
she'll come visit you next week.
Do you have anything
on the Total Refusal manifesto?
Yes...
I have plenty of stuff
on Total Refusal.
- What are you looking for?
- It's for a school project.
The teacher told us
to do it on Total Refusal.
It's just that
there are 16 signatories.
They're painters, sculptors,
choreographers, poets.
- Charles Gauvreau.
- Claude Gauvreau.
There were two of them:
Pierre and Claude.
Claude was the writer.
I also have his entire works.
You're lucky.
I rarely have them.
Here, take a seat.
There's plenty of light.
- Do you have Internet?
- No. No Internet here.
- What about coffee?
- No, no coffee either.
Excuse me.
I'm looking for this book.
Conscience et action: 25 ans
d'engagement fministe par l'image.
- It's by Danielle Morency.
- Danielle Morency, the filmmaker?
Yes, she mostly makes documentaries.
No, sorry.
I don't have it right now.
If you're not in a rush,
I could try to find it for you.
Thanks. Do you have anything else
on feminism?
Absolutely. Of course.
Do you have a photocopier?
No.
That's in the Lower Town.
This is the Upper Town.
You have to head down.
Here, I'll show you.
He smoked some good stuff.
He was schizophrenic.
But, "where there is art,
there is no madness."
He was quite extraordinary.
He wrote so freely.
He fought against
the dictatorship of words,
as if words held thoughts captive.
He even made up his own language,
the "explorean" language.
Can you read this?
"My Olivine
My Ragamoosh
"I stoptiskateez you
"on the sillybead slowboil
"I tearacramulche your epaulette
"I roughamumple your reepanappy
"I crouscouz you
"I galdapple you
"Oh, Lunatophina, I bend down
"and cramble you
"Deplepodated string-nettle
"I agributt your rusplette
"And in the desert of markmasons
your breasts burden the silence."
Quite erotic, isn't it?
How much is it?
It's quite expensive
because I rarely have it on hand.
It goes for $50.
50 bucks?
But because you're a student,
I'll let it go for $35.
No, it's all right.
I've got what I need. Thanks.
- This is Thomas.
- Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Thomas is in Montreal
for a medical convention,
but I really wanted him
to see Quebec City.
Quebec is very beautiful.
- Michelle works in a bookshop.
- Really?
Oh, yes. She picks out the books.
She sorts them.
She's really great at what she does.
It's a second-hand bookshop.
Michelle, I brought you
a little something.
It's no big deal, really.
I hope you'll like it.
She keeps bringing me gifts.
Do you like it?
It's really beautiful, Marie.
It's a...
a journal.
- You write?
- I used to write a lot.
But I stopped
when I got hospitalized.
Thank you very much, Marie.
Oh, it's my pleasure.
We have a dinner later on,
but do you have
anything to munch on?
Anything at all?
Chips, pretzels?
Well, I...
I don't have any potato chips
or anything like that.
Maybe we could make sandwiches?
Don't bother.
I'll run over to the corner store.
Have you been in Montreal for long?
For a week.
For conferences?
No, I'm part of the audience.
Is the convention for neurologists?
Surgeons?
I'm not a surgeon anymore.
My right hand shakes too much.
So, what do you do now?
I still work on the brain,
but more with medication
and psychotherapy.
At the Montreal convention,
they're promoting
a new treatment program
for mental illnesses.
Fewer drugs, but better ones.
Yes.
Stronger drugs,
but with fewer side effects.
Fewer sleeping problems,
less weight gain.
- More desire.
- Yes.
An easier time expressing oneself,
communicating with others,
crying even.
- Less thirsty, right?
- Exactly.
I guess that's why
you came here with Marie,
to ask me to participate
in a new program?
I will never take part
in another one of those trials.
I want to move on.
There must be another way.
Marie prompted you
to come here for this, right?
She is so eager to help me.
She brings me all kind of junk.
I have a cupboard
full of herbal teas and vitamins.
She's brought me
to so many doctors and therapists.
She wants me to take up writing again!
She offers me beautiful journals.
There must be at least
a dozen of them in my desk.
But I can't fill them!
After stuffing myself full of drugs
and having trouble with basic tasks,
I can't write anything
that makes sense.
You must have something to say
when you pick up a pen.
Something more than delirium.
I'm afraid to stain those journals.
I know she's doing all that to help me.
It's all out of love.
The love of a sister.
So that's why
she's brought you here?
So I can play guinea pig again?
No.
We've come to tell you that...
we're getting married.
You're not going to get that?
It must be Marie.
Will I be paralyzed?
You won't be paralyzed.
What does aphasic mean?
It means that you will temporarily
lose your speech.
I can't... I'm a singer.
I know. I understand your anxiety.
Excuse me.
Ada, I'm in the middle
of a consultation.
I can't talk right now!
I will call you later.
When will you be going back to Montreal?
I still have a few shows left.
I'm singing at Jazz in the Night.
- The bar in Soho?
- Yes.
Take some time to speak
with your family in Canada,
and when you've made a decision,
call my secretary
to make the appointment.
Ms. Lavalle.
Ada, forgive me for this morning.
I was a bit harsh.
I'm sorry.
I was in the middle of a consultation
and frankly, I was tense.
It's all right, Thomas.
I figured you were busy.
My friends from Vienna were in town.
I just wanted to ask you
to join us for lunch.
How many of those
have you had today?
Ada, please stop mothering me.
Alcohol calms my tremors.
You keep saying that,
but you are stuck
in a vicious circle
and refuse to accept any help.
Enough!
All right.
What can I do to help?
I love you, Ada.
Really, I do.
But I need time on my own.
I'm so fed up with staring
into other people's brains.
I need to find out
what is going on in my own head.
At least throw a glance
into your soul.
You are so stuck in your head,
you can't even see
how lonely we've both become.
Yes.
Ms. Lavalle?
I'm going to show you some images,
and you tell me what you see.
What is this?
A bed.
Very good.
And what's this?
A mouse.
And what is this?
Wasp.
And now, what is this?
Reet.
Trr...
Reet.
Keep your eyes open...
And this?
Glower.
It starts with an F.
Glower.
And this?
Heraffe.
Heraffe.
And what is this?
I've started working again.
I'm doing some dubbing.
A bit of synchronization.
I'm doing auditions.
That's encouraging, isn't it?
Since my operation...
I've been having memory blanks.
It's as if something broke
and I can't piece it back together again.
Is it normal?
It depends.
It's different for everyone.
Are certain things more difficult
than others to remember?
Huge chunks of my childhood
have completely vanished.
I remember family gatherings...
that I was close to my father.
What did he do for a living?
He worked in construction.
He didn't say much.
Do you remember
the sound of his voice?
That was a long time ago.
I was 12 when he passed away.
Maybe if you looked through
your old family albums,
it might bring memories back.
Hopscotch is easy.
Do you know any other games?
I don't know. What's that?
Yeah, I'm good at this game.
Cut. Cut, Marie.
A few things need to be tweaked,
but nothing major.
You sure?
It's all there. Come on,
we'll sign your time sheets.
Would you like milk and sugar?
Would you like milk and sugar?
No thanks.
You're cute.
There.
I can't see his lips.
It would be easier
if he was facing the camera, right?
There.
My father's saying something.
He's saying,
"Look, Marie. Wave to the camera."
That's it?
There are other places
where he says more.
Let's make him row a bit faster.
There.
He's saying,
"Look at my new car.
Want to go for a ride?"
"Look at my new car.
Want to go for a ride?"
It's trivial.
It's life.
This plane...
is called...
Concorde.
So, there's "sonic" in supersonic.
Because it goes faster than sound.
- This...
- ...plane...
The fastest...
in the world.
Now, read what you've written.
And then we'll read it out loud.
All right?
Michelle?
What are you doing here?
- You've run away from the hospital?
- No, I haven't.
They let me out.
They gave me special permission...
That's not true. They called me
to tell me you had run away!
Listen to me.
You come to the church,
I'm in the middle of rehearsal,
you force me
to send everyone home.
I only have you, Marie.
I don't want to go back.
I've been there for too long.
I can't do it anymore.
I just need to stay here with you
a little while, then I'll be fine.
I don't want to go back.
Some of them are so scary.
It's all right.
I think you're tired.
Come on. Come.
Do you remember Daddy's voice?
Of course I remember it.
He spoke very softly.
And he had such a lovely singing voice.
You know, when he sang...
that hymn?
You know...
After my operation...
I noticed I was having memory blanks.
There are big chunks
of my childhood...
that I don't remember at all.
And what makes me most sad
is having no memory of Dad's voice.
Time to go. Hurry up.
The clinic on Charest Boulevard
isn't big enough.
- They'd move here?
- To those offices there.
Sister Aline.
Michelle.
Hi, how's it going?
You don't recognize me?
Guillaume.
Yes, I do.
I'm a little surprised to see you here.
Yesterday I stopped by the bookstore.
They told me you were here.
That's right.
For a few more days, I think.
Did you finish your school project?
Yes, it's going super well.
But that's not why we're here today.
We're doing a number
for the end-of-the-year show,
and we wanted your opinion.
With pleasure.
Show me.
It's a work in progress, so...
Ready?
I feel it in my toes
I feel it in my brain
The words flowing outof me
like blood running down the drain
Turn on the tap
Listen to it run
It's coming down like rain,
a hiding spot for my thoughts
The neurons in your brain
I try to stop them
but they continue to flow
Words, words
they stay hidden below
That's enough, time to shut up
Who do you think you are, young man?
With your open mind
give me some air
I might not be Baudelaire
My dad's locked up, mother is nuts
Get out of this town
where it always snows
The white will disappear
as the blood flows
The white will disappear
as the blood flows
Bravo, Guillaume
and to Guillaume's friend!
What nice words of protest.
It's almost all in French.
There are little things to fix, though.
When you're talking about the mother,
you need to add "my".
It's not proper French.
- You mean before nut?
- Yes.
So it would be, "My dad's locked up,
my mother is a nut."
Yes, that's right.
Otherwise, it sounds English.
It's really good. I'm impressed.
And the rhythm is really good.
It's great.
I'm amazed by what you can
do with your mouth.
It's amazing for such a young person.
All right, Lise.
That's enough for today.
Quit clowning around
and bring me those
two hedge jumpers right now!
Watch out when he gets here.
I can't believe what I'm hearing.
Amazing! The octopus was alive.
Actor, dubbing, voice-over
On your knees please.
I bless you in the name
of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I wish you a happy New Year.
Look, let's try it a little less gloomy.
On your knees please.
I bless you in the name
of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I wish you a happy New Year.
Imagine an ordinary man,
early 40s.
Also, my father was no actor.
You don't have to articulate perfectly.
On your knees please.
I bless you in the name
of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I wish you a happy New Year.
My dad was a heavy smoker,
two packs a day.
Keep that in mind.
On your knees please.
I bless you in the name
of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
On your knees please.
I bless you in the name
of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I wish you a happy New Year.
I added the kisses.
That was great, Randy.
I'm coming over.
Come on!
Marie.
You do it.
Do what?
Read the script.
Bob will fiddle with it.
We'll see how it turns out.
On your knees please.
I bless you in the name
of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I wish you a happy New Year.
You'd swear Dad was in the studio.
Your father's voice, Marie,
is in your voice.
The rebel isn't content.
He's happy.
Happy as a snow storm.
Happy as a general strike.
Happy as a spot of jam.
Happy as a pirouette.
Happy as a sneeze.
Happy!
But not content.
The sky was very... low.
So low that birds couldn't fly.
They hit their heads on the ceiling,
so they had to walk on all fours.
"Two ashtrays mounted
on moose hooves for sale,
"a Ski-Doo suit, size 13X,
"drinking cups for camping,
and a John Deere flat-brimmed cap."
I brought your book back.
Thanks.
What's going on?
It's our poetry night.
Feel free to join us.
Come on in.
Thank you, Jos.
It's a brand new text, so...
it might be a little obscure.
I haven't taken a step back yet.
"In the heart of the night,
"A thousand nightmares
"A thousand rebellions
"A thousand close-range explosions
"But I'm still alive
"At the end of my rope
"Eyes open
"Eyes closed
"Long and pasty tongue
"Flayed tongue of my hallucinated drift
"Man in black
"Spitting out his trance's red fire
"'Hell is there, up high
"You'll all die there, '
he cries and warns
"Dialects
"And cries the end of the world
"Child in red
"Laughs
"Plays day and night
all around her broken heart
"Doesn't sing
"Doesn't cry
"Throws the stone in Heaven
"And I catch it
"And I wake
But I'm still alive"