L’envol du monarque

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