A dream... of the past

In 1634, at the time of the colonization of New France, the Society of Jesus took on responsibility for the missions in Huron territory. The Jesuits dreamed of setting up a Christian community which would serve as an example to the Amerindian population. In the 1639 the Jesuits established the headquarters of their missions at St. Marie in Huron country, more than 800 km inland from Quebec. The voyage there is perilous, and living with the Indians, is a veritable martyrdom for the priests. Their exploits are recounted in the Jesuits’ account of the period, a document which is still an important reference work on life in New France at the time.“Un rêve… juste un rêve du passé” is a game played with time. Seventeen men of our era relive in this program the epic experience of a few Jesuits., their companions in the Faith and explorers, who in 1648, made the voyage from Quebec to St. Marie. They left on June 1, 1982 in four 7-metre canoes, and took six weeks to reach their goal: Midland, formerly St. Marie, in Ontario.These men spent more than a year in getting ready for the trip. After being selected on criteria as various as their liking for history, their aptitude for open-air sports and their bilingualism, they underwent a rigorous program of physical conditioning. They made their own canoes, clothing, rucksacks and other needed accessories for the voyage. Their food was to be much the same as that available three hundred years ago.In addition, they wrote and played short historical sketches which were performed for the populations of the main stopovers on their route. The 17 voyageurs played the roles of the pioneers of 1648. At that time two hundred Hurons had accompanied the voyageurs. Unfortunately the efforts of the organizers to involve today’s Indians in this modern reconstruction of the events did not produce the hoped-for results.The camera crew not only filmed the trip, they also tried to become integral parts of the experience. Thus, we shall see some of its members on the screen. The relationships of the film crew with the voyageurs become more intense and intimate as the voyage progresses. We get to know the members of the expedition, their motivations, their joys and sometimes their disappointments. Gradually they become aware that they are not all on the same trip. There were great differences in their personal objectives and this occasionally influenced the interpersonal relations of certain explorers.
Speciale- destination Ste-Marie