Life as a voyage of discovery. December in Québec, Phillippe's mother had died. He's a work in progress: sad, in his 40's, defending his dissertation (narcissism as the basis of the space race), in a temp job, alone. We meet his boss, an ex, his younger brother André, and André's lover Carl. Connections are weak, his brother lectures him. To bolster his dissertation, Phillippe seeks the endorsement of a retired Russian cosmonaut visiting Canada; he also undertakes a video project about life to submit to a Cornell-related extraterrestrial outreach project. Phillippe is invited suddenly to take a long trip: metaphors of space, discovery, and unknown territory buoy him.
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