On Tuesday evening, his film was screened at the anniversary party of the 75th edition of Cannes. A great honor and at the same time a further pressure, because in the room there were fourteen winners of the Palme d’Or and an incredible array of actors, actresses, directors …
“It was very special! It was like a dream and, at the same time, a nightmare. I felt like a student who has to present his end-of-year film in front of about sixty international and award-winning directors. Also, two minutes before the film started, Thierry Frémaux handed me the microphone to ask me how I felt. How to say … Contrary to what one might think, the situation was not the most enviable. Then, during the screening, I heard the audience laugh: a relief. There was something magical because it was like being in the theater: the audience reacted, applauded ».
We laugh a lot in front of The innocent. However, given his career, a comedy is not expected.
“When I was making the film, I didn’t know it was going to be a comedy. I was hoping it was, but you shouldn’t sell bear skin before killing it. Then, like yesterday, the first spectators laughed heartily. And yes, today I can assure you that The innocent it’s a comedy ».
So he didn’t write it as a comedy in the beginning?
“For nothing. It is the interpretation that makes it a comedy. Staged differently and acted differently, the same scenario could become completely tragic. I was inspired by the Italian cinema of Mario Monicelli and Dino Risi, who worked on the notion of the tragicomic as something existential. I don’t believe in comedies that are just comedy. I wanted to mix a heist film with Marivaux. ‘
What is your model of comedy?
“Perhaps Santa is a rogue, a true example of tragi-comedy. Do you know why? Because at no time do the actors act as if they are in a comedy. On the contrary, they are in total empathy with their characters. They go beyond the simple gesture of boulevardier “.
The main character of The innocent, Abel, who she plays, looks like she came straight out of a Woody Allen movie.
“Abel is a big, anxious, super pessimist, surrounded by happy people, full of life and energy. This contrast is reminiscent of Woody Allen’s world. Above all, this character, already very paranoid, finds himself only in situations that go wrong. This is where comedy is born ».
Does this character look like you?
“Yes, yes, I’m very worried too (laughs).”
Another comic aspect of his film is a pleasantly kitschy soundtrack: Pour le plaisir by Herbert Léonard e Nuit magique by Catherine Lara.
“I can already tell you that I called Catherine (Lara) to talk to her about it. You can say kitsch if you like, even if it’s not kitsch for me at all. I’ve always listened to variety songs. It is a very sincere choice on my part. It is popular music, in the good sense of the word, which is accessible to everyone, which transports everyone. Indeed, I dream that the film will become a variety film ».
What is a “variety film”?
“I have fun with the word” variety “, because of it The innocent there is a variety of genres: sentimental comedy, detective comedy … But “variety film”, I would say it is a film that can be seen by everyone. An easy movie, like a popular song. Above all, I wanted the viewer to never get bored ».
In order not to bore the viewer: this is the complicated art of comedy.
“You have to be able to surprise them all the time. Jean-Claude Carrière, with whom I worked, always said to me: “Louis, the scene that follows, no one must have foreseen it.” It is not easy, because today the viewer is always one step ahead of the film. We must surprise them, while remaining plausible: this is the real headache when writing a screenplay ».
Source: Vanity Fair
