magnificent Karim Leklou in the role of a “false father” in the Larrieu brothers

The adaptation of the eponymous novel by Pierric Bailly is carried by a five-star cast.

For more than twenty years years, the films of Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu depict the blurred contours of normality. After To paint or to make love in 2005 and Tralala in 2020, Here they are back with Jim’s Novelin theaters Wednesday 14 August, a ninth feature film that poses an essential question : what is it like to be a father ? A simple parent who would have planted his little seed or the one who takes you by the hand to discover the world ?

Starring Karim Leklou, Lætitia Dosch, Bertrand Belin, Sara Giraudeau and the young Eol Personne, this film spans twenty-five years years in the life of an atypical family, is the adaptation of the eponymous novel by Pierric Bailly.

With his big brown eyes and round face, Aymeric (the moving Karim Lekou) has everything of a nice guy. Almost too nice, even. After serving his prison sentence for a poorly planned petty burglary, here he is free and ready to resume his life in his small town of Saint-Claude in the Jura.

He stumbles upon a former work colleague, Florence (Lætitia Dosch), who is pregnant and single. She is free, she is simple, and their meeting will quickly continue in a room. An embrace that will last more than one night. “The father of the child will be the one who is there at the time of birth,” Florence said to her loved ones.

“When Jim was born, I was there. And then I stayed. We spent many wonderful years together, and I thought I was going to become his father.”

Aymeric

in “Jim’s Novel”

It is therefore almost by chance that Aymeric will take on the real role of Jim’s “false father”. Destiny offers him this link and he takes it without asking too many questions. Jim does not bear his name, but Aymeric exercises his paternity outside of blood ties.

From then on, what some might see as an imposture or a lie becomes an authentic relationship. “You and I, we are adventurers, we take risks,” he said to the little one during a walk in the forest.

In their house in the Jura, the small blended family lives happily. But that’s without taking into account the unexpected return of Christophe (Bertrand Belin), the biological father of Jim, broken by a life event : Florence offers to help him. And what was only supposed to last a few days will drag on. To the point that Aymeric will gradually lose his job.

To maintain a connection with Jim, he will even agree to become his godfather. : “It’s a bit like moving into the second division,” he concedes, resigned. Little by little, the links will become even more strained and Aymeric will have to compose another life. Karim Leklou, who we discovered in Drop of gold Or Vincent must die, excels in this role of sweet dad. His fragility, his delicacy, his commitment and his accuracy flood the frame.

For the Larrieu brothers, landscape and nature play a central role. For Jim’s Novelit is in the middle of the magnificent landscapes of the Jura that they set up their cameras. Their story told by a voice off travels twenty-five years in the life of this somewhat lunar character. Like an American Indian, Aymeric goes through the episodes of his life with courage.

Punctuated by walks in the forest or by a lake, the delicate and fluid staging keeps the viewer in suspense. Thanks to some very beautiful break-up sequences, the scenario is constantly relaunched. The irruption of the character Olivia (brilliant Sara Giraudeau) in Aymeric’s life breathes a new horizon. The Larrieu brothers’ camera captures the characters’ bodies and gazes with grace and energy. As in the famous song by Alain Souchon The Ballad of Jim, The film by Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu takes us far away and offers a moving portrait of a father in his own right.

Gender : Comedy drama

Director: Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu

Scenario : Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu

With : Karim Leklou, Laetitia Dosch, Bertrand Belin, Sara Giraudeau, Eol Personne

Country : France

Duration : 1h41

Exit : August 14, 2024

Synopsis: Jim’s stepfather, Aymeric, met his mother, Florence, when she was six months pregnant. months. All three lead a happy life in the Jura until the biological father, Christophe, returns following a personal tragedy. Aymeric no longer finds his place and, estranged from the child, he decides to leave to make his life elsewhere. But years later, Jim, 23 years old, knocks on Aymeric’s door.