Ten years after honoring the art of gastronomy in The flavors of the palaceCatherine Frot tackles another very French specialty: the creation of a rose. The fine flowerPierre Pinaud’s second feature film, however, takes the pretext of an artisanal practice to offer a portrait of society.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Yes, there are flowers in The fine flower. But not only. Eve, the character played by Catherine Frot in this second feature film by Pierre Pinaud (Tell me about yourself), exercises her profession as a fine craftswoman of roses, but she must nevertheless come to terms with the new realities of modern society. To save her modest farm, very famous but on the verge of bankruptcy, the expert agrees to hire three young people with no experience thanks to a social reintegration program. She will have to teach them the basics of her art in order to ensure the survival of her business.
At the time of Flavors of the Palacea successful film by Christian Vincent, Catherine Frot had to learn the gestures of the cook of the President of the French Republic so that her character was credible on screen.
For The fine flowerthe actress took the same preparatory path – learning to hybridize roses, for example – in order to give life to this earthy woman who has always practiced her art.
“However, I don’t have a green thumb at all!” recognizes the actress during a videoconference interview granted to The Press. I don’t have any plants at home. That said, I love learning the basics of a trade for the benefit of a role. It piques my curiosity and I have the impression of transporting myself in the same way as when I go on a trip. Before, I looked at roses and found them beautiful, like everyone else, but now I observe them much more closely. I appreciate their characteristics more, as one can do human beings. This film talks about the beauty of flowers, but also about the beauty of human relationships. »
A social comedy
The idea of The fine flower came to Pierre Pinaud, whose passion for flowers and gardens was transmitted to him by his mother and his grandmother, when he discovered, a few years ago, that the creation of roses was a very French specialty, a bit like creating perfumes. Admiring the films of Frank Capra and the social comedies that Ken Loach sometimes directs – his model is The Angel’s Share (The part of the angels) –, the filmmaker wanted to evoke this very singular world which, like any other, must follow the movement of performance and competitiveness.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SPHERE FILMS
In The fine flowera film by Pierre Pinaud, Catherine Frot is surrounded by Marie Petiot, Fatsah Bouyahmed and Melan Omerta.
“My interest was to go beyond this universe of beauty to say something important on a social level,” he says. This frantic race towards performance inevitably leaves on the sidelines those left behind. If they haven’t had the same chances in life, they still have the right to have a place in society, especially since many of them have talents that they never could. to exploit. And then, those who want to keep their business on a traditional basis by not always trying to produce more and for less should have the choice to do so. »
The French spirit
The choice to entrust the role of Eve to Catherine Frot was imposed very quickly. In the eyes of the filmmaker, the actress, famous thanks to her Caesarized performances in A family resemblance and Daisy, embodies the quintessence of the French spirit. Something in the elegance, in this way of well representing the French art of living, as she had done so well in The flavors of the palace.
I also needed a great actress because the spectrum of emotions through which Eve passes is very broad. We go from comedy to drama, but we always stay on the wire, without switching to one side or the other. It was always necessary to remain in a great finesse.
Pierre Pinaud
In this chapter, Catherine Frot specifies that this balance, difficult to find, was the subject of great discussions between the filmmaker and her.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SPHERE FILMS
Catherine Frot had to learn the basics of the trade for the benefit of the role she plays in The fine flowera film by Pierre Pinaud.
“When I read the script, I said to myself that it could give something great, but that the line on which we were going to have to stand was going to be very fine. The tone of a film is always very important. It is even crucial. It is enough to leave on a false note to derail everything. We always wondered where the limit was, where the too much is, the not enough, in short, we were very attentive and I believe that all this work has borne fruit. »
The actress also greatly appreciated her entry into the universe of this woman of character, who resists as much as she can industrial production to stay at the top of her game. And dedicate his expertise to the creation of this perfect rose that could win prizes in competitions.
“I was particularly touched by the fact that this woman is reaching a stage in her life where there is an incredible traffic jam of emotions in her head. She is just between her before and her after. It’s as if the doors suddenly opened in front of her. All the characters in this story find their potential for dignity. It’s a beautiful film of feelings and individual journeys,” she concludes.
The fine flower hits theaters May 6.