The documentary Outside Serge outside is carried by an aura of mystery. The aura of SergeThériault. The actor and comedian, who has retired from the public sphere for years, is floating above the feature film. What has become of him?
Martin Fournier and Pier-Luc Latulippe do not hide it: it is curiosity that pushed them in 2017 to make a film about Serge Thériault. Like real fans, they wondered what had happened to him. “We wanted to meet Serge to tell him that we missed him and see if we could do something with him”, relates the duo in an interview.
The meeting with the ex-Ding did not take place. With Anna, his partner, yes. And she was shown to be a deterrent. But in doing so, she unwittingly opened the way to another project. Outside Serge outside, premiered on Saturday at the Rencontres internationales du documentaire (RIDM), is the result.
The interview took place under the heat of a morning sun. Standing on the sidewalk, coffee in hand, away from potentially intrusive ears. Documentary filmmakers weren’t necessarily looking for privacy, just clarity and a little air. As in their film, shot in the semi-darkness of a basement. “We made the choice to keep the place in the shade, to point out the outside light. The idea of going towards the light, towards the outside, is the theme of the film, ”summarizes Pier-Luc Latulippe.
“Anna taught us that [Serge] did not want to know anything, that our request was in vain, says Martin Fournier. She also taught us that for several years he had been living in confinement [chez lui]. He was not going out. “
With modesty, Outside Serge outside takes place despite the carelessness in which the former accomplice of Claude Meunier is immersed. The great quality of the film is that it talks about mental health through the repercussions that the sick person has on those around them, and not through the details of their case.
Martin Fournier and Pier-Luc Latulippe do not hide it: for their second documentary – after Manor (2016), a fine critical success awarded an Iris at the Québec Cinéma 2017 gala – the intention was not to sketch the portrait of Serge Thériault. The quest for fans gave way to the social chronicle.
The man mentioned in the title is conspicuous by his absence. The real protagonists are called Anna, Melina, Robert, Jolande. It is to them, companion, daughter and neighbors of the former star of the screens, that the documentarists were interested. The daily life of caregivers is their real subject. “Well yes, it’s a film about caring, on Robert, on Jolande, on Anna, on Melina, insists Martin Fournier. It’s a movie about people who want to help someone who is sick. “
“It’s a reality that we don’t usually see. We wanted to highlight it, open a dialogue, ”says Pier-Luc Latulippe for his part.
Look for a way out
Former participant in the Destination World Course, 1998-1999 edition, member of the short-lived Amerika Orkestra collective (Daytona, 2003), Martin Fournier earns his living in the construction industry. State television director Pier-Luc Latulippe has a few short fiction films to his credit. It is a common sensitivity for humans that brought them together once again behind the camera. In Manor, they were already interested in mental health by documenting the lives of former patients of a psychiatric hospital.
Once they learned about Serge Thériault’s condition, they saw Anna and the others with no other goal than to accompany them, to look for a way out, they say. Without camera. It was in 2019 that the film project reappeared. The shooting took place over more than a year. The directors and their director of photography (Ariel Méthot) visited Robert and Jolande as soon as an opportunity arose.
“The key to documentaries is time. We spent a lot of time with them before shooting, ”says Pier-Luc Fournier, pointing out that the documentary was born from a common decision. The idea of testifying on the screen will have been the trigger.
The impression of spinning in the void was palpable. “How do you go about helping someone who doesn’t want help? Anna kept telling us that she was expecting a miracle, remembers Martin Fournier. We [lui a suggéré] to document this [qu’elle] lived every day. Maybe a solution would appear after that, someone would find the miracle. “
A little miracle happened during the filming, but the writers of Outside Serge outside prefer to avoid it in an interview. No question of revealing an element of the story. But they recognize that a note of hope, “sort of happy end », Color their work.
In their eyes, the real issue, that of mental health – “one of the last taboos in society”, they say – remains unresolved. Their film highlights in particular the situation of caregivers, suffering in silence and without resources.
“We wanted to document their reality,” admits Martin Fournier. Carey Price, it’s extraordinary that this is manifested, that 48 journalists are talking about him. Has there been one who has thought of his wife, of his children? How do these people do on a daily basis? The film is here. We can be curious to know [comment se porte] Serge. It’s okay, we like it. But we, in what we have lived, is that his wife suffers, his daughter suffers, her neighbors too. “
Serge outside Serge will be presented at RIDM on November 13 at the cinema of the Museum, then online until November 17. It will hit theaters on November 19.