With Cut!his new comedy presented at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival last May, French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) pays homage to cinema and its craftsmen by taking us behind the scenes of the shooting of a zombie movie where nothing goes as planned.
Small-scale filmmaker, Rémi (Romain Duris) receives the mandate to direct a French adaptation of a Japanese zombie film. The problem is that the feature film must be shot in a single sequence shot and broadcast live on the online broadcasting platform that finances the project. Despite Rémi’s overflowing enthusiasm, the filming will quickly turn into a disaster.
Photo Martin Alarie
Michel Hazanavicius
“ Cut!, it’s a zombie movie where viewers will be scared, but not zombies! During the first 30 minutes, people will especially be afraid that it will last an hour and a half like that! laughs Michel Hazanavicius, passing through Montreal on Tuesday to present his new work.
Because the first part of Cut! shows us in a way the final result, that is to say the false film (failed) that Rémi shot live with his band of jaded technicians and actors with little motivation for the project. Michel Hazanavicius’ comedy takes on its full meaning in the second and third acts, which go back to recount the preparation and shooting of the fake feature film.
“It was a bit of a gamble to start my film this way, concedes the filmmaker. But in the end, I think the result is very satisfying. It’s a film where you go from anger to laughter, and you end with real emotion. »
“A micro-society”
Even though Cut! is intended to be a “very faithful” adaptation of a Japanese film titled don’t cutMichel Hazanavicius says he drew a lot from his personal experiences to write the screenplay for the feature film.
“I have been working in this field for more than 30 years. I saw phenomena of it, and not only in the actors”, confides the filmmaker who won five Oscars – including that of the best film – in 2012 for The Artist.
“A film set is a micro-society. There are people who have a mission, that of making a film in a given time and often without having enough money. When you make a film, you always have the impression of moving a mountain. Spectators are used to seeing films from one side, which is the auditorium. But behind the shooting of a film, there is always a human adventure and a dimension of achievement in having succeeded in doing so, even when it failed! »
- The film Cut! hits theaters Friday.