Since Starbuck, written with Martin Petit, Ken Scott had not filmed in Quebec. However, he has not been idle for the past ten years. So he realized Delivery Man, US version of Starbuck, Jet Lag, from a screenplay by Steve Conrad, and The extraordinary fakir’s journey, sold in 160 countries. Without forgetting the writing of the Canadian, French and Italian versions of The great seduction, as well as the French adaptation of Starbuck, Fonzy.
“If today we want to go to New York or Tokyo, if Paris or London make us dream, it is because we have already seen them in the cinema. I am very proud when one of my films, or any Quebec film, is sold around the world; that means that Quebec exists in the minds of the people of those countries. There is something that stimulates me about thinking that we are making a film for the local market, but that it can travel. When the film travels, Quebec also travels, ”says Ken Scott, back from the Magdalen Islands, where Goodbye happiness, his sixth film as a director, premiered.
If it has become rare in recent years, it is not, however, because he shunned Quebec or that Quebec turned its back on him: “I had wanted to come back to work in Quebec for a long time. I had the chance to work elsewhere because projects call me and it’s difficult to say no, but I live in Quebec and I want to work with people from here, with actors that I admire. I was extremely blessed in this case. “
Merry mourning
Goodbye happiness features four brothers, the businessman Charles-Alexandre (Louis Morissette), the author William (Patrice Robitaille), the nostalgic Thomas (Antoine Bertrand) and the epicurean Nicolas (François Arnaud), who go to their sumptuous family residence summer in the Magdalen Islands. Also on the trip are the respective companions of the two eldest and the youngest, Valérie (Marilyse Bourque), Audrey (Élizabeth Duperré) and Camille (Charlotte Aubin), and all their kids.
Already orphaned by their mother (GenevièveBoivin-Roussy), the Lambert brothers intend to spread the ashes of their father (Pierre-Yves Cardinal) and then decide whether or not to sell the house. However, nothing is going as planned. Nicolas lost the urn and Liliane (Julie LeBreton), guardian of the house, announces to them that she intends to assert her rights over the house.
“There’s a little bit of me in every brother,” says Ken Scott. Obviously, as Patrice plays an author, people immediately make the connection with me. There is definitely a connection to him, but I identify with the four brothers, who are archetypes. I love them, I love their dynamics. I wanted to explore these four very different brothers, who each have a very different perception of what happiness is. “
If the Lambert brothers share common points with their creator, Goodbye happiness is not an autobiographical story, swears Ken Scott: “In fact, I don’t even have brothers, only sisters. Besides, I have daughters. This whole story is a transposition; it’s easier to transpose stories than to tell my life story. We are even more successful in touching the truths because we don’t have to worry about offending those around them. Even when reality is interesting, the author must give it an angle, a point of view, a meaning. “
To discover Goodbye happiness, it is to reconnect with the themes dear to the filmmaker, such as fatherhood, family ties, community spirit and the figure of the foreigner arriving in unknown territory.
“I hope that there is consistency in everything I do, that we can make links between each film. I try to make films that are personal to me, even if they are aimed at a large audience. I try not to censor myself, to say what I want to say. Even if The extraordinary journey of the fakir was the adaptation of a novel [de Romain Puértolas], I feel like there was me in it all, and the stranger theme was stronger than ever. When I was sent the novel, I recognized myself in it. “
I hope that there is consistency in everything I do, that we can make connections between each film. I try to make films that are personal to me, even if they are aimed at a large audience. I try not to censor myself, to say what I want to say.
True to himself, Ken Scott tackles serious themes with a skillful blend of sensitivity and humor. “What I like are dramatic comedies, to be interested in a story where there are real issues. In this case, the stakes are very personal, but I wanted to make sure that the viewer also had a smile, that they wanted to follow the characters, to be part of the family. “
Mystical landscapes
If he is happy to have been able to shoot in Quebec, Ken Scott owes it to authorities much higher than him: the pandemic and health rules.
“I was looking for a mystical place. Initially, it was Provence, then Havana, but COVID arrived and we were no longer allowed to shoot outside the country. I didn’t see it as a compromise, but an opportunity to do better. When we see the film, we feel a certain pride because it is home. It is not a postcard, but the visual offered by the Magdalen Islands serves to tell the story in this exceptional place, gives value to the whole story. “
Better still, the grandiose landscapes of maritime Quebec allowed him to add a note of melancholy to this closed door in the great outdoors where the four brothers become in turn accomplices and rivals, as in any good family.
“Since we shot in the fall, the wind and the colors brought on a certain melancholy. In these landscapes, there is something mystical, it is exceptional. I wanted all of this to help tell the story, ”explains the one who was particularly inspired by the Ball and of We loved each other so much, by Ettore Scola, “master of melancholy”, as well as Bicycle thief, by Vittorio de Sica.
“It would have been something else if I had been able to shoot in Provence or Havana, but it certainly wouldn’t have been better. »How about a trilogy ?, as one character in the film might suggest. “Not at the moment …” Ken Scott answers, smirking.
The film Goodbye happiness premieres on December 17th.