On this day of Black Friday, an aggressive crowd awaits the opening of a large electronics store whose access is blocked by a human cordon of climate activists. Among the angry customers is Albert, who has come to buy a TV at a discount which he must then resell at a profit to a certain Bruno. When Albert finally shows up at the latter’s house, he is greeted by bailiffs and a Bruno groggy of pills. Between the “combinard” and the depressive, both over-indebted, an improbable friendship is born which leads them to get involved, for their personal benefit, with said environmental group. With A difficult yearthe authors ofUntouchables and of ExceptionalOlivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, continue to combine popular cinema and social commentary.
This, with the added bonus of a romantic aspect, since Albert (Pio Marmaï) falls under the spell of Valentine (Noémie Merlant), aka Cactus, the idealistic leader of the gang…
“These are very precise images that motivated the writing of the film,” reveals Olivier Nakache during an interview held at the Toronto International Film Festival in the fall of 2023, for the North American premiere of the film. movie.
“These images arrived while we were in the health crisis, in this moment of emptiness, in this moment when we were on pause, this surreal moment… I remember several astonishing, striking images. There was this deer wandering around Place de la Concorde in Paris. It so illustrated this impression of suspended time that we felt… But in contrast, there were images of excess that reached us, including those of the Black Friday. Activists could be seen blocking customers. Because of the pandemic, Eric and I were separated for a rare time, and we both sent each other these images, spontaneously. We wondered who filmed this. And in short, these images were one of our gateways to the film. »
Another of these “entrance doors” had in this case been ajar before the pandemic, and this concerned the phenomena of over-indebtedness and precariousness.
These are very precise images which motivated the writing of the film.
“We had done some research, with Éric, and there again, in terms of images, we were struck by the contrast between various empty apartments: for some, it was because the occupants had had their furniture seized because they were unable to pay their creditors, while for others, it was more linked to a philosophy of life aimed at living better with less. »
However, initially, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano said to themselves that these specific themes did not fit in with environmental activism.
“Except that in these famous images of Black Friday, there was this interview with a guy who wanted to enter the store, but couldn’t because of the green activists, and we realized, Eric and I, that it was someone who was over-indebted . We then understood that there was an area of friction between our two subjects. With Eric, we said to ourselves that all of this said a lot about our times, and that it would be good to… take an x-ray of it, as if to catch us in the act, collectively…”
Immersive search
Interestingly, all of these images that initially appealed to Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano were reproduced in the film. Obviously, before getting there, a plot and characters had to be created in order to bring this engaging backdrop to life.
“With Éric, we have two modes of operation for character design. First of all, we are inspired by actors with whom we want to work. Pio Marmaï (The three Musketeers) was one of them. The desire to work with him was one of the driving forces behind the film. We wrote the role of Albert for him. Then, we happily base ourselves on real people. Bruno, the over-indebted and depressed compulsive gambler character played by Jonathan Cohen, is someone whose journey we have followed. »
As for the development of the story itself, the two accomplices like to document themselves in an… immersive way. In this case, it was a question of obtaining the collaboration of two factions that could not be more opposed.
“We were initially admitted to a militant movement called Extinction Rebellion. We explained to them that we were writing a script, and that we wanted to draw on reality. And so, we participated in militant actions with them. This is how we were able to see how it works from the inside. Luckily, people welcome us with open arms almost everywhere. Our films have become fantastic passports: they give us access to a lot of things and people. Like, secondly, attending the commissions of the Banque de France, which is normally prohibited. But Eric and I had permission. And so, we nourish our scenarios like that, based on themes that challenge us, situations that we witness, images that strike us…”
Funny paradox
With A difficult year, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, however, found themselves confronted with a strange paradox, it is fair to say. In fact, anything related to activism could easily turn into caricature, which the duo wanted to avoid at all costs.
At the same time, their preferred approach is humor — which humor is colored with different shades of drama depending on the film, it is true.
“Seeing our film, one might believe in clichés or, yes, caricatures. But what is depicted is exactly what we saw. And again: we braked. We have taken it easy in our descriptions of the activists who carry out all these actions. You know, they are perfectly aware of what they represent, what they are, and how they are perceived. They say to themselves: “We’re going to piss off, we’re going to block it”, but the goal is to alert us all. They want to be audible and visible, so they stage things. Besides, this is undoubtedly what attracted us, Eric and me, to their actions: the fact that it is staged. »
After a silence, Olivier Nakache concludes: “Our DNA is comedy, because comedy is a good observation point. It’s obvious that we push situations, precisely to make people laugh, but not just any way. »
And not at any cost, to remain in the lexical field of the moment.
The film A difficult year hits theaters on April 5.