Camped in 1887, A matter of honor features the fencing master Clément Lacaze (Roschdy Zem) who, after Colonel Louis Berchère (Vincent Perez) wanted to defend his honor by provoking the young Adrien Lacaze (Noham Edje), nephew of Clément, into a duel, is trained in a spiral of violence. In fact, shortly after, Ferdinand Massat (Damien Bonnard), editor-in-chief of Little Journal, publicly humiliates feminist journalist Marie-Rose Astié de Malseyre (Doria Tillier). The latter then goes to the fencing circle run by journalist Eugène Tavernier (Guillaume Gallienne) so that Clément Lacaze can teach her the art of dueling in the hope of confronting her sworn enemy.
Pioneer of feminism
“Everything is based on characters who really existed,” says Vincent Perez, met in January at the Unifrance Rendez-vous in Paris. However, the fencing master is a sort of amalgamation of several characters; it bears the name of my first fencing master when I was at the Conservatoire. He embodies the image of Marvel of the time; fencing masters were heroes who stood for something. Initially, I wanted to make a film about duels and now I realize that the fights are much more multifaceted than I thought. »
Of all the characters, the one that stands out the most is the one played with panache by Doria Tillier (Mr and Mrs Adelmanby Nicolas Bedos; The origin of evil, by Sébastien Marnier). Less than a century after the death of Olympe de Gouges, one of the pioneers of feminism, Marie-Rose Astié de Malseyre fought for women’s rights, including that of wearing pants, as dresses considerably hampered their movements. Thus, in May 1887, several women, entangled in their petticoats, died in the fire at the Opéra Comique.
“She did fight a duel, but never against a man; it’s the film that offers him that, proudly reveals the man who wrote the screenplay with his wife Karine Silla. She fought duels with women and the press talked about it a lot; she was thought to be crazy. There was this ambient machismo in the press which was something really crazy, like anti-Semitism, which was also very marked. She was alone against everyone; there was something quite heroic about her. She was also a poet, sang, composed music. The second piece she plays on the piano is inspired by one of her compositions. It was interesting to bring her back into our time. »
Swords without a cape
During his career, Vincent Perez distinguished himself in around thirty fights, notably in The Hunchbackby Philippe de Broca, in Queen Margotby Patrice Chéreau, and in Fanfan the Tulip, by Gérard Krawczyk. The Franco-Swiss actor also had the chance to work with William Hobbs, one of the greatest masters of arms, to whom we owe in particular the duels of Duelistsby Ridley Scott, and the popular series Game Of Thrones.
“I wanted to make something of this experience and as I am a director, I started to do research. »
I found this period quite fascinating which speaks of a world that is changing, like the world we are in today. As a result, there were a lot of similarities, echoes, resonances with our time. At that time, there was the arrival of electricity; today, it is that of artificial intelligence.
Vincent Perez
“At the end of the 19th centurye century, we were at the beginnings of feminism, and there too, we are in a world that is changing in this regard. “That’s all that fascinated me,” he adds.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Karine Silla and Vincent Perez wrote the screenplay forA matter of honor together.
With a year and a half of research at the French Library on the subject and having called on the fencing master Michel Carliez, a faithful accomplice met on the set of Cyrano de Bergeracby Jean-Paul Rappeneau, to choreograph the fights, Vincent Perez signs a film where a concern for realism prevails, far from the fantasy of swashbuckling films.
“It’s not a swashbuckling film because there are no musketeers or capes. Everyone makes this amalgam, as soon as we talk about a sword, we talk about a cape, explains the man who made more than a thousand drawings to achieve the film he dreamed of. With American films, we made the duel a heroic moment between two characters, where the story ends. The challenge with A matter of honor, was that the story continues. It is therefore another typology, even a mythology, of the duel. It’s not about Sergio Leone, but rather about the art of the duel, the beauty of combat and, at the same time, its absurdity. What the characters have in common is the Franco-Prussian War. They are in reparation for a lost war, for a humiliating defeat. Perhaps this is a way of rewriting history. »
Declaring that honor remains a topical concept to which we should refer more often, Vincent Perez regrets that it is in decline at a time when everyone’s honor is constantly violated, particularly on social networks.
“Today, it is extremely difficult to defend one’s honor. In fact, we let things pass, the waves. Our reputation is under attack and time makes it pass. Otherwise, lawyers also allow you to seek compensation. What was interesting at the time was that at the end of the fight, there was no loser. The situation was simply accepted and the problem was resolved. This is why the idea of revenge did not fit into the codes of dueling of the time because, as a result, revenge is something that leads to a spiral of violence, as the film shows. »
Indoors
Travel expenses were paid by Unifrance.