Danièle and Christopher Thompson talk about Brigitte Bardot, from her very beginnings as a model on the front page of “Elle”, to the filming of “La Vérité” by Henri Georges Clouzot. An exciting painting from the 60s told in a glossy magazine style, but led by perfect actors.
It is rare in France for series that tell the story or the journey of living personalities. The Americans do not hesitate to recount the OJ Simpson affair, the British, the life of the Queen of England in The Crown. It is therefore a textbook case that this Hinny in six episodes broadcast since Monday May 8, on France 2, and already available in full on France Télévisions.
Danièle Thompson, the co-director, did not ask Brigitte Bardot for permission. She just informed her. “Bardot didn’t want to be interested in what we were doing, specifies Danièle Thompson. EShe wrote to us outright that she trusted us, but that she didn’t want to know anything. So no right of inspection, she did not ask for it.
If you like, it wasn’t about asking permission, when a character is a public figure, and that’s unfortunately a part of her story that is, for her, probably very difficult to live with.”
It is the young actress Julia de Nunez who embodies Bardot wonderfully, a liberated woman. His grain of madness, his desire to emancipate from a rigid family, his love with a director, before moving on to Jean-Louis Trintignant or Gilbert Bécaud. So many true stories, fruit of the research of the two authors, Christopher and Danièle Thompson:
“We saw countless books that were written about her. There are her own memoirs. She was a subject, both for the low-level press, which was a bit of the ancestor of this somewhat trashy tabloid press. And then, it was also the subject of research and examination by all the great intellectuals of the time, ranging from Marguerite Duras to Lucien Bodard.”
The series, traditional in its narration, resembles a magazine on glossy paper, but benefits from excellent actors, starting with Victor Belmondo, in the role of Roger Vadim. We discover reconstituted mythical places, such as La Madrague. A rich series of anecdotes.
Above all, the authors’ desire to justify why Brigitte Bardot quickly withdrew from public life stands out. “There is a lot of talk about what confinement was like, that is to say this desire for freedom, this form of freedom that it finally gave to women, adds Danièle Thompson. There was without her wanting it, she’s not an activist, but there was something new that happened to women after this famous film, And God created the woman (of Roger Vadim released in 1956, editor’s note) who has been this global symbol of women’s freedom. And for her, it was the opposite.
Bardot, the continuation, Monday evening May 15, on France 2. The 6 episodes are already on France.TV.