Benjamin Lavernhe aptly embodies Abbé Pierre in front of Frédéric Tellier’s camera, in a biographical film about this committed and tormented humanist priest. A man who dedicated his life to the homeless and the destitute. And one of the favorite personalities of the French in the 1950s and 1960s.
Abbé Pierre said that we give meaning to our life by realizing the happiness of others. “Life is a little time given to one’s freedoms, to learn to love and share with others. »
Born Henri Grouès in Lyon in 1912, into a rich and bourgeois family, Abbé Pierre took a vow of poverty and entered the Capuchins at the age of 19, before leaving to help put a balm on human misery. In 1949, he founded the Emmaus Movement, still active in 350 communities and 41 countries around the world.
À la fois prêtre et tribun, homme de foi et de cœur, l’abbé Pierre est une figure de solidarité, connue et aimée en France et ailleurs. Un personnage que Benjamin Lavernhe ne pensait pas incarner un jour au grand écran.
J’ai été très surpris lorsque [le réalisateur] Frédéric Tellier contacted me. It was a daredevil project. I play the abbot from 25 to 94 years old, to show the founding stages of his romantic life. It should not be grotesque or damage Abbé Pierre’s message.
Benjamin Lavernhe, actor
“There was a responsibility towards his heirs, his foundation and the Emmaus movement. However, the scenario, which exposes its doubts and its gray areas, reassured me a lot. »
Aging on screen
The filming of the film lasted 12 weeks in two parts (in the winter and summer of 2022), interspersed by two theater commitments for the actor from the Comédie-Française. A long and exhausting shoot, with makeup sessions that could last six hours, while the actor lent his face to the hands of the designers in the special effects workshops, before going on set.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AZ FILMS
The film is distributed in Canada by AZ Films and will be released in theaters on December 22.
Beyond the acting, the composition or the vocal and physical verisimilitude, what he retained while working on this role was the great ambivalence of Abbé Pierre.
He is never certain. He is at once tormented, sensitive and devoured by his ambitions. He helped and housed the poor and homeless. His legacy was immense, but at the end of his life, he judged that he had not done enough to change the world.
Benjamin Lavernhe, actor, about Abbé Pierre
From the National Assembly to the slums
Capuchin, resistance fighter, non-commissioned officer, deputy in the National Assembly, co-founder of Emmaüs with Lucie Coutaz (played by Emmanuelle Bercot), his great accomplice in his battles, Abbé Pierre was all that. Before becoming known across Europe when he launched his call for solidarity on the radio in 1954, during the coldest winter recorded in France. The power of his speech instantly made him a star: “He had a talent as an orator and a tribune. The crowd received his words like an electric shock. At the height of his popularity, he was like a rock star who attracted crowds, including several women, under his spell. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The actor Benjamin Lavernhe, star of the feature film Abbot stone
“When we were asked to go to Cannes, we asked ourselves the question whether, ethically, a film about Abbé Pierre has its place at the Cannes Film Festival, a place of luxury and glamour. But we said to ourselves that Abbot Pierre would have rushed there to get his message across. Because it is one of the most covered media events on the planet. »
With around 800,000 entries in five weeks in France, Abbé Pierre – A life of struggle is a great success for the actor. He hopes the film will be as successful on this side of the Atlantic. Benjamin Lavernhe had already come to Montreal, in the summer of 2017, to play at the TNM in the play by Victor Hugo Lucrezia Borgia, with members of the Comédie-Française. He would have liked to accompany the film at the opening of the Rouyn-Noranda Festival in October, but he was busy promoting it in France.
In his eyes, it is important to rehabilitate the figure of Abbé Pierre today, in order to make him known to young people. “We need light and hope in a world where we feel powerless. In an unequal society where young people are disenchanted, a little lost, the question of commitment takes on its full meaning. Faced with all the current emergencies, we cannot stand by and do nothing, saying it’s every man for himself. If cinema can help raise awareness and encourage people to get involved and take action, so much the better! »
In theaters December 22