Their friendship had been expressed for several years in the private sphere, but a producer submitted to them the idea of drawing inspiration from it for a film. Almost is a dramatic comedy in which the former member of the group Les Inconnus and the writer-philosopher reunite for an improbable road movie. Maintenance.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Almost 20 years ago, Bernard Campan saw Alexandre Jollien on television. During this interview, the writer, a specialist in philosophy, spoke of the gaze of the other – and the way to assume it – with such evidence that the mind of the actor was greatly marked.
“I did not know Alexandre at all, but he immediately touched my heart”, explains the former Unknown during a videoconference interview granted to The Press, which was also attended by his accomplice. “I felt an affinity on a human level. I also saw a man who spoke of an applied philosophy by explaining how to progress, how to move forward in life by unloading all that encumbers us to go towards freedom, joy. It deeply upset me. »
Alexandre Jollien still remembers very well the day when, while he was staying in Venice, he received an unexpected phone call from the man who, in the company of Didier Bourdon and Pascal Légitimus, was the star of the only television show which he watched in his youth.
“Bernard and I talked for an hour and a half about spiritual things, death, the relationship to the body, acceptance, themes that are very dear to him,” he says. In a friendship, especially at the beginning, there are often protocols, varnish, roles that we play, but there, there was like an immediate nudity between us. And it never stopped. »
Living with a disability
It is said of Alexandre that he was born “cerebrally palsy”. His disability affects the motor skills of his body and the fluidity of his language. From the age of 3, he was admitted to a specialized institution only to come out 17 years later. Like the character he plays in Almosthe quickly threw himself into the study of philosophy – he did a master’s degree in the field – and published some remarkable works, among which praise of weaknesspublished in 1999.
For several years, this friendship between Bernard Campan and him, nourished by almost daily conversations, was part of their intimate life on both sides. One day, producer Philippe Godeau, with whom the actor had worked a few times (notably for The man of her life and The three brothers, the return), suggested translating this special friendship into a story for the big screen.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY OPALE FILMS
Alexandre Jollien, in Almost
“As Alexandre has a particularly atypical life, with, among other things, a youth lived in an institute for the disabled, we were perhaps considering the possibility of writing a biographical drama inspired by his life, relates Bernard Campan. We got into it, but it didn’t really work. Everything changed the day Alexander saw Untouchables ! »
The beautiful risk
After seeing the phenomenon film by the Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache duo, whose headliners are Omar Sy and François Cluzet, Alexandre Jollien confided to his friend that if ever a feature film project materialized, he would see himself there. play a role.
“It completely changed the situation”, recognizes Bernard Campan.
Almost thus became a road movie where two men who seem to have no affinity get to know each other – and appreciate each other – during a journey.
One is a funeral director who has to transport a body from Lausanne to the south of France, the other is a man with a sharp mind, in love with philosophy, whose body is handicapped.
“I liked being part of a large team, I who tend to work alone or in a very small committee, confides Alexandre Jollien. It was necessary to accept to be directed, that being said, me whose life is to always tend towards more freedom. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY OPALE FILMS
A scene from Almost
“Alexandre had a hard time with the directive aspect of the instructions I gave him,” adds Bernard Campan. It reminded him of everything he was ordered to do during his years at the institute. It’s a big risk to make a film with a friend and give him the answer, what’s more when he is not an actor by training. Almost also occupies a very unique place in my career because it is inseparable from our friendship. I believe that this film brought me more lightness and confidence in my life in general, and in my job in particular. »
Almost is currently playing