At one time, in Quebec, it was enough for a mother to say “Wait for your father to arrive!” “So that the children stand” with a stiff body and flabby ears “. In the family of Jean-Pierre Améris (The man who Laughs, The emotional anonymous), in Lyon, the formula announcing disciplinary measures was “Papa will arrive!” “. Hence the birth, sometimes, of ambiguous feelings towards a being who protects and tyrannizes at the same time.
“It was like that in several families,” recalls the filmmaker during a videoconference interview with Press. The house is supposed to be a shelter for the children, but many of them have experienced it as a place of anguish instead. It was the case with us anyway. Whenever my mother invited us to dinner, I always went with a lump in my stomach because that’s when the seizures occurred. Sorj’s novel brought it all to the surface. ”
In the mind of a mythomaniac
In Fathers profession, his autobiographical novel, Sorj Chalandon also recounted his teenage years, but Jean-Pierre Améris preferred to concentrate in his adaptation to the part devoted to childhood. Set in a provincial town during the 1960s, the story borrows from Émile (Jules Lefebvre), a 12-year-old boy who greatly admires a mythomaniac father (Benoît Poelvoorde) who draws him into his whims. A true hero in the eyes of his son, this man has in turn been a singer, footballer, judo teacher, parachutist, spy and personal advisor to General de Gaulle. He now intends to take his preteen with him on dangerous missions while, to his dismay, France prepares to recognize Algeria’s right to self-determination.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY AXIA FILMS
Audrey Dana and Jules Lefebvre in Fathers profession, a film by Jean-Pierre Améris
“With the strength of Sorj’s story, I knew that I could evoke, through the eyes of a 12-year-old child, what we do not yet understand in our parents at this age, confides the director. We love them unconditionally, but at the same time, we are not yet able to understand things. Sorj liked this point of view and he let me tailor his story my way. When he saw the film, he told me that he thought he saw more of my parents than his. ”
Fathers profession also echoes a time when the paternal model corresponded to an image to which many men had to submit in spite of themselves. Because there was hardly any other.
“The father figure was an authority figure,” explains the filmmaker. The men had to be sure of themselves, project an image of strength, and many of them suffered greatly. I have a lot of compassion for my father because I know he was unhappy in this role. When we asked my mother why he was like that, she always replied that he had been traumatized in Algeria, where he did his military service for two years during the war. ”
PHOTO YOHAN BONNET, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
These men could not accept their own fragility and carried with them all the weight of the unsaid.
Jean-Pierre Améris, director
In this regard, the feature film also has a political dimension in the background, the character sinking even further into increasingly dangerous obsessions, especially with what was happening in Algeria.
“Despite the passage of time, this war is still a bit of a dark spot in our history,” says Jean-Pierre Améris. However, it is only used here as a pretext. In his state of mind, it is certain that this man, if he were to live today, would subscribe to all kinds of conspiracy theories. ”
Free of his image
Even before being offered the role by a filmmaker with whom he worked in The emotional anonymous and A family for rent, Benoît Poelvoorde was already an admirer of Sorj Chalandon’s novel.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY AXIA FILMS
A scene from Fathers profession, a film by Jean-Pierre Améris
“Benoît had even declared somewhere that he would see himself playing this character, even if there were no adaptation plans yet. It couldn’t be anyone other than him in my eyes. After having chained two comedies, he wanted a more dramatic role, but he still had to fight a little with his entourage. At a time when image was very important, he was advised not to play this character. Fortunately, Benoît did not listen. By definition, actresses and actors are passionate about the dark things of the human being. Otherwise, we should no longer play Shakespeare or Greek tragedies. Benoît is very free in his image. He only saw the character of his humanity. ”
In fact, the actor only asked the filmmaker one question before giving his agreement.
“Benoît only asked me one thing during the first reading: ‘Do you love him, this father?’ I answered yes, of course. This is where the whole movie is. Fathers profession is a love film about a suffering character. ”
Fathers profession hits theaters on November 12.