Posted at 6:00 a.m.
To say that Juliette Binoche struggled like no one to make exist Ouistreham would be an understatement. As soon as she read Ouistreham wharfthe book that Florence Aubenas published in 2010, the actress said to herself that a film absolutely had to be made from it, even if the director who had asked her to read the book told her, a week later , that the French journalist refused to sell the adaptation rights.
« J’ai appelé Florence pour tenter de la convaincre », a expliqué Juliette Binoche au cours d’une rencontre en visioconférence à laquelle ont participé quelques journalistes. « Elle m’a dit que la seule façon d’obtenir son accord serait qu’Emmanuel Carrère en fasse l’adaptation. Comme il était en train d’écrire un livre, j’ai organisé quelques dîners entre Florence, Emmanuel et moi afin de maintenir les braises, mais ce fut une espèce de tempête d’allers-retours pendant quelques années. Heureusement, le tournage a été beaucoup plus simple, beaucoup plus harmonieux. »
Une histoire d’amitié
Dans son récit autobiographique, Florence Aubenas raconte le travail d’enquête qu’elle a fait pendant six mois en se glissant parmi les plus démunis de la société, ceux qui tentent de survivre en acceptant de petits boulots pour des salaires de misère. Pour des raisons dramaturgiques, Emmanuel Carrère a choisi dans sa libre adaptation de se concentrer sur une histoire d’amitié sincère, jetée pourtant sur de fausses bases au départ. Marianne Winckler, qu’incarne Juliette Binoche, tisse en effet un lien tangible avec une camarade de travail, sans lui révéler sa véritable identité.
PHOTO FOURNIE PAR AXIA FILMS
Dans Ouistreham, libre adaptation d’un récit de Florence Aubenas, Juliette Binoche incarne une écrivaine se faisant embaucher comme femme de ménage afin d’écrire sur les conditions de travail précaires de celles exerçant ce métier.
« Je trouve que le mot “mensonge” est trop fort dans un cas comme celui-là, estime Juliette Binoche. Parce qu’il traduit quelque chose de mal, une trahison, une tricherie. Dans ce cas-ci, il s’agit plutôt d’une façon d’extirper une vérité. Quand j’ai vécu l’expérience de la rue pour Les amants du Pont-Neuf [de Leos Carax], without saying that I was an actress, some knew it, others didn’t. For Camille Claudel 1915 [de Bruno Dumont], I went to a hospital for the mentally handicapped with the same approach. It was not a lie to me because these experiences allowed me to get closer to these realities and to have an inner reference on what is true and what is not. To then be able to transpose it into a work. »
You have to reach the spectator in his consciousness, in his body, in his feelings. This link with reality also gives me the legitimacy to talk about it. Otherwise, where would this right come from? By reading books? Watching a documentary? Thinking about it ?
Juliette Binoche
Surrounded by non-professionals
Obviously, there is nothing anonymous about putting together a film. From the start, it was established that Juliette Binoche would be surrounded by non-professionals, recruited in Caen. Two characters from Florence Aubenas’ book play their own roles. Inexperienced as a filmmaker, Emmanuel Carrère, who hasn’t filmed anything since 2005, i.e. since The moustacheadaptation of one of his novels, entrusted the direction of actors to its main actress, with whom a bond of trust was quickly established, being herself from a modest family.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AXIA FILMS
Juliette Binoche is surrounded by several non-professional actresses.
“I took what I have,” says Juliette Binoche. I wanted these women to be able to expose their truth as well as possible. Emmanuel also told me from the start to take care of the game because he didn’t know anything about it. Without imposing anything, I took this responsibility. If I had sensed the slightest reluctance on their part, I would not have agreed to take it. And then, the physical work, I know. Cleaning, I know how to do it because I do it at home all the time. There is no small and big job. »
The underside of a sham
In an enterprise like the one in which the character embodied by Juliette Binoche in Ouistreham, it is important to consider the pain of those who may feel betrayed. According to the actress, the fact that Marianne – and Florence Aubenas by extension – finds her life easier after her investigation (unlike the women with whom she befriended under a false identity) would partly explain the reluctance of the journalist to give up the rights to his story.
“At the end of the day, Florence made money with her book,” she says. The people she tells the story of continue to work at the same salary. You can feel some guilt about it. It makes you think. What was important for me in this process was to raise awareness to make the invisible visible. This can be done by including these essential workers for society. It is up to us to include them, to re-humanize ourselves and to recognize them. »
Ouistrehamwhich has already attracted more than 400,000 spectators in France since its release two months ago, will be released in theaters on March 25 in Quebec.