Stuffed in their dark dresses and capines, Sarah and Clara walk in the woods. Had it not been for the rumor of automobiles driving on some distant road, one might believe the two sisters to have come straight out of the 19the century. This is because adolescent girls live within a fundamentalist Christian community cut off from the world. This cult-like movement, with its fear-driven diktats, is all they know. But one day, Sarah disappears. Terrified, Clara refuses to forget him, as her parents order her to do. Conducting an investigation, she flees to the city, believing her eldest to have taken refuge with Louise, an ungodly aunt. Initiatory story combined with the feminine, On earth as in heaven marks the return of filmmaker Nathalie Saint-Pierre.
For the record, we owe to the latter the very, very beautiful and poignant Catimini, a 2013 ensemble film following little girls and teenagers in different foster homes. Unlike this previous feature film, however, On earth as in heaven was not initiated by the director, who co-wrote the screenplay with actress and author Marika Lhoumeau (Becoming Margot), based on an original idea of the latter.
“This film would not exist without Marika,” says Nathalie Saint-Pierre from the outset, interviewed in anticipation of the release on April 12.
“Marika had this idea while she was studying at INIS [Institut national de l’image et du son], because something similar happened in his family. She therefore began to develop this project, proposed it to a producer, then, in December 2015, she approached me, with the agreement of this producer, so that I could produce and direct the film. »
The two women then began rewriting work in order to improve what was initially a short film. “As Marika is basically an actress, she has a good ear, and her dialogues were excellent. But I think that at one point, it was as if she realized that the resonance with the subject, that is to say the weight of a religious education, was less strong than she had believed. The community was there, but it wasn’t clear if it was religious or new age… And in short, after a year, Marika, I think, saw that I was passionate, and she handed over the project to me. But most of the milestones were there: I could never have made this film without her. And I couldn’t have done it either without Lou Thompson, who is extraordinary as Clara. »
Subsequently, Nathalie Saint-Pierre carried out another rewrite, clarified the religious straitjacket and imagined this sister who would have vanished into nature, among other things.
The birth of doubt
However, Clara’s quest to find Sarah gradually became a quest for herself, the young girl seeing her values and convictions shaken with every minute or so she spent in the metropolis. So much so that, little by little, first reluctantly, then, with curiosity helping, Clara comes to doubt everything that has been hammered into her since her early childhood.
This notion of doubt closely resonates with Nathalie Saint-Pierre, who confides:
“I remember this teacher, the somewhat jaded type, who told us one day, during a lesson: “So, the creation of the world… A. God created the world in six days. B. The Big Bang…” And for the third hypothesis, she launched: “C. We do not know”. It was so rare, at least in my time, to hear an adult admit in a class that they didn’t know something. I remember that it was like an explosion in my mind. I was a shy child with a stutter, but after that I confronted the priest in the confessional — confession was compulsory at my school. He was furious and answered me in an absurd way, and therefore not convincing at all. »
To summarize the filmmaker about this anecdote, the memory of which was invited into the conception of the film: “What interested me, what spoke to me the most, was to show this adolescent girl as if she had just come out of a another century, which experiences a succession of first times; show the evolution of his outlook and the birth of doubt. »
A space of your own
In this regard, it is interesting to observe the evolution of the character of Clara who, initially, judges her aunt from the height of her convictions instilled and held to be immutable truths. Thus, to each question from her aunt Louise that disturbs her certainties, the teenager responds by regurgitating some dogma learned by heart.
But precisely, as Clara observes and learns more about this world about which she still knew nothing not so long ago, her attitude changes. From then on, the relationship with her aunt transforms, and it is now Clara who asks questions, now aware that she does not have all the answers, or finally, that those she has are not necessarily all valid.
“Louise has several faults, but she does not claim to have the truth,” notes Nathalie Saint-Pierre.
“As for Clara, she is ignorant, but she is intelligent. As soon as she begins to have a little confidence, she is able to argue. She doesn’t just trade one speech for another, not at all. For the first time, with this aunt, Clara has a space to exercise her freedom of thought. »
And his freedom at all.
The film On earth as in heaven hits theaters on April 12.