“Roy Dupuis is by far my favorite actor in the world,” says Guy Maddin on the phone, a few days before the Quebec premiere of his latest film at the Festival du nouveau cinéma. With his co-writers and co-directors, brothers Evan and Galen Johnson, he clearly had fun, since the Quebec actor shares the screen with none other than Denis Ménochet and Cate Blanchett — an unusual cast of which he alone has the secret.
The actors come together to each play a G7 leader, during a summit in Germany. While they write their official press release together in the middle of a global crisis, the nature of which is never specified, they isolate themselves and end up getting lost in the forest. Under threat from the undead and a giant brain, they navigate through passions and conflicts, determined to finalize their declaration at all costs.
Despite its absurd tone, “the film is inspired by very real political issues”, underlines Guy Maddin. At a time when we are observing a loss of influence of the G7 on the international scene, Manitoba filmmakers have imagined this maximalist allegory, in which the group of leaders literally gets bogged down in the mud, incapable of managing the crisis that he believes he can solve it alone.
“We also wanted to cause surprise by imagining a world where the Canadian Prime Minister is the hero,” explains Maddin. In this key role, Roy Dupuis saves characters in distress and of course becomes an object of desire for others. I love Roy, because he seems so honest and innocent, while still proving to be a formidable actor. His character, emotional, stubborn and unpredictable, suits him particularly well. But like his playing partners, he doesn’t necessarily model himself on the traits of real politicians. »
The director of the surrealist masterpiece My Winnipeg (2007) is not his first collaboration with the actor nor with the Johnson brothers. Dupuis was notably featured in their film The Forbidden Room (2015), whose strange fantasy divided critics. ” Although Rumors is one of my most conventional works, notes Guy Maddin, that did not prevent me from having fun and going deep into the absurd. »
Sexual tension
“My previous projects were sometimes so strange that they marginalized me in the eyes of a large part of the public,” he laments. This is why, this time, we wanted to make a more unifying and linear satire. It was also the perfect excuse to surround yourself with international stars. I had a lot of fun working with them. »
It owes its star-studded cast, which also includes Charles Dance in the role of the American president and Alicia Vikander as president of the European Commission, to its producer, director Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar). “I was so touched when he wrote to tell me that I had been one of his favorite filmmakers growing up,” says Maddin. When our script was already written, he told me he wanted to produce the film. Ari quickly put us in touch with Cate Blanchett and Denis Ménochet, then these two big names helped us confirm everyone else. »
The chemistry between the characters is surprising. Denis Ménochet proves very endearing in his role as a clumsy French president. A scene where he is injured in the forest and is carried in the arms of Roy Dupuis particularly promises to mark the memory of moviegoers. And what about the sexual tension between the Canadian Prime Minister and the German Chancellor, played by Cate Blanchett at her most comical, who must have perfected a nice accent for the occasion.
However, the prize for the most beautiful accent in the film undoubtedly goes to Charles Dance. In his role as a weakened old president, reminiscent of Joe Biden, he speaks with a British accent throughout, for no reason. “We had clarified this aspect from the first versions of the script, and when we had it read by those around us, we were told that it was completely stupid,” explains Guy Maddin. And that’s exactly the kind of comment that tells me I’m going in the right direction. »
Rumors is presented on Thursday October 10 at the Festival du nouveau cinéma and released in theaters on Friday October 18.