Samuel Le Bihan is a born actor. It’s true that at the beginning, he wanted to be a painter, which he ultimately became over time, since he managed to create with all his films and all his roles, a kind of painting that corresponds to it, which is very coherent. There was Norbert in Captain Conan by Bertrand Tavernier in 1996 and then after everything followed with notably The Pact of the Wolves by Christophe Gans in 2001, which was a very strong element in his career. Today, he is at the heart of the TV movie Alone by Pierre Isoard, which he will present as a preview and out of competition at the La Baule Film & Film Music Festival, which takes place from June 26 to 30. He is also a member of the jury and Claude Lelouch will be the guest of honor at this tenth edition, to celebrate his 60-year career.
franceinfo: Alone, this is the story of Yves Parlier and Rémy Fière, authors of a book recounting their Vendée Globe, in particular that of the navigator. This incredible man who dismasted, who repaired his mast alone before crossing the finish line 33 days after the winner. This film confronts us with ourselves. We wonder what we are ultimately chasing when we create this kind of challenge.
Samuel Le Bihan: What’s funny is that even when we ask Yves Parlier why he didn’t give up, why he absolutely insisted on repairing his boat alone and continuing the race, he is unable to answer. He was compelled by something compelling: he had to finish. And I believe that that’s what life is, you have to feed it with passions and that’s what makes us go through life with fire, with desire, with curiosity, with encounters.
It’s a playground and ultimately, maybe all of this is useless, but perhaps it’s what’s useless, which serves something. Artists, for example, we are not treating people, we are not creating tools that will help the planet. But ultimately, it’s our vision of the world. It’s a worldview that is felt with people who are perhaps a little more sensitive.
“The world is dry and I find that artists are there to connect you between the conscious and the unconscious. Perhaps to put everything back in order, a bit like dreams are to sleep, a way for the brain to put things away. things in their place.”
Samuel Le Bihanat franceinfo
You lived in Brittany and when we see you in the film, we have the impression that you have sea legs. Did you find yourself in this role? In any case, in the attitude of Yves Parlier, the fact of never giving up.
So, you should know that I come from a family of sailors. My grandfather was a fisherman, my great-grandfather too, but they were sailing fishermen. My father did it and so he taught me to sail. When I was a teenager, his big dream was to find a boat and take us away. We lived in the Paris suburbs and during the holidays, we were in Brittany and he took us sailing, he taught us how to sail.
And there, we went sailing again, but then, be careful, it’s not leisure sailing, it’s sport sailing. And it was hard, I had never experienced that. I discovered something. Even the director, Pierre Isoard, had just done a little sailing. And this story fascinated us, we said to ourselves: “Come on, let’s do it“He wrote the script, he directed the film and we managed to convince the network to give us money, but in truth, we didn’t know if we would make it. We didn’t know at all . And then we brought back a day of filming, then a second and a third. Each film brings you something special. It can be beautiful memories or beautiful encounters. Seul, cIt was an experience, the desire to experience something linked to our profession, but to experience it strongly.
In the film, your character doubts. He thinks back to his childhood, especially when he started sailing and dreaming of adventures. What did you dream about as a child?
When I went to college, I don’t know, maybe it was a way of making myself interesting, I told everyone: you’ll see, later, I’ll be famous, you’ll see me on television. It’s funny that so many years later, this desire, this need is realized. This is completely crazy. I think I needed to show that I existed. I often say it, I feel like I needed to climb to the top of the hill to plant the “Le Bihan” standard, to say, we are something. It is the need to exist, to take a place in this society.
“I wanted to change my destiny, I wanted it to look like something else.”
Samuel Le Bihanat franceinfo
You are a member of the jury of the La Baule Film & Film Music Festival. Is it hard to have to judge other people’s work?
It’s still unfair, actually. Whatever happens, it will just be the sensitivity of a jury. All these prizes in the artistic world obviously allow us to raise awareness of works that we wouldn’t even have thought of. The fact that it is selective is worth it because artistically, there is food, there is something to keep, but in any case, the result, whatever happens, will always be very unfair.
Do you finally get ready to present Alone in La Baule? Because we feel that this film is particularly close to your heart.
Yes, I’m really delighted that he put it in the selection, so not official since I’m on the jury and I can’t vote for my film. But on the other hand, it will be presented to the public. It pleases me and it scares me. In fact, we always use character masks to talk about ourselves, but sometimes more than others. And there, Yves Parlier’s mask is, perhaps, why I did this job, quite simply.