The Lumière Festival in Lyon is coming out of the dustbin of heritage films. Among these treasures, “Le Voyage du Père” by Denys de la Patellière is in the spotlight with a legend of French cinema: Fernandel. Through this little-known film, we rediscover the actor and the city in other facets.
The arrival of autumn marks the start of the Lumière Festival in Lyon, dedicated to heritage films and cinematographic rediscoveries.
“The Father’s Journey” is a perfect example of these unjustly overlooked treasures. Now brought back to the light of the festival, the film by Denys de la Patellière and the legendary Fernandel will be able to meet a new generation of spectators.
The other face of Fernandel
If “The Father’s Journey” did not achieve the success hoped for at the time, this is probably because Fernandel was known more for his comedic roles than dramatic ones (“The Cow and the Prisoner”, “The Little World of Don Camillo”, The Butter Cooking”…)
In 1966, five years before his death, the French favorite actor took the exceptional decision to put aside his grimaces to play a darker character. Initially, the role was to be played by Jean Gabin. But only Fernandel could bring an essential emotional dimension to the film. Speaking of his friend, he will admit that Gabin is “A tough guy, I’m a soft guy.”
“This film represents perhaps the greatest dramatic film I have made in my entire film career.”
Fernandel
Throughout the filming, the touching Fernandel plays a wounded father. Originally from the lands of Jura, he leaves his countryside in search of his daughter, before discovering that she is prostituting herself to survive in the streets of Lyon. We will follow him through his doubts during his research but also his fears of reunion, oscillating between pride and sorrow, he transmits, through the screen, the unconditional love of a father for his daughter.
A journey through time
With “The Father’s Journey“, adapted from a novel by Bernard Clavel, the Lumière Festival offers spectators a return to the 1960s. Following in Fernandel’s footsteps, we plunge back into the Lyon of a bygone era, before the transformations brought by Louis Pradel, mayor of Lyon from 1957 to 1976. Filmed along the banks of the Saône, the film is full of archives of the city’s heritage. It allows us to rediscover emblematic places, such as the Halls des Cordeliers, which were the beating heart of the city, far from Part-Dieu, or the footbridge of the Palais de Justice.
The Light Festival will last until October 22. The last two screenings to see the film take place on Wednesday October 18 at 4:30 p.m. at the UGC cinema in Confluence, in the presence of Jean Ollé-Laprune. And Saturday October 21 at 4 p.m. at the Institut Lumière (Hangar).