Antoine Bertrand is one of the headliners of Three times nothing, a French social comedy in which the actor portrays a homeless Quebecer living in Paris. For director Nadège Loiseau, who also wrote the screenplay, it was unthinkable to make this film without the participation of her favorite actor. Maintenance.
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
It was 10 years ago. At that time, Nadège Loiseau had already signed a short film as a director, but the prospect of one day being able to write and direct a feature film then took on the appearance of a still distant dream. Simple spectator, she goes to a room where we present Starbucks, Ken Scott’s film which, in France, attracted around 465,000 spectators. Antoine Bertrand was a real revelation for her.
“I don’t really know how to explain it, but I came out of this screening telling myself that one day I would meet this guy”, explains Nadège Loiseau during a telephone interview granted to The Press. “A few years later, I wrote The little tenant, my first feature, and when I was asked which actor I was thinking of for one of the characters, I immediately mentioned Antoine. The producers were a little taken aback at first — they didn’t think an actor would agree to come from so far away — but they were good players. So I sent the script to Antoine, who answered me very quickly. It all started from there. »
In all his quebecitude
The complicity developed very quickly between the filmmaker and the actor. This first experience proved to be so exciting that Nadège Loiseau would now find it difficult to imagine her cinematographic universe without the Quebec actor. Three times nothinghis new feature film, was also written specifically for Antoine Bertrand, as well as his two playing partners: Philippe Rebbot and Côme Levin.
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Nadege Loiseau
If Antoine hadn’t been free, or if he hadn’t wanted to make the film, I would have preferred to give up rather than do it with someone else.
Nadege Loiseau
One of the firm wishes of the filmmaker was to honor the actor in all his quebecitude, without falling into clichés. This balance is rather rarely seen in French cinema. In Three times nothingwe do not really know how the character played by Antoine Bertrand, nicknamed Brindille, found himself starting a new life in France, but we suspect that he has been there for a while.
“Me, I love Antoine, all Quebecois that he is, insists the director. I like the man he is, I like the accent, in short, I wanted him completely, as in himself. In The little tenant, he had no real reason to be there as a Quebecer, and I didn’t care. I believe that the fact of not being the Québécois on duty in my stories pleases Antoine as well. Obviously, I always find a small justification for the writing so that all of this remains credible, but I play Antoine because he is Antoine and because he is a great actor, not because there is a character from Quebec. in history. »
Social comedy set in the world of the left behind, Three times nothing recounts the adventures of three homeless people who have to share a large sum won in the lottery. When you live without address and without status, the simple act of claiming your due can feel like an extreme obstacle course, with a few shovels in the face as a bonus. Nadège Loiseau thus wanted to tell a humanist tale, focusing her story on people who are “nothing” in the eyes of society. Hence the title.
“The situation of the homeless [sans domicile fixe] I’ve been concerned about since I was little,” she says. Through this film, at the same time, I question the way I look at them, because you never really know what to say to them or how to talk to them. It is also a political subject, because one wonders why governments never manage to take good care of these people. Fortunately, the associations do a mad job with few means, but the State has completely disengaged from the issue. »
fade behind
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Philippe Rebbot, Antoine Bertrand and Côme Levin in Three times nothinga film by Nadège Loiseau
Inspired by three homeless people she knew while preparing her first feature film, Nadège Loiseau wanted to write her screenplay for actors who did not have any specific identifications with the French public.
“If Antoine had in France the notoriety of an Omar Sy [à qui Antoine Bertrand a donné la réplique dans Demain tout commence, d’Hugo Gélin]I don’t think he could have played a homeless man in Three times nothing. As it’s a film where the actors have to hide behind their character, it was in my opinion impossible to do it with stars. People wouldn’t have believed it. I probably would have had a bigger budget, more filming time and increased media exposure, but then what would I really have had to offer? In order not to lose anything in terms of credibility, it was necessary to move forward in this story in all humility, and the actors understood this well. »
In this regard, the director is very curious about the reaction that Quebec spectators will have when faced with Three times nothinggiven the great notoriety that the interpreter of Junior Bougon and Louis Cyr has with us.
“Fortunately, I didn’t think too much about it when I embarked on this adventure,” she says. Today, the French cinema community identifies Antoine well and I am convinced that he will now be in great demand in France as well. »
Three times nothing hits theaters March 18. Antoine Bertrand and Nadège Loiseau will be present at two screenings open to the public in Montreal: Saturday, March 19, at 7 p.m., at the Quartier Latin cinema, and Sunday, March 20, at 7 p.m., at the Beaubien cinema.