On the occasion of the release of “L’Abbé Pierre – Une vie de combats”, here are five things to know about this biopic directed by Benjamin Lavernhe.
What is it about ? Born into a wealthy family, Henri Grouès was both a resistance fighter, a deputy, a defender of the homeless, a revolutionary and an iconoclast. From the benches of the National Assembly to the slums of the Parisian suburbs, his commitment to the weakest has earned him international fame. The creation of Emmaüs and the tidal wave of his unforgettable appeal in the winter of 54 made him an icon.
Yet every day he doubted his actions. His frailties, his suffering, his barely credible intimate life remained unknown to the general public. Revolted by poverty and injustice, often criticized, sometimes betrayed, Henri Grouès had a thousand lives and fought a thousand battles. He left his mark on History under the name he chose for himself: Abbé Pierre.
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They played Abbé Pierre
Before Benjamin Lavernhe, two other actors played Abbé Pierre in two fiction films: André Reybaz in Les Chiffonniers d’Emmaüs by Robert Darène in 1954, and Lambert Wilson in Hiver 54, l’abbé Pierre by Denis Amar in 1989.
Birth of the project
With the producers, Frédéric Tellier was thinking about a new film. They then discussed Abbé Pierre, a subject that could be a continuation of the director’s previous feature films (L’Affaire SK1, Save or Perish and Goliath). He remembers : “I never stop wondering about the meaning of evil, and the strength of life. About the conditioning of our lives. Why he will be lucky, and he not. Why she will suffer, and not her. Loneliness, Are injustices unchangeable? Do we repair the evil that hits us in the face, or do we transform it? Spontaneously, points “interest me” in the abbot, obviously beyond the icon that he represents, starting with his revolutionary side.”
“And then also childhood memories resurfaced for me: the emotion with which a member of my family told me that he had attended a conference of the abbot, for example. But all that is not enough to make a film. So before writing, I start by reading everything I can find – books, articles, etc. – about the abbot.”
Jérôme Prébois Benjamin Lavernhe
The choice Benjamin Lavernhe
Frédéric Tellier finds Benjamin Lavernhe After The SK1 Affair, centered on the hunt for serial killer Guy Georges. To play Abbé Pierre, the filmmaker was looking for an actor capable of creating mimicry while constructing a composition: “And capable of playing these numerous dialogues at great length because I love losing the actors in the dizziness of the text. I also wanted an actor who could be of all ages, so rather someone young who we would then age over time. “image. Finally an actor who is not a star so that he does not vampirize the character.”
“We therefore organized several casting sessions with different actors, including Benjamin. We had them play the speeches from the winter of 54 and from the Palais des Congrès. And from the outset, I was impressed by the immediate quality and the accuracy that Benjamin offered and I perceived especially through his energy how much he wanted the role. And then he hid it, but I saw his stage fright, and I like this proof of humility. From there, he I had to juggle my schedule at the Comédie-Française but I’m so happy that we managed to do it.”
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Find the angle
Finding the backbone of the film took a long time, to the point of worrying the producers to whom Frédéric Tellier explains that he had nothing concrete to read for almost a year. He says : “Because everything I read was more or less solely hagiography, or even legends written by the abbot himself or his relatives. What interests me, what interests the spectators I believe, is how could a human being accomplish everything that the abbot accomplished? What happened to him? Where did he go wrong? Did he felt alone? Was he afraid? Did he doubt? When did he break down? How did he experience it? Did he recover from it? I don’t I couldn’t find the answers to these questions anywhere.
The meeting with Laurent Desmard (private secretary of the abbot for 15 years and president of the Abbé Pierre Foundation), whom the producers introduced to the director, was decisive: “I spent a lot of time with him. He told me about moments, memories which are not in the “official literature” and which, I believe, he had not yet confided to anyone. He told me opened an incredible trunk of memories, emotions, complicities… It gave me to see and understand the intimate Abbé Pierre, his mode of operation, his origins. And I begin to write by being interested in the journey family, to failures, to the abbot’s doubts.”
Reunion with Emmanuelle Bercot
The film also highlights the character of Lucie Coutaz, who was Abbé Pierre’s secretary from the Second World War until his death. A role that Frédéric Tellier entrusted to Emmanuelle Bercot, whom he returned to after the thriller Goliath. The actress, who played this character for 40 years, remembers: “I was able to rely on the quality of the prosthetics and makeup work. Especially since the various necessary tests allow me to gradually get into the skin of the character, to work on the posture, the voice. But I’m not going to lie, seeing his aged face is still something dizzying.”
“I had to look at myself in a mirror only once and again in an extremely fleeting way. I also worked with a speech therapist. But it’s really the costumes and the makeup that play an essential role in this work. And her hair also, which were a real characteristic of this character.”