Reunited for the first time on screen, Fabrice Luchini and Catherine Frot play opposite each other in “A Happy Man” by Tristan Séguéla, a film that tackles the subject of transidentity under the guise of popular comedy. Encounter.
Concerned with traditions and reluctant to change, Jean Leroy is the mayor of a small town located in the North of France. Determined to win a new mandate, his life takes another turn during a simple lunch with his wife. Facing him, Edith reveals to him her need to transition to be who she has always been, Eddy.
This sequence marks the turning point of Tristan Séguéla’s film, A Happy Man. The promise of this project is simple: to take on a delicate and important subject, that of transidentity, under the prism of popular comedy. A daring bet.
The spectator experiences the situation through the point of view of the main character, played by Fabrice Luchini. “What happens to Jean in this city that has changed so little is a contemporary phenomenon and it is this encounter that is the strength of the feature film.”, explains the director.
Jérôme Prébois – 2023 Albertine Productions – Gaumont – France 2 Cinema Philippe Katerine, Artus, Fabrice Luchini and Catherine Frot in “A Happy Man”.
“Comedy is a great way to talk about this kind of subject.he continues. At the start of the film, the viewers have differences on the issue and the interest is not that they come out with the same point of view, but if they all laugh at the same time, then they may be brought to review certain received ideas and their positions.”
As he explores his identity, Eddy joins a support group. In these sequences, the film features professional transgender actors and actresses. An effort that deserves to be highlighted. Among this handful of actors, there is Camille Le Gall. She plays Carole, Eddy’s confidante.
“I discovered her in a short filmremembers Tristan Séguéla. She had an incredible presence. I loved working with her, I gave her a role in the series that I later directed, wonder manfor Netflix.”
The most important thing is the twists.
Of course, A Happy Man can be thought-provoking, but the film is not primarily aimed at an audience already familiar with these themes. Its mission is above all to promise a good moment of comedy to the spectators. This is what Fabrice Luchini thinks: “The film deals with a huge subject and approached without contempt, but for me, the most important thing is the twists and turns. That’s the success of the film: there is this new hypothesis of life, but we keep this eternal comic root.”
For the first time, the actor gives the reply to Catherine Frot. It is on his character, Eddy, that all the situations in the film are based. “Catherine and I, we come from the theaterrecalls Fabrice Luchini. We are on the boards every night and we practice our craft with the hope that this science of comedy can take effect so that the public will be happy.”
Interview by Thomas Desroches, in Alpe d’Huez, in January 2023.
A Happy Man, at the cinema this February 15.