On the occasion of the release of “Comme parmagique”, with Kev Adams, Gérard Jugnot and Claire Chust, here are five things to know about this tender comedy by Christophe Barratier.
Released this week in our cinemas, As by Magic follows Victor, a young magician on the rise, who raises his daughter Lison alone. This is without counting Jacques, her whimsical father-in-law, who interferes against her opinion in the education of the little one. An improbable tandem whose referee will be Nina, Victor’s childhood friend, with a strong character.
world of illusion
Illusion is a universe that has interested Christophe Barratier since he was very young. He says : “I find this profession fascinating because it is based on tricks as old as time, often incredibly simple but which require skill and discipline. And then I like the barking side of good magicians: they are often excellent actors with real improvisation skills.”
“To build the character of Victor, I called on Fred Razon who is somewhat of the school of Gus (a young magician possessing, among other things, great dexterity in handling cards), the one who calls on humor.”
“Fred and Kev worked a lot on manual skill to be able to reproduce them on screen. Then, at the end of the film, Victor attempts a more spectacular number, specific to what we call the “grand illusion” …”
For the magic scenes, Christophe Barratier wanted to limit the use of tricks and special effects as much as possible: “Almost everything you see on screen was really done by Kev and Claire Chust who plays his friend-assistant. It required preparation and installation because they don’t have the dexterity of real magicians but everything is authentic”he specifies.
Birth of the project
As by Magic is the seventh feature film by Christophe Barratier. The latter was working on another project when producer Marc-Etienne Schwartz offered him this script, originally written by Serge Lamadie and Cyril Gelblat. He remembers :
“I was immediately very touched by the theme of the film… I myself am the father of two children and, having failed to make unions last with their mothers, I know what it means to be a single dad, I also have a fascinating but very demanding job, which requires a lot of sacrifices on a personal level, especially when you have to devote yourself to your loved ones, as is the case for Kev Adams in the film.”
Jean-Marie Leroy – 2023 MY PRODUCTIONS – ORANGE STUDIO – APOLLO FILMS DISTRIBUTION – M6 FILMS – MALEC PRODUCTION CPM-220 Gérard Jugnot and Kev Adams
Reunion with Gérard Jugnot
Christophe Barratier reunites with Gérard Jugnot for the fourth time after The Chorists, Faubourg 36 and The New War of the Buttons. “He embodies a certain figure specific to French cinema, the actor capable of playing “Mr. Everyman”. He is a great actor in the tradition of Christmas-Christmas Or Bourvil : actors with whom we can identify and whose presence is always reassuring.”
“We have a common history since the incredible adventure of The Chorists which took us to the Oscars. It united us for life and I believe that this common road is not over”says the director.
Kev Adams Dad!
Kev Adams plays Victor, a young widowed magician and brand new dad. A first in the career of the actor, who had never before played the role of a father: “It’s a moment in life that I’ve wanted to approach for a long time. I don’t want to lock myself into the image of the “young man” that I have played a lot… It’s was the right time to become a young father on screen, especially since at 32 I am quite old enough!”
“This role allowed me to tackle other things and learn a lot about being a dad, especially the fact of feeling all this love for a child when you yourself did not feel it in your life… It was a challenge that interested me.”
Claire Chust in the game!
Note the presence of Claire Chust, known for her character of Leslie in the series Scènes deménages, who plays Victor’s sister in Comme parmagique. Christophe Barratier explains: “I sometimes spoke to her frankly on the set because she needed confidence facing two “heavyweights” like Kev and Gérard but she understood everything like a clock.”
“Her role is not trivial: Nina grew up with Victor, they are two children born under X who have never left each other. There is no love story between them. Just an unwavering friendship. the screen, the trio works wonderfully.”