This evening, Arte is broadcasting “Les enchantés”, a moving film about the relationship between Luce, a six-year-old girl, and her mentally deficient father Thierry. For Allociné, Gregory Montel spoke about this moving family story.
Can a father’s love for his daughter be enough? How to grow, learn and flourish with a deficient dad? These are the questions that the film Les Enchantés attempts to answer.
Loosely adapted from the novel The Remained by Jeanne Benameur, Les Enchantés follows the story of Thierry (Grégory Montel), a man suffering from a mental deficiency since birth and who raises his six-year-old daughter Luce (Daphné Richard) alone. If they are accomplices and united, this father and his daughter are above all linked by an unfailing love. But the little bubble they live in is about to burst when Luce enters first grade and becomes aware of her father’s disability.
How do you grow up when you are torn between your thirst for learning and the unfailing love you have for your dad? Fearing that knowledge would forever distance her from her father, Luce decides not to learn anymore. However, it won’t take long for institutions to get involved.
It is therefore through Luce’s eyes that we follow this moving story. Without ever sinking into pathos or mawkishness, Les Enchantés finds its balance thanks to a delicate, nuanced storyline as well as impeccable production.
While Gregory Montel delivers a breathtaking performance, young Daphné Richard is stunning. Accomplices, the actors manage without any difficulty to draw us into this story that is as magnificent as it is moving.
Met last September during the La Rochelle Fiction Festival, Grégory Montel, the interpreter of Thierry, spoke to Allociné about this film which should leave no one indifferent.
How did you approach this project?
Gregory Montel : I was very scared and I really thought about making this film. I didn’t really feel capable of it at first.
Was it the role of Thierry that scared you?
Yes. And then who am I to talk about someone I’m not? And at the same time, I’m an actor so it’s my job to immerse myself in the skin of another. I really tried myself. Many actors had already refused the role. Finally, I told myself that I had to go and it wasn’t that complicated after all.
What appealed to you about the script?
I liked the story and that it was treated a bit like a tale. I immediately understood that Stanislas Carré de Malberg, the director and screenwriter of the film, wanted to be realistic in terms of the game but that we were going to allow ourselves to be in something of the order of a tale where the We are moving away from the truth a little.
I’m a dad, I really liked this father’s relationship with his daughter too. There is a 38-year gap between Thierry and Luce but they are ultimately almost the same age. He may have this natural authority of a dad over his daughter and at the same time he can get angry like a classmate by telling her: “you are mean”. This relationship, between equals, really interested me.
In this film, you play Thierry, a man with mental deficiency. How do you prepare for such a role?
I watched a lot of films to see what I wanted to do and, above all, not to do. I spoke with doctors and specialist educators. I also went to a home to talk to people with mainly mental disabilities. I soaked it all up to adapt it in my own way.
Thierry is an individual in his own right. He has his own ways of acting. He doesn’t walk straight so I leaned forward a little for his gait. I also spoke softly so that he had his own diction.
What message do you hope to convey through this film?
I don’t know if I’m not shooting myself in the foot by saying this but I believe that, fundamentally, this film has no other message than that of experiencing love in the moment.
How was the collaboration with Daphné Centoni with whom you display superb chemistry on screen?
We tried to meet well in advance and see each other a lot. I spent my time trying to make the situation as natural as possible without infantilizing it too much. Which didn’t prevent Daphne from sometimes being a little afraid of me. It’s normal, there are situations like that in the film. And then it happened that I inflated it because I’m a little talkative on set. She needed a little calm at times (laughs).
But we always managed to find our moments and moments. We were still lucky enough to shoot this film in seven weeks, which is no small feat for a 90-minute TV movie. We had time for ourselves, to seek out some slightly exceptional moments, stronger relationships between Daphné and me. We weren’t in a hurry. It allowed us to keep the lovely moments where we both wanted to be.
Have you seen the film and what did you think of it?
I admit to you that I was very afraid. I see all the imperfections but overall, I’ve been told it works so that reassures me. I want the film to work and for the audience to get into the story.
Do you have any other projects you can tell us about?
I’m going to play Le Signal, the first French series from Paramount +. I will be with Clotilde Hesme and Sarah Pachoud. It is an adaptation of Maxime Chattam’s novel directed by Slimane-Baptiste Berhoun and Karim Ouaret.