In theaters since Wednesday, “Les Rascals” immerses us in the Paris of the 80s and follows a gang of young people from the suburbs caught in a spiral of violence.
The Rascals of Jimmy Laporal-Tresor
With Jonathan Feltre, Angelina Woreth, Missoum Slimani…
What is it about ? The Rascals, a gang of young people from the suburbs, take advantage of the carefree life of the 80s. At a record store, one of them recognizes a skin that had attacked him and decides to take justice into his own hands. Witnessing the scene, the skin’s younger sister approaches an extremist student who promises revenge against the Rascals. As the far right gains ground across the country, the band of friends gets caught up in a spiral. It’s the end of innocence…
The Black Dragons
Jean-Philippe Beltel
The Rascals takes place in 1984, the year when the FN made its first big score on a national scale, with nearly 11% in the European elections and 10 Euro-deputies. While neo-Nazi Skinheads took over concerts and occupied the streets, in particular several Parisian districts (Les Halles, Saint-Michel, Convention…), the Black Dragons were born in 1983.
This anti-fascist band formed in the northwest Parisian suburbs is inspired by the Afro-American branch founded at the end of the 70s and strongly influenced by the Black Panther Party. Its goal is to drive out racist groups.
popular cinema
Lea Renner
Jimmy Laporal-Tresor wanted to move towards a typical 80s cinema, both popular and carrying a political message: “Today they look like political films, but back then they were made like popular films. What interested these directors was, above all other ambitions, the relationship with the viewer. I think of filmmakers like Costa Gavras, who have always wanted to put on a great show without failing to infuse it with a vision of the world. They are classified on the side of a very intellectual cinema, a cinema of ideas, but the experience of the spectator was crucial for them.”
An ambiguous female character
Lea Renner
With the character of Frédérique, Jimmy Laporal-Tresor wanted to create a complex character, with whom the public has an ambivalent relationship. It is rare to see a female character choosing political hatred. She is first presented as a victim, before she undertakes her revenge and feeds on hatred: “What the film shows is that there are people who manipulate frustrations and anger and turn them into political weapons. That’s the real danger.”
The representation of the extreme right
Lea Renner
With Frédérique, the face of the extreme right changes from the usual representations. “In films, far-right politicians and activists are often discredited, as if their racism came from the fact that they were stupid. It’s dangerous to let people believe that. They are human, crossed by emotions and they have chosen to take the path of hatred”explains the director.
He underlines : “In reality, it is impossible to schematize people who espouse hateful beliefs. It could happen to any human being who has seen his confusion or his distress exploited by ill-intentioned people.”
Form the band of the Rascals
Denis Guignebourg / Bestimage
With casting director Marine Albert, the director started casting well before filming, in October 2020: “We took advantage of the casting of Black Soldier [son court-métrage précédent, ndlr] to see certain actors and actresses and reserve a place for them in Les Rascals. The first step was to find individualities that worked on their own. We have long heard the actors individually and when our choice was only four or five actors for each role, we began to work in groups, on important associations, such as Mandale / Boboche, Mitch and his grandmother or Mitch / Rudy.”
Jimmy Laporal-Tresor paid particular attention to the language of his characters: “From the casting, I paid attention to it and I sometimes ruled out very good actors but with an accent that was too current and probably very difficult to erase, even while working there.”