After Goodbye up there, Colors of Fire is the adaptation of the second part of Pierre Lemaitre’s literary trilogy. His arrival on myCANAL made us want to compose the dream cast of the final chapter: Mirror of our sorrows…
Colors of Fire is available on myCANAL.
It’s been 10 years since Pierre Lemaitre won the Goncourt prize for Goodbye up there. A success such that in 2017, Albert Dupontel wrote and directed his adaptation to the cinema, with a triumph at least as impactful: more than 2 million admissions, 5 César, and today still the status of the best filmmaker’s film for a large part of the public, with a rating of 4.3 on AlloCiné. But the Goodbye Up There story doesn’t end there.
Goodbye up there, Colors of Fire…
2018 and 2020, Pierre Lemaitre lifts the veil on the sequels of the novel: Colors of the fire, then Mirror of our sorrows, thus composing the literary trilogy The Children of Disaster. Released in November 2022 at the cinema, and already available on myCANAL, the adaptation of the 2nd part is this time signed Clovis Cornillac (who also appears in front of the camera), and stages Léa Drucker, Benoît Poelvoorde or Alice Isaaz in a story of revenge and legacy in the Paris of the interwar period.
… and Mirror of our sorrows?
A feature film written and dialogued by Pierre Lemaitre, as tasty as it is fascinating, and which made us want to take an interest in the possible adaptation of the last volume of the writer’s famous saga. After the 1920s and 1930s, Mirror of Our Sorrows immerses us in what has been called The Phoney War, to meet ever more singular characters. But then, who could camp the heroes of this final chapter on the screen? To our (and your) predictions!
Louise: Adele Exarchopoulos
DR
Granddaughter confidant of Édouard Péricourt in Goodbye up there – played by Héloïse Balster in the film by Albert Dupontel – Louise grew up well in Mirror of our sorrows. Having become a teacher, the orphan is now a young woman who plays the main role of the latest novel. It is she who opens it, in a scene where she runs naked and traumatized in the streets of Paris under the German bombs.
At the same time determined, fragile, moving, combative, sensitive and very sensual, Louise could very well be interpreted by Adèle Exarchopoulos who has revealed the strength and variety of her acting many times.
Mr. Jules: Bouli Lanners
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A badly groomed bear with a physique as imposing as his tenderness and a heart in his hand that he tries to hide behind a gruff personality…: it’s hard to see anyone other than Bouli Lanners behind this description.
Revealed to French viewers thanks to the blouse of the endearing Olivier Brun in Hippocrate, before winning all the honors in La Nuit du 12, the Belgian actor could perfectly blend in with the costume of this bistro owner from Montmartre and confidant of Louise .
Gabriel: Bastien Ughetto
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Currently on the poster of Un coup de maître (just next to Bouli Lanners), seen in Paris Police 1905 or in Adieu les cons, Bastien Ughetto seems to be the perfect choice to interpret Gabriel in Mirror of our sorrows. The latter is a neat math teacher who lacks confidence, but who will have to put on the uniform of a soldier. At first very uncomfortable, he will gradually assert himself in contact with Raoul, and above all win us over with his humanity.
Raoul: Raphael Quenard
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It’s hard to miss the Raphaël Quenard phenomenon in this year 2023. He has become the new face of French cinema after his exploits in Cut!, Smoking makes you cough, November, Breakage dog, Cash and Yannick, and soon in tandem with Jonathan Cohen in Sentinel, the actor succeeds marvelously in imposing his own touch, between fragility, humor, singularity, all topped off with a decidedly fascinating banter.
A palette that perfectly suits the character of Raoul in Mirror of Our Sorrows, a rebellious, reckless and schemer Gaul who takes Gabriel for his suffering in the army, before becoming his brother at heart.
Desire: Vincent Lacoste
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Antihero of Mirror of Our Sorrows and humorous strength of the book, Désiré has this nonchalant elegance, this mystery and this ease that are reminiscent of Vincent Lacoste. We can already see from here the actor taking everything in his path in the guise of this chameleon man, who passes himself off as a priest unleashing the crowds, a formidable civil servant or even a tenor of the bar.
Fernand: Pio Marmai
DR
Described as a policeman who has to lead men fleeing Paris to their prisons, solid, upright, conscientious and very expressive, and driven by his love for his sick wife, Fernand would be a first-choice role for Pio Marmaï. We can imagine the actor perfectly combining scenes of violence and those of emotion, as he knows how to bring out his robust goodness on the screen.