Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. This evening: a comedy with Gérard Lanvin and Benoît Poelvoorde.
Inspired by the many mismatched duos in the films of Francis Veber or Jean-Marie Poiré, Thomas Langmann wrote the screenplay for Le Boulet, which is based on the same recipe: the two characters this time are Moltès and Reggio, respectively an inmate addicted to the lottery and his clumsy prison guard validating his ballots. Both escape to Africa, having a gangster on their heels, when Moltès learns that he has won the jackpot and that he suspects Reggion’s wife of having stolen the winning ticket…
For the first time in their career, Gérard Lanvin and Benoît Poelvoorde are reunited on screen. At their side, José Garcia embodies the antagonist – and would almost steal the show. In addition to these prestigious headliners, The ball also relies on major resources (the budget is estimated at almost 27 million euros!): natural scenery, helicopters, waterfalls and explosions are on the agenda.
The film is co-directed by Alain Berbérian (The City of Fear), who was in charge of the part shot in Morocco and Tunisia, and Frédéric Forestier, who took care of the scenes taking place in Paris. Among them, the incredible scene of the Ferris Wheel on Place de la Concorde during a chase between Gérard Lanvin and a policeman. We see the Ferris Wheel detach from its axis, roll in the Tuileries Garden, then crash to the ground.
This sequence, which cost 2.4 million euros alone, contains 150 shots including 70 with special effects – the whole having required a month of work. To the few shots actually shot on the Place de la Concorde were added a model, a reconstruction of the premises and a 3D animation of the wheel, all supervised by the director of special effects Christian Guillon.
Released in 2002, this explosive cocktail with crazy situations and hilarious dialogues brought together more than 3 million spectators in theaters.
The ball by Alain Berbérian and Frédéric Forestier with Pierre Zaoui, Gérard Lanvin, Benoît Poelvoorde…
From 10 years old
Tonight on TF1 Séries Films at 9 p.m.