Presented at Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2022, “Nos Cérémonies” is Simon Rieth’s first feature film. A daring and mysterious film that takes French cinema to new ground. Meeting with the director.
At only 27 years old, Simon Rieth has already made six short films and he signs, with Nos Cérémonies, his first film. A tragic tale where the boredom of a summer mingles with the experiments of two brothers who kill each other to better revive each other.
This strangeness, presented at Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2022, manages to stand out from what French cinema usually offers. The director mixes drama with fantasy while offering a learning story. Everything is carried by two brothers, Raymond and Simon Baur, two revelations.
Their relationship is essential because fraternity is one of the major themes of Simon Rieth’s work. Since his beginnings, he has never stopped exploring this subject, inspired by the fusional relationship he has with his own brother.
Our Ceremonies is a personal project born in the memories of his summers spent in Royan with his family. It is in this city located on the Atlantic coast that the plot takes place. After their father’s death, Noah and Tony return to the resort and reunite with a childhood sweetheart, Cassandra.
From an early age, the two heroes hide a secret: Tony is able to die and be resurrected by his brother. “This ritual is for me a metaphor for brotherly loveexplain Simon Rieth. It’s a love so powerful that it crosses all limits.”
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To tell this story, he decides to turn to Greek tragedy. “I wanted to start from a classic formula to create a particular universe, unique in its kind”, he continues. On the screen, the colors are saturated, the shots instantly permeate the retina.
“I wanted to look for the shine, let it all be too muchexplains the filmmaker. This is also the case for the costumes of the characters, I wanted them to look like suns. We had to go there, not be afraid and avoid restraint.Simon Rieth cites John Ford’s Prisoner of the Desert as a visual inspiration.
Finding the actors was one of the biggest challenges. The casting was long – more than a year and a half – and, in total, 800 young people were auditioned. It is on Instagram that the director unearthed his rare pearls, Simon and Raymond Baur, models by profession.
I really spent a long period of my life “killing” my brother
The bond that unites these two actors is real, impossible to manufacture and without knowing it, their personal story echoes the film. Martial arts champions, they practiced numerous choreographies during which Raymond Baur, armed with a spear, “kills” his brother.
“Of course, these are only movements performed during competitions, but I really spent a long period of my life “killing” my brotherhe says. Playing him in a movie, it’s strange.”
Simon Rieth, used to filming non-professionals, reworked his script to be even closer to his actors. For six months, the trio met frequently to rehearse. Through their experience in modeling, Simon and Raymond Baur find a natural ease in front of the camera.
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Mutual trust allows the team to push certain limits, especially during violent scenes. “I asked myself a lot of questions to know how I could film itr”, says the director. Showing the death of a child, a hanging… You have to know how to show modesty and not fall into excess.
Thanks to successful special effects and many invisible on-screen stratagems, the magic trick works. “I wanted to create effects with an aesthetic, a real identity”, adds Simon Rieth. He goes even further by filming these intense moments in sequence shots to accentuate the realism of the situations.
The many dreamlike moments that run through the story are like the film: poetic, sensitive and visually striking. Our Ceremonies allows Simon Rieth to establish himself as a filmmaker apart.
Interview by Thomas Desroches, in Cannes, in May 2022.
Our Ceremonies by Simon Rieth, at the cinema on May 3.