Bouli Lanners is a sentimentalist, which he has never hidden. Nor as an actor in the series Hippocratesnor in his own films since Eldorado Where The first, the last. The Belgian actor and director goes even further in Shadow of a Lie a tender love story that overwhelms the viewer.
Faced with the luminous Michelle Fairley, known for her role as Lady Catelyn Stark in Game Of Thrones, he embodies a man, rendered amnesiac after a stroke, to whom his lonely neighbor will make believe that they were living a love story together before his accident. “I did not write the story to play it myself, says Bouli Lanners to 20 minutes. But, once the circumstances pushed me to do it, I found myself in it more than I would have thought. ” Dropped by his comedian due to a pandemic, he himself slipped into the skin of this foreigner with a singing accent taming the inhabitants of a wild Scottish island.
A personal story
“This film is very personal to me, recognizes Bouli Lanners. My wife also had to take the first step with me twenty-two years ago because I was too shy to start. “Never has he revealed himself as much as in this love story where he allows himself to show his feelings naked but not his body. “I hesitated to put a sex scene, but I told myself that it was not necessary for us to understand the tenderness that emanates from characters who have not been 20 for a long time. The modesty surrounding this story constricts the throat and makes the heart of a viewer immediately sympathize with the couple beat faster.
“Directing myself in a love story was nothing natural for me, especially in English, remembers Bouli Lanners. But as I needed someone with an ordinary physique, I ended up throwing myself and I wonder now if my shyness in front of the role did not serve the character. “Never has the actor been as moving as in the skin of Phil. Philippe is moreover the real first name of Bouli who chose to shoot on the Isle of Lewis where he made many stays on vacation before the shooting. “OK, he concedes, maybe I was a little in denial saying that the role is not me. »
Shadow of a Lie in any case marks the filmmaker’s foray into a more popular and accessible field than his previous achievements. “I hope not to disappoint those who have enjoyed my other films,” sighs Bouli Lanners. This very beautiful film with discreet romanticism makes his talent more appreciated than ever.