For more than twenty years now, the duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano have managed to make people smile with subjects that are not initially laughable. Disability (Untouchables) or autism (Exceptional) are among the themes that they have addressed with the mixture of good humor and benevolence which constitutes their trademark. After a more serious passage through the serial box for In therapythey bring together a striking trio – Noémie Merlant, Pio Marmaï and Jonathan Cohen – to talk about ecology in A difficult year.
“We don’t shy away from serious topics,” explains Eric Toledano to 20 minutes, but we neither want to depress nor make the spectators feel guilty. » Friendship is at the center of this new comedy where two guys who are a little lost and totally broke end up becoming environmental activists for the sake of a determined activist.
In contact with the public
“It is certain that ecology is at the center of the concerns of the people we meet, especially young people,” explains Olivier Nakache. Eric Toledano agrees, as he often does. The offices of the two filmmakers face each other in a large room, testifying to their good understanding and their complicity. “We take the pulse of the French by talking a lot with them during previews. This direct contact is essential to us,” explains Eric Toledano.
Both have already traveled across France with their film, screening it in more than 133 cinemas. “This is perhaps why our films touch people,” insists Olivier Nakache. We love our audience and meeting them refreshes us. » The tenderness for their characters is also a major asset for their films.
Mutual respect
We want to see Noémie Merlant fall into the arms of Pio Marmaï and to see Jonathan Cohen escape from his big financial worries during the entire screening. “We write our dialogues like music,” explains Eric Toledano, and if we happen to disagree, we discuss it without arguing. Our relationship is based on mutual respect. » This is felt in their film, never nasty, where eccentric ideas abound, sometimes flirting with the fantastic.
“We took the bottle, so we want to focus our stories more on the world around us than on our lives,” underlines Oliver Nakache. A world that perhaps knows A difficult year, but which succeeds for them.