It’s a beautiful story of friendship in the city and on screen. In Almost, comedy discovered at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, the ex-Inconnu Bernard Campan is heading alongside
Alexandre Jollien, philosopher, writer, lecturer, husband, father of three children and, as he defines himself, cerebral palsy.
The palpable complicity of the two men lends much of its salt to the encounter between a disabled delivery man who loves philosophy and a depressed undertaker. We immediately think of Untouchables except that Alexandre Jollien does not play a handicapped person: he really is. “I don’t see myself as a representation of disability,” he confides to 20 minutes. I only represent myself! I would like the public to find the film as singular as I am. »
A bottle in the sea
The spectator is amused with good heart in front of the self-mockery of Alexandre Jollien who can talk seriously about cheerful things and laugh at his misfortunes during an improbable getaway in a hearse. “The first day of filming, I ran away,” he recalls. I couldn’t stand being directed because it reminded me of the institution where I lived until I was 20 and where I didn’t decide on anything, not even the color of my underpants. I came back out of friendship for Bernard. The chemistry between them is magical as their characters build their relationship singing a tune from “Carmen” or jumping naked in a lake for a final scene of intense beauty.
“The film is a bottle in the sea, explains Bernard Campan. A call for kindness that we wanted to share. I am happy when I hear the public laughing and I feel that this laughter is not mockery, but complicity. We fall for these two hardened bachelors, both stuck together, sexuality and love sometimes inviting themselves thanks to excellent actresses like the always impeccable Marilyne Canto. This film celebrates the joy of living without ever being corny or tearful.
A future success
” When I saw Almost, I was proud, even though I don’t like that feeling, admits Alexandre Jollien. It wasn’t my performance that impressed me, but what we all accomplished together. Bernard Campan and he can legitimately be satisfied. Almost is a little jewel of tender humor to which we wish success at least as great as that ofUntouchables in 2011. In the dictionary, a photo of Almost should now come to illustrate the expression “feel good movie”.