“A hilarious memory. » When we ask director Pascal Thomas what the shooting of the film evokes Don't cry with your mouth fullthis is what he answers on the other end of the phone, at home in Paris. “We couldn't stop laughing… My cousin often invited us to lunch, it lasted two hours and we drank a lot… In the scene with the priest, everyone was drunk. The shoot was one of the most joyful and relaxed, it was extravagantly fun, we had fun with everything. »
During the summer of 1973, the native of Saint-Chartres (commune of Moncontour), on the borders of Vienne and Deux-Sèvres, set up cameras in a rental house in the village that he had spotted, attracted by its large garden, its walnut trees and its direct access to the Dive river.
In this romantic comedy, Jean Carmet and Daniel Ceccaldi, Parisian stars, opposite novices like Bernard Menez. Annie Colé, who played the main role of a teenager discovering love and freedom, was filming for the second time with Pascal Thomas. “In my films, there are often actors who are not actors”adds the cinema man. The inhabitants, for extras or small roles, were also involved.
On May 12, 2017, Bernard Ménez (far left) and Pascal Thomas (third from left) were welcomed to the Café des Arts by Charly Bonnier (right) and his wife Céline (center), to relive the filming from “Don’t cry with your mouth full”.
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Like the real village carpenter who carried out Jean Carmet's work, much less manual than his character, and yet praised by the public for his work with wood. “It gives truth to the film”insists Pascal Thomas. In Don't cry with your mouth fullwe recognize the lively streets of Thouars – “city that I love very much” –we attend teenagers' table football games at the Café des Arts, and sunny days on pedal boats or in the water, at Lake Moncontour.
For the director, Saint-Chartres remains a “very beautiful village in France, which has not changed much. There are three or four farmers left, who are doing a good job. We no longer see the farmers watering the cows in the Dive, peasant activity has changed. The hedges have been cut, although they are now being replanted; there are fields of considerable size. It's an absolutely perfect film setting, especially as it is very linked to my family's past. »
The Zozos (1972)Confidences for Confidences (1979), but also certain scenes from films inspired by Agatha Christie's novels (2005 to 2012), Together, we will live a very, very beautiful love story (2010)… “There were around fifteen films shot in the region, as soon as there was a countryside scene to do, we went to my house. »
For his next film, currently in writing, Pascal Thomas has not revealed where it will be located. But it will certainly be on a light and tender subject. “The pleasure I have is seeing spectators having fun and coming out with smiles on their faces. What's in the cinema today is too dark for me. »
In 2019, the “Grand Master”, Pierre Leylavergne, elevated Valérie Decobert, then Pascal Thomas, to the rank of officer in the order of the Confrérie de la Canette, on the occasion of the screening of the film “Because of the girls…? » in Thouars.
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THE SCENARIO
Annie is 16 years old and lives with her family in the countryside, near Thouars, chaperoned by her carpenter father (Jean Carmet). She is in love with Frédéric and shares with him her first emotions in nature. But the young man leaves to do his military service in the middle of the summer. Annie will then spend time with Alexandre (Bernard Ménez), an older city dweller, who has come for the holidays with his car and his beautiful suits. With “this big daddy”, she has her first time. A romantic comedy, light and carefree, reflecting the province at the end of the Trente Glorieuses, “a rich and happy time”describes director Pascal Thomas. “Cinema resembles real life”commented the critics of the time.
SOUNDS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE
“There is no noise pollution in Saint-Chartres, sometimes a motorbike passes”describes Pascal Thomas. During the filming of Don't cry with your mouth fullPierre Lenoir and his sound engineer friends were won over by these atmospheres. They recorded enough to fill a sound library, used in other films by the director, but also on the latest feature films by Luis Buñuel – through his editor, Nathalie Lafaurie, close collaborator of Pascal Thomas. A village that has traveled in images… and in sounds.
A REFUSAL OF HELP
“For my last film, we asked for aid from the Region, for the first time, because I was having a little difficulty in securing the financing. But the film commission, made up of a gaggle of ignoramuses, did not want to give an advance, while Saint-Chartres and its surroundings are shown in several films, exported to China, South America…”says Pascal Thomas, with his eternal relaxation. It is therefore in Le Mans and in Sarthe that The Journey in Pajamas (2024) was filmed.
PASCAL THOMAS’S MARRIED MEMORIES
The octogenarian took time to recount his memories, which were finally published in a book released in January. He tells, in bits and pieces, the story of his parents and his attachment to Saint-Chartres. He still owns his aunt's house, where his father grew up, “even if I rarely go there”he concedes, not ready to abandon it yet. His mother was from Ménétréol-sur-Sauldre (Cher), in Sologne, near Salbris (Loir-et-Cher). “I filmed two or three scenes there, but it was complicated to get the authorizations, otherwise I would have gone there more often. »
He also recounts his first experiences as a journalist, sometimes awkward, behind the scenes of his filming, or even that the Poitou donkey is his favorite animal. All punctuated with images from personal archives.
Pascal Thomas, Memories in a mess, 336 pages, Séguier éditions
