The essayist looks back on his time filming a Jacques Doillon film at the age of 10.
The filming of “La vie de famille” (1985), by Jacques Doillon, took place during the summer of 1984. Mara Goyet was 10 years old at the time. Today, in “Jeu cruel”, she writes: “I don’t want to denounce or accuse, I want to tell.” She wants to tell how she felt she was “psychologically abused” by Jacques Doillon and Sami Frey. She protects her own father, Jean-François Goyet, co-writer of the screenplay, because he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. The director of “Ponette” (1996), since accused by several actresses of rape, assault and sexual harassment, remains the central figure of the story. Forty years have passed. Mara Goyet has rewatched the film, reread the reviews. Her childhood anger has returned intact. The strength of the story lies in its lack of revelation. The writer and teacher, born in 1973, speaks of the eternal part of childhood.
More after this ad
The plot of “Family Life”: Emmanuel (Sami Frey) lives in Aix-en-Provence with his second wife (Juliet Berto) and his 15-year-old stepdaughter (Juliette Binoche). The father, a seducer, decides to leave with his own daughter (Mara Goyet), born from a previous union with Lili (Aina Walle), on a trip to Spain. There was no rape or assault on the set. What is shocking today is deposited on film: the conflictual relationship between the father and daughter is bathed in an incestuous atmosphere. An ambiguous scene marks a before and after for the very young actress. She rebels. Mara Goyet describes her distress as a child, throughout the filming. Words stolen by the two screenwriters, violent scenes and fierce words, solitude on the set. The little girl felt used. Once filming was finished, the child and the director no longer had any relationship.
The discomfort comes from elsewhere
The author of “Collèges de France” (Fayard, 2003), an account of her daily life as a history and geography teacher in a middle school in the Paris region, tries to honestly analyze what the little girl felt on the set of “La vie de famille”. Mara Goyet liked working, progressing, in her acting. The child also shows herself to be resistant to evil. The discomfort comes from elsewhere. The harshness of Sami Frey, the misogyny of the script, the indifference of Jacques Doillon. Everywhere, implicit sex. The little girl feels objectified. She does not recognize her father in the confusion instilled in the dialogues; she gets no answers to her questions. Mara Goyet admits, even today, to hating Sami Frey. Her portrait of the actor remains unfair, even if she emphasizes his biases. And since this is a story about childhood, how can we criticize Sami Frey without mentioning his own?
“Family Life” is a beautiful film. The actors’ performances carry it, in all its facets. The author considers the way the character of the father was perceived by the critics of the time to be complacent, but the director is not responsible for the way his characters are understood. In “Cruel Game”, Mara Goyet wants to “take back control”. The little girl rebelled several times during filming. Her tears were collected to be turned against her. Jacques Doillon would prefer childhood to children. This is probably true. The essayist’s writing includes his own doubts and shortcomings, because they participate in his quest for accuracy. There is no settling of scores, but a countdown. Each chapter accentuates the unease. Mara Goyet captures childhood and its vital need for protection, for consolation.
Related News :