RTL info: Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir, you are the co-directors of the film Monsieur Aznavour, which traces the life of the singer and which is released on October 23. “Monsieur Aznavour” is a historical fresco which tells the whole life of Charles Aznavour. How long had you had this idea in mind?
Large Sick Body: With Mehdi, we had the chance to know Charles Aznavour well, and this project was born with him. He had validated the biopic project for us, and we even almost started to imagine it together. But when it was time to get started, unfortunately, he died in October 2018. So, obviously, we put the project on hold. We made another film, “School Life”, then a few years later, the family wanted it to be made, and so did we. We therefore resumed writing, with this strength and this legitimacy that he had granted us, knowing that it was up to us to make this film.
Large Sick Body: Maybe not the whole 1,200, but we got close! We really went through all his biographies, his autobiographies, the documentaries, and we were lucky enough to have access to the family’s personal archives. Private films where we see Charles at home, on vacation, with his children… All that fed us for the film.
You talk about his successes, but also his struggles and the criticism he suffered, such as “too small”, “not handsome”, “strange voice”. Did you also see a lesson in pugnacity in his story?
Mehdi Idir: Completely. As an artist, you need a certain amount of unconsciousness and an unshakeable faith in your talent. Charles received incredibly violent criticism, some even racist. It was really hard, but it gave him extra strength. He proved everyone wrong.
Tahar Rahim plays Charles Aznavour in the film. How did you choose this actor for this role?
Large Sick Body: It was our casting director, David Bertand, who thought of him before we even thought about it. He deserves all our respect for that.
And beyond the physical resemblance, did Tahar Rahim really do an incredible job?
Mehdi Idir: Yes, it’s impressive. Tahar invested himself completely in this role. He even started speaking like Aznavour six months before filming to immerse himself in the character. His wife sent us a message during filming saying: “He yells at children like Aznavour, it’s too much!”
He also learned to play the piano to be even closer to the character?
Large Sick Body: Yes, he himself plays the piano and sings in the film. He took singing and piano lessons six months before filming. He didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Tahar has an impressive work ethic, as does Aznavour.
Charles Aznavour was also known for being eternally dissatisfied, always pursuing his projects, sometimes to the detriment of his family. Do you see yourself in this aspect of his personality?
Large Sick Body: Yes, we are artists, so obviously we recognize ourselves in certain aspects. It happens that we are physically present, but we are elsewhere, thinking about a project. As we show in the film, Charles made sacrifices to succeed. I hope we are a little more balanced in our private lives, but there are similarities.
Mehdi Idir: It’s true, it helped us write certain dialogues. We brought truth to the scenes thanks to our own experiences.
You also show the emotion that Charles felt when receiving ovations from the audience. It’s an emotion you know well, right?
Large Sick Body: Yes of course. We know what it is. Mehdi filmed me during my first years on stage. We know the emotion of going on stage, receiving the spotlight, discovering the audience. We wanted to transcribe this in the film, in sound and image.
What did you discover about Aznavour while preparing this film that you didn’t know before?
Mehdi Idir: I knew he worked a lot, but not to this extent. After his initial successes, he could have rested on his laurels, but on the contrary, he redoubled his efforts. He wanted to conquer the world, translate his songs into English, Spanish, German. It was impressive.
Large Sick Body: Yes, the more things worked for him, the more he worked. He always had this desire to progress.
And finally, the most complicated question: what is your favorite Aznavour song?
Mehdi Idir: It changes often for me. Right now it’s “Reste”, a song from the 60s. I really recommend it, it’s beautiful.
Large Sick Body: I would say “From now on”. I love what she’s saying, and the music is incredible.
