Chloé ValmaryNovember 26, 2024
Between glitter, heartbreaking passions and descent into hell, “Les Reines du Drama” by Alexis Langlois traces the flamboyant story of Mimi Madamour, pop diva of the 2000s, and her tumultuous love with punk icon Billie Kohler. Like its flagship song “Pas Touch”, by Yelle, the film celebrates the pop culture of the 2000s while exploring the tragedies and dreams of its heroines.
Drama Queens are coming to the cinema
With “Les Reines du Drama”, in theaters this Wednesday, November 27, Alexis Langlois signs a first feature film as daring as it is moving, which electrified the last Critics’ Week at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
This pop melodrama revisits the careers and descent into hell of two divas, Mimi Madamour, a young star propelled by a talent show and Billie Kohler, a punk icon, whose tumultuous love story sets the screen ablaze. Set in a scintillating universe, with a deliberately kitsch aesthetic, the film explores the backstage of show business and the structural violence that prevents the characters from loving fully.
Carried by the vibrant performances of Louiza Aura and Gio Ventura, “Drama Queens” spans several decades, from 2005 to a dystopian future, while paying homage to icons of pop and queer culture.
Alexis Langlois summons references as varied as “A Star is Born”, Almodóvar, or even Britney Spears, and breathes a resolutely modern energy into this romantic fresco. The soundtrack, by Rebeka Warrior and Yelle, amplifies this tension between glamor and despair.
Behind the rhinestones and prosthetics lies a deeply committed cinema. Alexis Langlois gives queer stories back their nobility, celebrating the marginalized, the “has-been” and the flamboyant souls, while denouncing the oppressive norms of the patriarchy. An ode to devouring love, as spectacular as it is moving.
Don’t touch: a pop hit in homage to the 2000s
In “Les Reines du Drama”, the song “Pastouch” embodies a vibrant ode to the pop culture of the 2000s. Composed by Yelle and performed by Ambriel (The Voice), this title is inspired by great musical figures of the era, like Alizée, Priscilla, Britney Spears or even Lorie, to recreate a nostalgic and exhilarating atmosphere. Alexis Langlois wanted not only to evoke this period marked by telecrochets and a kitsch aesthetic, but also to forge a mythology around the protagonist of the film, a fictional singer.
The song, with its dynamic tempo and frontal lyrics, combines simplicity and effectiveness to capture the collective imagination of a generation. “Pas Touch” plays on the contrasts between adolescent and performative sentimentalism, while exploring heartache and the quest for recognition in a universe saturated with dreams of celebrity.
Like Britney Spears who sang that loneliness was killing her in “Baby One More Time”, “Pas Touche” reflects the melancholy of a heroine confronted with sentimental loneliness despite a setting saturated with color and life.
Through its catchy chorus and its immediate melodic structure, “Pas touch” pays homage to a musical golden age which marked an entire generation fed on the Hit Machine and Star Ac’.
