In “Chronicle of a temporary affair”, Emmanuel Mouret brings together settings and hearts

Director Emmanuel Mouret knows how to choose places conducive to the development of his dialogues. As in this affair where two lovers pour out their hearts between Paris and Yvelines. To (re)see Wednesday November 13 on Arte.

Pwide lan on a couple walking in the night. The (future) lovers, Simon and Charlotte (Vincent Macaigne and Sandrine Kiberlain), walk along a brick wall. Is this a hospital? of an abbey? Parisians familiar with 14^e district know this building: the Saint-François de Paris convent, rue Marie-Rose, belonging to Franciscans.

Emmanuel Mouret, director of Chronicle of a fleeting affair, saw in this pink stone enclosure “something quite graphic” and beautiful enough to let it engulf the screen, and strike the viewer’s retina. “I always have Woody Allen’s films in mind, and this wall echoes an architecture that one could find in New York. »

A choice in the form of a cinephile wink made hand in hand with his loyal team, Laurent Desmet for photography and David Faivre for the sets. How do we decide to film in one location rather than another? This is the question that Emmanuel Mouret was asked in a café in 12^e district this time, where the filmmaker recalls the main issue inherent in this type of intimate film: “We try to shoot them over a limited number of days, and to bring together as many sets as possible within a fairly tight perimeter. »

A great admirer of the cinema of Éric Rohmer, Emmanuel Mouret recalls that Claire’s Knee or Pauline at the beach were achieved in a very small economy. “I’m not sure that Rohmer ever rented a location for his filming. He always made do with the houses that were offered to him. And what I like about cinema is playing with constraints, not submitting to them. To, on the contrary, bounce back on it. It is also chance that makes the film. »

Chance, always it, has for example changed the social status of Louise, played by Georgia Scalliet in Chronicle of a fleeting affair, with whom Simon and Charlotte plan to spend the night. She lives in a sublime residence in the heart of the forest, which she would never have been able to buy with her simple salary as a teacher… Maliciously of the scenario, we therefore added an architect husband who was not initially planned.

In reality, this decor is that of the Louis Carré house, designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, in Yvelines. “Finding this place took a long time. For the sake of variety of locations, Louise had to live in the suburbs. And at her house, we had to be able to shoot two very long sequences, with a lot of dialogue. We therefore needed space to allow the movement of bodies. »

In addition to economic constraints, finding the maximum number of settings in a limited space and avoiding overly costly logistics, the choice of the city in which the story is set can be fundamental. “To quote Rohmer again, the problem of Paris and its suburbs is very important in Full Moon Nights. In most of his films, the sentimental issues are often linked to geographical issues. In the case of Chronicle of a fleeting affair, one of the things I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to shoot in a Southern town. »

Emmanuel Mouret, filmmaker from Marseille, has already anchored several of his films in his hometown. He continues: “I found it more beautiful that this story was not bathed in golden light with the sea and the beaches around it. But in a completely urban and rather gray setting, even if that doesn’t mean that the result is gray! » His next film should be shot in Clermont-Ferrand, a city located in a volcanic region. Undoubtedly reflecting the torments of the characters…

r Chronicle of a fleeting affair, by Emmanuel Mouret, on Arte, Wednesday November 13 at 8:55 p.m.