Celebrated writer of Night Flight, Land of Men et The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was above all an airplane pilot. On behalf of Aéropostale, he transported mail on risky routes. Rather than a classic biopic, Saint-Ex is the story of a very specific episode: his search for his friend Henri Guillaumet, a pilot like him, who disappeared during a flight.
This is the first time you play such an adventurous character…
It certainly attracted me. Saint-Exupéry dreamed of flying almost his entire life. I think that, for him, it mattered more than literature. Aéropostale’s motto was: mail is more important than life. And there was his beautiful friendship with Henri Guillaumet (the other hero of the film, played by Vincent Cassel, editor’s note).
Does his exploring, pioneering spirit speak to you?
Yes. I find it fascinating to think that in the 1930s, when the plane had only been invented thirty years ago, men like him climbed into such basic planes, which looked like tin cans. Few of them dared to take on this challenge. For cinema, there was a subject of escape.
The driving scenes were however filmed in the studio.
It’s true, but I played the fight against the wind, the cold, the sandstorms. I played the plane crashes, the search for a friend that everyone gives up for dead. Everything about it was epic. And Pablo Aguero (the Argentinian director, editor’s note) went to look for images in Patagonia.
What did you learn about Saint-Exupéry from this film?
How central aviation was to his life. When he was in New York, famous, with a publisher, money and a comfortable life, he asked for a plane. A day (July 31, 1944, editor’s note)he left for reconnaissance off the coast of Marseille and did not return.
Friend with Vincent Cassel in life, in “Le Grand Chariot”, you also worked with your father and your sisters. Is it important for you to tour with loved ones?
The prospect of shooting this film with Vincent was clearly a driving force. I think the tracing with the characters was good: he and I don’t have the same relationship with things, as was the case for Guillaumet and Saint-Exupéry. So we find things to say when we see each other. With my family, it’s different. It’s a bit like the circus: the pleasure of seeing them in their work world.
“Le Grand Chariot” can be watched on Ciné+ Club on Monday 09/12 from 8:30 a.m.
