Yesterday at 08:00 – by Thomas Fourcroy
On Wednesday December 11 at 8:55 p.m., Arte broadcasts The passenger. A film in which realism is essential, carried by unique filming locations.
On December 28, 2022, Héloïse Pelloquet arrived in cinemas in France with a very personal film, The passenger. Carried by Cécile de France, Félix Lefebvre and Grégoire Monsaingeon, it is intended to be a feature film close to reality, in which several destinies collide. All this, through natural settings that are worth a look… A question therefore arises, but where was this film shot?
The passenger : a stormy relationship on the waters of the Atlantic
The passenger takes us into Chiara’s daily life. Madly in love with Antoine, she followed him to the island of her childhood, on the Atlantic coast. This is where the couple has made a living from fishing for twenty years, without any downside. However, one day, the arrival of a young man will reshuffle the cards of their lives. It is Maxence, an apprentice, who will weaken their relationship. Chiara, particularly upset, will see her deepest certainties being called into question, between desire and passion.
The passenger : a filming location dear to the director
To portray this romance on the water, Héloïse Pelloquet did not do things by halves. To grapple with reality, she relied on scenes that screamed truth, for intimate sequences, as well as for those of everyday life. Thus, the three main actors of the film trained in fishing, when several other amateur actors joined them. Jean-Pierre Couton, Josée Lambert and Ghislaine Girard, residents of Noirmoutier, location of filming of The passenger ! A corner of Vendée dear to the director, as we read in the press kit for the film: “I now live in Paris, but don’t feel like a city dweller and I prefer to film places with which I have an intimate relationship. The name of the island is never mentioned, it is a place of fiction. t’s not Noirmoutier, it’s a smaller, more isolated island, which is accessed by boat while Noirmoutier is connected to the mainland by a bridge. However, turning to Noirmoutier, in familiar territory, allows me to anchor my boat. narrative in realism, to mix the romantic with naturalism. This is the reason why I also call on non-professional actors, from the area, for certain roles.”
