IThere is, in the Utopia programming for this month of November, a notable absence: no François Ruffin on the bill in the coming weeks. The new documentary by the deputy for the Somme, “Let’s get to work!” », which is released this Wednesday, November 6, will not be shown in the Bordeaux cinephile HQ. A surprising choice, cinema being known for its left-wing commitments. The ex-Insoumis seemed to be playing at home when he presented his films there, in front of packed theaters.
” Incomprehension “
“I don’t understand…” regrets Gilles Perret, co-director of “Au travail!” “. “I came to Utopia at least ten times for my previous films. They were all thrown there. It seemed to me that we were linked by a relationship of loyalty. I know the Utopia audience, I am certain that there is an appetite for this documentary. »
François Aymé, director of the Jean-Eustache cinema in Pessac, who is offering the film this Wednesday, notes: “This political, social documentary, in touch with reality, seems to fully correspond to the identity of Utopia. I was surprised that he didn't make the cut. It may be that the cinema team was not convinced by ''Let's get to work!'', but there are also the supposed expectations of the establishment's audience. » François Ruffin and Gilles Perret were received on October 31 at Jean-Eustache. Record attendance: 600 people.
“The only thing that has changed compared to our previous feature films is that François (Ruffin) has moved away from Les Insoumis,” observes Gilles Perret. He wonders if this non-programming does not respond to a political choice. Could it be that Utopia is making the MP “pay” for his unkind remarks towards Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his comrades? That the war of the left, between social democracy, which François Ruffin now calls for, and a more “radical” left, is rife even in the programming of a cinema?
“Mixed”
Vincent Erlenbach, manager of Utopia, categorically refutes this reading grid. “This film was shown to us late. However, we were already committed to other feature films to which we support more strongly, such as ''Trois amis'' or ''The Substance''. On ''At work!'', we are more mixed. There are some interesting portraits, but the process, which consists of following an icon of ''trash TV'' [Sarah Saldmann, NDLR]and to use the codes of this television, leaves us perplexed. The final sequence, when François Ruffin, to honor precarious people, parades them in evening wear on a red carpet, raises questions. » He also believes that “Let’s get to work! », shown in 130 theaters in France, is not aimed at “an art house target”, but at a wider audience, as the distributors indeed assert.
We discover, through this explanation, that between François Ruffin and Utopia, the honeymoon was never unadulterated. “We remember wonderful evenings with him,” notes Vincent Erlenbach. But we also often had questions about certain aspects of his films, which were very personalized. »
