Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: Kad Merad goes behind bars.
Since the end of November, Emmanuel Courcol has been causing a sensation with his new feature film which celebrates the philharmonic universe: En fanfare. Three years earlier, the director was already a triumph with his eponymous film.
Released in cinemas in 2021, Un Triomphe tells the story of Étienne (Kad Merad), a struggling actor who agrees to lead a theater workshop in prison to make ends meet. Surprised by the inmates' acting talents, he embarks on an ambitious project: putting on a play and performing for real.
In the casting of this wonderful human adventure, we find the emblematic actor of Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, but also David Ayala (Miséricorde), Sofian Khammes (Mes Frères et moi), Pierre Lottin (Les Tuche), Marina Hands ( Jappeloup) and Laurent Stocker (The Plastic Guns).
Filming as close as possible to reality
A triumph is inspired by a true story, that of Jan Jönson. When he discovered his story, Emmanuel Courcol immediately understood the difficulty of the project, as he explained: “We had to reinvent everything because the Swedish prison environment of the 1980s was very far from the French prisons of today.”
So, to achieve this final result, the director undertook a long period of observation work via speakers in prison and was himself able to lead a video workshop behind the walls of Fleury-Mérogis. Then, after the initiation, time for realization.
Emmanuel Courcol made the choice to film in a real prison, at the Meaux-Chauconin penitentiary center. The filmmaker knows this place well, since he made his documentary Douze cordons there in 2019.
A complicated challenge but one that he rose to with flying colors, as he confides: “We were very well received by management and the staff were very cooperative. Kad was even cheered by the inmates.”
By shooting his film as close as possible to reality, Emmanuel Courcol cardboard. The proof with the AlloCiné rating awarded by the national press and spectators: 3.8 out of 5. In addition to having received a nomination at Cannes, the feature film also won an award in Angoulême.
A true triumph full of humanity and which offers a completely different perspective on prison, something rare in cinema.
Tonight on France 3 at 9:05 p.m.
