This Monday, December 16, France 3 invites you to discover or rediscover the film A triumphby Emmanuel Courcol, with Kad Merad. But is this smile-inducing feature film a pure invention, or is it inspired by reality?
A triumphbroadcast this evening on France 3, is a dramatic comedy by Emmanuel Courcol, which immerses viewers in the prison world. We follow the journey of Étienne Carboni, played by Kad Merad, a theater actor whose once brilliant career is losing momentum. He is forced to agree to lead a theater workshop in a high-security prison… To the great surprise of the actor – and the participating inmates – it turns out that they are very talented! Étienne Carboni then decided to have them performed in the theater.
This exciting film may seem too good to be true, but the fact is that it is indeed inspired by a true story. However, this did not take place in France, but in Sweden in the 1980s. It is by watching the documentary Beckett's Prisonerswhich explained how director Jan Jönson put the play together Waiting for Godot with prisoners, before leading them on a triumphant tour, that Emmanuel Courcol had the idea for the script of his film. It must be said that the story is incredible!
The author of the play seduces
The first performance of the play, at the prison, in front of three hundred people – including several celebrities – was going to be a real hit. So much so that the author of the play, Samuel Beckett, heard about it and sent a congratulatory telegram to the director, inviting him to meet him in Paris! At the same time, several theaters in Sweden are requesting the troupe. The prison management will eventually accept. But from being around freedom, some inmates break down, and when the Gothenburg theater invites them, just before going on stage, they flee… Some are still on the run.
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