|
For the fifth time « Les Rencontres Buissonnières » wowed us when they
invited Bernadette Lafont to come and present André S Labarthe’s great documentary,
recounting her
50-year-long career and two of her latest films in which she shows the full extent
of her talent. She is someone extra special, a great actress and a lovely lady who
never looks long-faced or sulky: “I owe it to my public to be cheerful”, she says.
She certainly was “our sunshine” on that chilly Friday, February 13, 2009 in Périgord
Noir.
|
I HAVE SPENT MY WHOLE LIFE FIGHTING FOR MY FREEDOM
I LIKE PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT OF THE ORDINARY
I LIKE GOING MY OWN WAY
Take three film stars: Brigitte, Marina and Odette; give a good shake and you’ll
get a merry little Slavonic imp: Bernadette. But you’ll soon find that she’s completely
out of hand: “I’ve spent my whole life fighting for my freedom; it’s a promise I
made to myself!” Behind that irresistible smile, those high cheekbones and those
naughty eyes, Bernadette Lafont has never been an easily manipulated, malleable
starlet; André S. Labarthe shows that quite clearly in the fabulous documentary
he has dedicated to her: “Bernadette Lafont, exactement”.
Filmed in a seemingly casual manner, this documentary reveals the actress in the
privacy of her own home – friends popping in, the fire crackling, cello music and
the sweet low voice of Sébastien Grangambe. In less than an hour it sums up Bernadette
Lafont’s atypical career through interviews conducted by Jean Douchet and Dominique
Païni. A colossal amount of researching was done beforehand in order to show unexpected
excerpts from her numerous films.
At the beginning we see the naïve, sensual young girl, not unlike a ballet dancer,
in “Les Mistons” by François Truffaut in 1957, her very first role: “I wanted to
be a ballet dancer; I danced my first roles,” she remembers. François Truffaut likens
her to Michel Simon in “Boudu sauvé des eaux” and promises her a brilliant career
in this genre. There are also images from experimental films with all the causticity
of the performances of the 60s, such as the scene where she hops along beside a
priest who is just as petrified as she is in “Marie et le curé” by Diourka Medvedzki
- or the nightmarish experience with Bulle Ogier in “Piège” by Jacques Baratier
filmed in 1968, when she cracks eggs, throws them around and swallows them whole
in a filthy kitchen to the sound of drunken vociferating. “I like people who are
out of the ordinary, I like doing things differently. I regret nothing; what is
done is done. There are films that I have never seen or that I never watch a second
time.”
She admits that she hasn’t got a television and that she spends all her time sitting
by the fire with her books and music – quite a loner really, decidedly not a party-goer.
After 50 years in cinema and 40 years on stage her face is aglow with that unwavering
cheerfulness and when she is asked: “What would you like to do now?” she answers:
“Exactly what I am doing now. It’s a delight to meet up with Robin Renucci and Xavier
Gallais at la Comédie des Champs Elysées in Paris where we are reading extracts
from Proust’s “A la recherché du temps perdu” until April.”
A LOVELY GIRL LIKE HER
We spent a delightful marathon day with Bernadette Lafont, thanks to the whole team
of Les Rencontres Buissonnières du Cinéma Lux du Buisson. It was an unforgettable
Friday the thirteenth. Following the documentary dedicated to her career they showed
us two of her latest films, shot in quite different registers.
In « Les Petites Vacances », Olivier Peyon’s first film, she plays a retired primary
school teacher who can’t come to terms with the process of ageing. She decides to
run away with her grandchildren who she sees little of and whose presence will help
her to give meaning back to her life as she goes through this rough patch. In the
film she is kind, tender and understanding, but confused within and in a constant
state of anxiety; a role which took a lot out of her, since she’s not the sort of
person who can burst into tears at the crack of the whip. She was deeply moved by
the experience: “I poured all my suffering into the part.”
Then she presented « La première étoile », actor Lucien Jean-Baptiste’s first film
which she herself was to view for the first time. The film tells the story of a
family from the West Indies who live in Créteil and who are on their first skiing
holiday. Bernadette Lafont and Michel Jonasz play a couple who live in the mountains;
they are landed with a family of blacks who they will have to lodge and grow to
appreciate. It is a very high-spirited comedy brought to life by Anne Consigny,
Firmine Richard and a cast of brilliant child-actors. All the ingredients for a
promising future. It cannot be forgotten that last year, during the same Rencontres
Buissonnières, “Les Ch’tis” had its first national preview. You know what happened
next.
Sophie Cattoire
|
