THEn advance on International day against violence against women on Saturday 25 November, Rai 3 broadcasts Be on guard! (at 9.30pm). A passionate story of female redemption and resistance inspired by the graphic novel Touchées by Quentin Zuttion, French writer and cartoonist, also screenwriter.
On Guard! it is directed by the actress Alexandra Lamy, ex-wife of Jean Dujardin, Oscar winner with The Artist, here in his directorial debut. To the La Rochelle Fiction Festival it won the award for best film.
Be on guard!: the plot
Lucie is a woman victim of violence in family. Tired of putting up with it, she decides to separate. To get away from her ex-husband’s aggressions, he is hiding in Anduzea country located in the south of France. With his son Léo, he settles in a small apartment made available to him by an association which helps women victims of violence.
During the process of rebuilding one’s self-esteem, Lucie begins group therapy based on fencing, a sport that is well suited to giving voice through the body to the desire for redemption and which allows you to regain self-confidence. Many other women who, like Lucie, have suffered abuse are part of the group. Over time, she becomes particularly fond of Tamara and Nicole, with whom she forms a strong friendship.
From left to right: Lucie (Mélanie Doutey), Nicole (Claudia Tagbo) and Tamara (Chloe Jouannet). (Rai)
At a certain point, however, her ex-husband manages to track her down, threatens her physically and goes so far as to ask the court for sole custody of their son. This time However, Lucie is not alone in facing violence, insults and fear. Next to her are her friends, there is the psychotherapist Eva.
A cast of close-knit actresses
The actress and director directs the film Alexandra Lamy. A person who has always been sensitive to the issue of violence and abuse against women, also due to events that involved people close to her.
The author of the graphic novel, Quentin Zuttionlike the director, chose fencing as a path to redemption, inspired by a real anti-violence program developed in France. «It is work on the body that brings with it the trauma», explained Alexandra Lamy. «Unlike the brain, which can obscure certain things, due to a sort of traumatic amnesia, the body does not forget anything». “
Be on guard! is played by Mélanie Doutey (Lucie). Claudia Tagbo is Nicole, a fifty-year-old who suffers from fibromyalgia as the trauma of an untold violence. The other protagonist is Chloe Jouannet (the daughter of Alexandra Lamy and Thomas Jouannether former partner) who plays Tamara, a woman seriously injured, even physically, by a torturer brother. Olivier Serwar he takes on the role of the fencing master, a profession he also practices in life.
A film that conveys a desire for redemption
«When I was asked to make the film, I had no hesitation: the topic has always been close to my heart», commented Alexandra Lamy. Who listened to podcasts on the topic to make the film and intervene on the screenplay, French associations that defend women’s rights and spoke to victims of violence I knew personally.
«I liked the idea of fencing because it is a sport that is practiced with a mask – continues Lamy – which serves to protect oneself and project a different image of oneself onto others».
«In fencing, then, you learn self-control, what touching and being touched entails, and what is the right body distance to maintain, fundamental elements when talking about abuse and violence. In sport you never hurt another, but it is by hitting the opponent that the protagonists express all the violence that they have accumulated as victims and finally find peace.”
Rather than focusing on the violence, Be on guard! addresses the theme of redemption, hope and the will to get back on your feet. A goal that can be achieved not alone, but thanks to solidarity.
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