Qwhen he gets behind the camera, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi tells about himself. She had already done it in A a castle in Italy and ne The vacationers. With Les Amandiersin competition at Cannes Film Festival, takes us to the 1980s of his youth, in the period in which he attended the theater school of the master Patrice Chéreauplayed by the ex Louis Garrel.
The ride is in the middle of a group of young dreamers, which are somewhat reminiscent of i the dreamers by Bernardo Bertolucci, with a passion for acting that haunts them, the desire to be chosen by the demanding Chéreau, the primordial emotions and the explosiveness of feelings. But the French and Italian actress and director also focuses on aches and frailties of these guys.
Louis Garrel as Patrice Chéreau. (Press office)
Les Amandiers: the plot
A group of aspiring actors become friends during the auditions to enter the prestigious school of the teacher Patrice Chéreau: there are Star (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as a young man), Victor, Adèle, Frank, Claire and the problematic Etienne (of which Star falls in love). Only twelve will be able to become the disciples of the guru of the theater and take part in the staging of the Platonov from Chekhov.
Their lives are guided by the drive for art. Throughout the first part, the director immerses us in the world of acting, in the method of the elusive, brusque and demanding Chéreau. The energy is palpable in the eyes, on the face, in the gestures and in the creative freedom of these pupils who seem almost invincible. The cynicism of life however bursts along their journey: Etienne gets lost in drugs and Stella does everything to get him out of the tunnel into which he cannot get out, fear is revealed for AIDS, while the cloud of Chernobyl heads for Europe. Stella will also have to deal with an abortion. Reality creeps into art, disrupts the positive energy of the group, but it is the perfect combination to which Chéreau aspires for staging.
A scene from the film. (Press office)
Acting fever
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi portrays the fever for living and for acting he had in those years. “We pupils were chosen not because they were better than others, but because we had some strong personalities and a chemistry that united us – says the director at Cannes. By doing the casting we tried to put it together a group of actors who expressed the same vitality“.
“Acting is a destabilizing professionat times it is very painful which leads to moments of great emptiness – he explains – if my daughter were to choose to be an actress I would be afraid ».
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Sofiane Bennacer and Nadia Tereszkiewicz in Cannes. (Photo by Lionel Hahn / Getty Images)
Louis Garrel and the relationship with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Between 2007 and 2012 Valeria Bruni Tedeschi was linked to actor Louis Garrel (in Cannes also with his film The innocent and with The scarlet sails by Pietro Marcello). Together they adopted their daughter Céline. During these ten years they have managed to maintain a solid relationship, both privately and at work, indeed, the collaboration on the set has helped them to improve their relationship.
“I care a lot about this character because I knew what it meant to Valeria – Garrel says – I met several times Chéreau, it was a Living GodI was never light, it was all but lightness and always gave the impression of working. He had a fever for acting, life and love“.
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED