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After diving into The Great Bath directing with resounding success (4.2 million admissions and 10 César nominations to boot), Gilles Lellouche returns to theaters today with its new event film: Love phewa 3-hour Dantesque romantic epic, will it be able to seduce the public as much as its depressive feel-good drama at the swimming pool? The bet is daring, and taken on by the filmmaker, who already knows that he is not moving forward on conquered territory, after the very mixed reception of the film at Cannes.
Five months ago, Love phew made its big debut on La Croisette, in official competition: “There, it was special. It was very light. I was in a daze” remembers Gilles Lellouche in the new issue of Première (555), currently on newsstands, with Love phew on the cover. “They asked me questions, but I didn't even know where I lived. It was so neurotic that I only have a hazy memory.”
It must be said that after the official screening punctuated by a huge ovation, Gilles Lellouche came suddenly back to earth, a few hours later, reading the much more scathing criticisms of the international press. He says:
“The reception from the public was exceptional, with a seventeen-minute standing ovation. As soon as the lights came back on, Thierry Frémaux came to see me to say: “Listen, you made the walls of Cannes shake like they rarely do. It's a very good sign.” And then, a few hours later, I read the reviews and then I came back to earth. I tried to put some wisdom into my disappointment. It's a moment. crazy: going from 17 minutes of applause to criticism that suddenly falls on you… Well, some were enthusiastic, I'm still weighing things up, but I immediately said to myself that it was the price to pay for being. in competition at Cannes.”
The director then remembers the totally different atmosphere surrounding the Cannes screening of Great Bathfive years ago, presented out of competition. The welcome was much warmer, because the tone was much more unifying: “Everything was joyful and very beautiful. The next step was undoubtedly the competition. But that requires additional quality, precision. More than I could offer. Otherwise, I would have gotten an award and good reviews, right?” analysis today Gilles Lellouche with some hindsight.
Love phew still has some great arguments to seduce the public in theaters in the coming weeks. And Gilles Lellouche also admits to having made some adjustments compared to the version of the film shown in Cannes: “I changed 6 minutes in total” he reveals to Première.
“Those who loved him before will always love him and others will not suddenly love him. I removed some repetitions here, a little mannerism there. A film, for me, is a laboratory. I like the idea of being able to reassemble it, tinker with it. And since I had the biggest possible preview, some feedback allowed me to adjust things…”