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Join Telegram ChannelA look back at the secrets that Grand Corps Malade made to us on the occasion of the release of its first feature film co-directed by Mehdi Idir, rebroadcast this Thursday on Chérie25.
Fabien Marsaud – aka Grand Corps Malade – had never thought of getting into cinema… until his desire to give new life to his book Patientsstory of his stay in a rehabilitation center after a serious accident. But, at first glance, he only thinks he is signing the adaptation. “ To confront myself with another form of writing. But I got caught up in the game and at one point, I no longer saw myself entrusting this baby to someone else. » He co-wrote this screenplay with Fadette Drouard (also her first experience in cinema, before we found her writing the screenplay forOwl by Ramzy Bédia or Papicha by Mounia Meddour), driven by two strong ideas: to make people laugh “ because, despite difficult times, I had fun with the group of friends I made within these four walls » and that the spectator takes hold of this story despite its “ eminently personal “. The central character is also called Ben and not Fabien.
Very quickly too, Grand Corps Malade knew that he would not tackle the production alone. And quite naturally, he calls on Mehdi Idir who knows his story by heart. Both Dionysians, they have known each other for 10 years. At the time, Grand Corps Malade was already a rising figure in slam and Mehdi approached him for a documentary on urban talents and they never left each other's side. “ Mehdi directed all my clips except one… the only one that was a failure! “. They co-directed a short, The End of the Tunnelbefore embarking on their first feature on the set of which both will speak with one voice.
Patients is a successful feel-cool movie
When dealing with disability in cinema, the danger was to quickly drown in references. This is why the two directors choose to review almost no film. “ For fear of unconsciously reproducing what we admired, like forbidding ourselves an idea upon discovering that someone else had had it before us.. » They will even choose to open Patients by a subjective view of the ceiling of the center, even after discovering that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Julian Schnabel opened in the same way.
But, he confides, “ our greatest pride in this entire adventure is our actors. If the gang around Ben hadn't worked, there simply wouldn't have been a film! »And, for this, they decide to bring out new faces rather than bringing together stars in wheelchairs. They see no less than 450 actors to unearth these rare gems, including the astonishing Pablo Pauly in the role of Ben. “ The final scene of the film where he gets up and walks forward, having caught my approach, disturbed me. Suddenly, I plunged back into my own story. » Facing this gang, we nevertheless find a familiar face, that of Dominique Blanc. “ I met her on a TV show. She seemed to like what I was doing. So we wanted to be knighted for her. » She will not be the only one to praise them. The public will reserve a triumph for this Patients with nearly 1.3 million entries. And he will be nominated four times for the 2018 César Awards.
La Vie Scolaire – Grand Corps Malade: “The film is a tribute to our college years”