A close encounter with a former mob boss
The film Correct; Adapt; Rearrange comes from The French Republic author Franz-Olivier Giesbert's 2006 novel of the same name. The story is based on a riotous riot that took place in the late 1970s. The protagonist of the story, Jacques Ember, is the last godfather of the Marseille gang. In 1977, Jacques, who had retired to the mountains, suffered a murder that wanted to kill him, and the mastermind behind it was his nemesis Tani Zamba. Doctors found 22 bullets in Jacques' body, but he miraculously survived.
When director Richard Berry saw the novel, it was a treasure. He first bought the copyright of the novel from the original author, Franz-Olivier Giesber, and then persuaded Europa to produce it, and successfully raised a budget of 22 million euros. The film has attracted the attention of The French Republic media since its preparations began in 2007.
Richard Berry, however, was in no hurry to get to work. Taking the novel as a clue, he launched a series of private investigations. "I wouldn't be able to tell those details if I hadn't been in contact with a lot of people very privately. I was there week after week, and gradually I got acquainted with a certain woman who introduced me to a certain woman. Sir . through these secret meetings in the cafes, people tell me the truth of the story, the script of the film is fleshed out, and the characters are gradually fleshed out."
Of course, the most important of these mysterious figures is Jacques Ember himself. The director recalled, "We first met on a summer night, three years ago. I found the person sitting across from him was a very humorous, mysterious enough, and not much talker. He was immediately in a Only in front of the camera of humanity began to tell his past, those friendships and meanness." What impressed Berry most was Jacques' words "This murder attempt destroyed my life when I was 47 years old. Now, I It's a crippled. My right hand is disabled and my body hurts frequently. However, the worst and most serious trauma for me is betrayal." The director quickly understood that, as with the novel, Jacques was I want to completely get away from everything related to these painful memories.
Of course, Berry wouldn't let Jacques go lightly, and he kept in touch with Jacques even while he was involved in a lawsuit. "At that time, Jacques was prosecuted for a series of fraudulent acts 15 years ago. When I rushed to the door of the court, I was stunned by the aura of this person in front of me, full of silver hair and dressed in black. During the trial, I found that the man was very witty, defended and explained himself with humor. That's when I began to understand his true situation, which was rumored by the people."
How can such a man who just wants to live the rest of his life in peace entrust his trust to the director. Richard Berry explained, "I'm not going to recount his life in the film. What I'm trying to do is build a fictional story from a social news story. One that uses real elements of the gang, but not Jacques. A saga of real everyday life and associated characters. It's based on real fiction."
Still, Richard Berry hopes that the film should be an echo of reality. "I'm not going to make a Mafia or an American gangster movie. This movie is about our gangster story - the Marseille gangster, which is part of our culture. The mayor of Marseille kept telling me during filming that he doesn't Hopefully Marseille is still on the screen as a Mafia stronghold. But that's what it is: I've been in Marseille for over a year, and during that year, there has been a lot of shocking blood debt. Of course, that doesn't stop the The city developed into the cultural center of Europe in 2012. But the reality is still there. I really want people to see the real on the screen. Because of this, when looking for supporting roles, I went out of my way to find a large part of the real Marseille accent. actor."
Many of the lines of Jack, played by Jean Reno in the film, come from the original words of his prototype Jacques during a conversation with the director. The director revealed that Jacques never mentioned any specific names in the conversation, he only said things like: "God's justice is always one step ahead of man's justice." "They came to kill me with a hood, it was an assassination, It's undisguised blood debt." "The police always come to me for things I haven't done. The bad things I really did, no one was there."
The grand theme of identity
Richard Berry admits that what attracted him most to this story was the topic of identification that he had been paying attention to: "From the character of Jacques, I saw an extraordinary adventure story and a strong subject. From the Mafia members to the undead Jacques, There must be a lot of stories in it! It's not just anecdotes. It allows me to talk again about identity - a common theme in most of my films. We can never let go of our culture, origins and history."
"We often see Bretons , Jews, عَرَب , Chinese as others. There is often a gulf between our willingness to be integrated and our ability to accept others. In the case of L'immortel, we see What arrived was a Mafia member who washed his hands with a golden plate. He had retired to the mountains and tried to atone for his sins. He lived a quiet and humble life with his wife and children, and was slowly getting used to rough meals. But in the end, he could not escape his past. Zacchia who captured him was him. A childhood friend of "Live and Die", Zacchia himself holds an equally fair and brilliant theory: Once a person's hands are covered in blood, the blood will never fade away. Bad guys, always bad guys. You can only accept."
"It was these two completely contradictory logics that made me want to make a movie through this story. Without any duality of good and evil, without expecting to explain to the audience who is right and who is wrong. In Mafia, following the police Just like in a team, there are good guys and bad guys. But remember, before they become cops and thieves, they are all human. So, in the film, Marina Fuwais playsThe policewoman couldn't organize a funeral for her husband because justice was weak when asked to testify against Mafia. They can't be touched. As a result, she had no choice but to deal with private affairs in a professional manner. It is this emotional truth, this contradiction, that I want to convey to the audience through the screen. Likewise, I also hope that every thief who dies is a person with a story and a family. It is these contradictions that give the film a layer of real humanity.
When the film was finally released after nearly 3 years of production, the director was very concerned about the feelings of the audience: "I hope that Jacques Ember can be moved by seeing this film, and I hope that it can move the audience. I hope they can feel the same way, despite this The story will never happen to them.
Richard Berry wants Jean Reno L'immortel
Jean Reno joined the crew during the film's preparation stages . According to the director, "Jean was the first actor who asked me to make a movie with him after the filming of I Am Caesar. With the way I usually work, I don't know how to write a script for a particular actor. This requires the subject in my mind to be closely related to this person." In fact, Richard Berry was already working on Correct; Adapt; Rearrange Philippe Claudel's novel "Mr. Lin's Little Daughter", but the plan was shelved for various reasons. Then, when the story of L'immortel came, "I immediately thought of being able to offer Jean a role. Because he has that kind of self-redemption humanity, and people immediately believe that he was once a hooligan. Jean has this Loaded with the human depth of the story, but also with a very dangerous latent power, a quiet power."
Another major character in the film , Zacchia, who wants to kill Jacques, is played by Cade Maillard. This is the first time Cade has portrayed a "bad guy" in his film career. Regarding such a choice, the director explained, "Instead of a gangster with a fierce face, I would rather find an actor who seems easy-going and personable to play the big villain. Push him to the edge of madness to give this role. The thickness of human nature. It is very interesting to create very different sides of the same character: one second you believe that you can be brothers with him, the next second he can pick up a gun at you. Cade is this The right person for the role, he can interpret emotional multidimensionality."
After determining the role candidates, the director began to work with the actors: "Before filming, I will check the lines with each actor. When I arrive on the set, I will also hurry to rehearse with them when the technical equipment is installed; only a lot of preparations are made. , write the script for the split shot, the actors know exactly when and what to do, so I can focus on playing with the actors. I communicate with the actors very bluntly. They know that I have to memorize the script with me, I don't I hope there will be a little hesitation when the lines should come out. I am very strict with them, and I want to force them to have no way out, so as to play the best form."
In this regard, Jean Reno has no complaints. As an old friend of more than 30 years, he is very relieved to give himself full power to Berry: "I left myself to him. Although it is a bit stupid to say this, I still want to say , I believe he loves me! There is no way to make a movie together without such kindness."
Jean Reno first saw the finished film while on vacation with his family. "L'immortel is for me both a big film and a summary, as a summary for the actor and the man. I ask myself where I am in the context of The French Republic film at this age. It may be arrogant to say, but since the title of the movie is "L'immortel", what is it supposed to mean! This character, he has a pistol and is full of humor at the same time, but his heart is bleeding. I think I have this All sides of the character. Richard Berry, in his eyes, he has all these sides."
