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2011 Festival Feature Films (March 24-27)

French cinematographer Vincent Mathias presents Le Nom des gens

director Michel Leclerc cinematographer Vincent Mathias screenplay Michel Leclerc, Baya Kasmi starring Jacques Gamblin, Sara Forestier, Zinedine Soualem, Carole Franck, Jacques Boudet, Michèle Moretti running time 1 h 44 min
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Synopsis

Young extrovert Bahia Benmahmoud lives by this classic motto: “Make love, not war.” In order to convert them to her cause, she sleeps with her political enemies — which means a lot of men, because every conservative is her enemy. So far, she’s gotten good results. That is, until she meets Arthur Martin, a 40-something, unassuming man and skilled at avoiding risks. She figures that with such a common name (Arthur Martin is a brand of stove), he’s bound to be a real conservative and thus hard to convert. Yet, names are treacherous and things aren’t always what they seem. Bahia and Arthur are as different as two people can be, but when they fall in love, sparks fly.

director/screenwriter
Michel Leclerc

cinematographer
Vincent Mathias

actor
Jacques Gamblin

actress
Sara Forestier

Interview with Michel Leclerc (director) and Baya Kasmi (screenwriter)

The Names of Love is a comedy like your first film, J’invente rien. Why did you choose comedy?
Leclerc: When you talk about yourself, or at least when you want to use autobiographical material, humor allows you to step back enough to avoid falling into narcissistic indulgence. To talk about yourself, for sure, but make fun of yourself at the same time so others can get into the story. That is the main reason why I do comedies. It seems to me like the only classy way to talk about personal matters without becoming self-absorbed.

Who are your influences?
Leclerc: In a recent interview, Woody Allen lamented the fact that young filmmakers are more inspired by Scorsese and Tarantino than by him. Yet for years, I have been trying desperately to get my inspiration from him — especially from Annie Hall and Radio Days for The Names of Love — but no one notices. My ultimate goal would be to copy all his films one by one, but I’m afraid I won’t live long enough to do that. I secretly hope he’ll end up suing me for plagiarism, which might give me a chance to actually meet him!

How did the adventure of The Names of Love begin?
Leclerc: When I met Baya almost 10 years ago, she told me her name and I answered, “Is that Brazilian?” and she answered, “No, it’s Algerian.” After that she asked me my name and when I told her she said, “At least you can tell where that’s from!” So the starting point of the film also coincides with the starting point of our personal relationship.

Kasmi: We wanted to respond to that whole deterministic line of reasoning about identity and communities, which we ca not stand and do not identify with.

Leclerc: In France, the question of origin is complicated and preoccupying. How do you stay faithful to your roots without subscribing to the community mentality? How can you be an atheist without rejecting your origins? We are fascinated by these questions.

So it is highly autobiographical?
Leclerc: Yes, because it was in telling each other stories about our families that, despite our differences, we recognized similarities when it came to certain neuroses and obsessions of our parents. Basically, loving relationships depend a lot more on that common family ground than on a supposed sense of belonging to a community.

Arthur and Bahia also both suffer from being “shielded.”
Leclerc: It is one of the things they have in common. They have the impression that their identity does not correspond to the image others have of them. That is what produces guilt in them. Unlike their parents and grandparents, who have suffered because of their origins, they do not experience suffering, and they are aware of it. They cannot stand that some people will even use the suffering of previous generations to put themselves in the limelight; while actual victims of traumatic histories — like colonization, the Holocaust or slavery — have the right to be recognized as such, the descendents of victims only have the right to make sure these catastrophes do not happen again.

Kasmi: Arthur responds by hiding or concealing his Jewish origin, but Bahia responds by strongly claiming the Arab roots that are not apparent in her looks. Thus her decision to wear the veil in order to be perceived as an Arab, to begin to feel the hostile gazes of others. She now experiences what her father has been through.

Leclerc: Bahia’s father belongs to the generation of immigrants who do not wish to reclaim their identities, although it is this generation which suffered the most. What he has in common with Arthur’s mother is to have been a victim of war — World War II or the Algerian War — but he has decided to side with France.

The actors are astonishingly natural …
Leclerc: I took enormous pleasure in directing the actors because I felt like I was in front of comedians who were very invested in the film; thus, they were open to improvisation. It is fundamental, for me, to preserve a free space in relation to a well-written scene. For example, I used the militant nature of Carole Franck, who played Bahia’s mother. In the scenes where she gets upset about nuclear power and where she insists that Arthur have a “marriage in name only,” she is improvising.

What film formats did you use?
Leclerc: From the beginning, I wanted a mix of formats. The film is mostly filmed in HD, but we also used Super 16 and Super 8. For example, for Arthur’s amorous way of looking at Bahia, we changed to Super 16, which has a very sensual and warm texture.

What was your chosen methodology for directing?
Leclerc: I wanted to play with the discrepancies between the themes that are often serious in the film — politics and traumas of childhood — and the glamorous treatment of the direction. For example, when Arthur and Bahia, after their “marriage in name only,” are walking through the autumn leaves, they are fighting over the Algerian War and the obligation to remember. I found it interesting to play with the counterpoint between the typical wide shot of romantic comedies — the bride in her wedding dress, a bottle of Champagne in her hand — and the seriousness of the subject of conversation.

On the other hand, I wanted to avoid over-cutting and the systematic use of close-ups, typical of standard comedies. I preferred to film at a wide angle to center the characters’ bodies and not over-light the scenes, even if it meant losing certain comedic effects.

How was the music created?
Leclerc: Jérôme Bensoussan, the composer with whom I have worked for a long time, is greatly inspired by gypsy, Klezmer and oriental rhythms. The sensuality of his music based on melody, touches me deeply. So, I asked him to bring his own style to the film, and to broaden it with more orchestral music, inspired notably by certain lyrical scores from Georges Delerue. For example, when Arthur and Bahia are arguing over their duty to remember, I wanted Jérôme to compose romantic music, even poignant. While they are arguing, the audience has the impression that they are speaking words of love to each other. I really love this type of contrast.