For his first feature film, Jérémie Elkaim adapts “Calais my love”, autobiographical novel on the meeting between a widow and an Iranian migrant.
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actor in more than thirty films, four of Valérie Donzelli on which he was coscenarist (the queen of apples, Madeleine and the factor, the war is declared, hand in hand), Jérémie Elkaim had been confused since adolescence desire to make a movie. At 43, he finally concretizes him, with they are alive, his first feature film. A double boost helped him take the plunge. The first goes back to the day Marina Foïs entrusted to the actor his desire to see adapted the autobiographical novel by Beatrice Huret, Calais my love (Éditions Kero, 2017). The second came a little later, when the producers Albane of Jourdan, Jérôme Room, Marc Simoncini (Super 8 production) asked him to be the director.
The story of Beatrice Huret featuring beautiful and good feelings, they are alive might turn to the bluette on refugee crisis background. It is quite the opposite, thanks to the organic footprint (suggested in the very title of the film), carnal and powerful that has brought to the narrative Jérémie Elkaim, by remaining closer to the bodies, skins, heartbeat. . This imprint asserts itself as the film progresses and the two main characters are abandoned by the other. It is present from the first minutes.
Lovent feeling without a future
This is so on a body, but a lifeless body, which they starts are alive. Beatrice’s husband (Marina Foïs) has just been buried. His wife, his son, his colleagues and friends rendered their last tributes to the deceased – engineer, not badly worn on the bottle, the xenophobic ideas well stopped and the Main Leste. It is clear that in twenty years of marriage, Beatrice has dandyed. Prove the fatigue on his face and the little sadness she manifests. However, she is not a little thing – rather big mouth, on the contrary – and life goes on. Even if it is necessary to recognize that it has never been Folichonne. No more at home than at the hospital where she works as a nurse in a geriatric service. Today, Béatrice wants to be fucked by peace.
As she leaves her service, and is getting ready to go home, the young widow accidentally spills a migrant with her car. Braque in words like in these gestures, but not bad girl deep down, she agrees to escape the young man to the “jungle” of Calais. Then go back immediately. Neither really hostile nor benevolent, she simply has nothing to do with these people and their distress. On that side, she had her account. Just will come back to get rid of husband’s clothes. She will cross a man’s gaze who will support his. He is Iranian, name Mokhtar (see Kohi). They will meet again. Desire will precede the love feeling. Which, deprived of the future, clutter them. They are not ready.
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