Photo du film
Chantrapas by Otar Iosseliani
The latest film by Otar Iosseliani, Chantrapas, is presented today Out of Competition, as was Adieu plancher des vaches, winner of the Prix Louis Delluc in 1999. Author of six short films and fourteen feature films (including three documentaries), the Georgian director has just won the Prix spécial Jean Vigo for the work of his whole career.
The title Chantrapas is a Russian word that was borrowed in the 19th century from the French“chantera pas” (“won’t sing”) to refer to the young Russians who were not chosen by the Italian bel canto masters, and so the term has come to mean anyone who is excluded, who is no good. Like Nicolas, a director who leaves his native Georgia to go to France, because he has problems with censorship.
Based in France since 1982, Otar Iosseliani claims, nevertheless, that this is not an autobiographical film. Chantrapas is “a collective portrait of film makers”. “I always managed to make everything I wanted, even if my films were banned,” he explains. If his film opens with one of his own early films, an unreleased short that he made in 1959 when he was just 25, it is because of problems with the rights. If he could have, he would have used a film by one of his colleagues, Chenguelaia or Tarkovski.
In France, however, Nicolas finds that he is given a very short grace period, and Chantrapas is meant to be a parable on the necessity of remaining true to oneself in spite of obstacles. This does not preclude poetry and humour in the film. “Cinema is an enchanting fair. You can find everything: people selling their wares, drinkers, serious people, and civil servants. And the filmmaker is in the middle, and everyone has a good time,” says Otar Iosseliani.
True to his custom, Otar Iosseliani used non-professional actors, “to escape from the clichés, the manias of actors who never stop going from one role to another.” With a little exception to the rule, however, because Bulle Ogier is in the cast. As is Pierre Etaix (a director whose film, The Great Love (Le grand amour) made in 1969, is screened in the Cannes Classics today in Cannes) who is also a part-time actor (Jardin d’Automne by Otar Iosseliani and Micmacs à tire-larigot by Jean-Pierre Jeunet).
The title Chantrapas is a Russian word that was borrowed in the 19th century from the French“chantera pas” (“won’t sing”) to refer to the young Russians who were not chosen by the Italian bel canto masters, and so the term has come to mean anyone who is excluded, who is no good. Like Nicolas, a director who leaves his native Georgia to go to France, because he has problems with censorship.
Based in France since 1982, Otar Iosseliani claims, nevertheless, that this is not an autobiographical film. Chantrapas is “a collective portrait of film makers”. “I always managed to make everything I wanted, even if my films were banned,” he explains. If his film opens with one of his own early films, an unreleased short that he made in 1959 when he was just 25, it is because of problems with the rights. If he could have, he would have used a film by one of his colleagues, Chenguelaia or Tarkovski.
In France, however, Nicolas finds that he is given a very short grace period, and Chantrapas is meant to be a parable on the necessity of remaining true to oneself in spite of obstacles. This does not preclude poetry and humour in the film. “Cinema is an enchanting fair. You can find everything: people selling their wares, drinkers, serious people, and civil servants. And the filmmaker is in the middle, and everyone has a good time,” says Otar Iosseliani.
True to his custom, Otar Iosseliani used non-professional actors, “to escape from the clichés, the manias of actors who never stop going from one role to another.” With a little exception to the rule, however, because Bulle Ogier is in the cast. As is Pierre Etaix (a director whose film, The Great Love (Le grand amour) made in 1969, is screened in the Cannes Classics today in Cannes) who is also a part-time actor (Jardin d’Automne by Otar Iosseliani and Micmacs à tire-larigot by Jean-Pierre Jeunet).
Le dernier film d’Otar Iosseliani, Chantrapas, est présenté aujourd’hui Hors Compétition, tout comme l’était Adieu plancher des vaches, Prix Louis Delluc en 1999. Auteur de six courts métrages et quatorze longs métrages (dont trois documentaires), le cinéaste géorgien vient de recevoir le Prix spécial Jean Vigo pour l’ensemble de sa carrière.
Chantrapas pour « chantera pas ». Un mot russe emprunté au français au XIXe siècle pour désigner les jeunes Russes qui n’étaient pas sélectionnés par les maîtres du bel canto italiens, et par extension tous les exclus, les bons à rien… Un peu comme Nicolas, cinéaste qui quitte sa Géorgie natale pour la France, parce qu’il a des problèmes avec la censure.
Installé en France depuis 1982, Otar Iosseliani se défend pour autant d’avoir fait un film autobiographique. Chantrapas est « un portrait collectif de cinéastes ». « J’ai toujours réussi à faire tout ce que je voulais, même si mes films étaient interdits », explique t-il. Si son film s’ouvre sur un de ses premiers films, un court métrage inédit qu’il a réalisé en 1959, alors qu’il avait 25 ans, c’est pour des problèmes de droits. S’il avait pu, il aurait choisi un film de l’un de ses collègues, Chenguelaia ou Tarkovski.
En France, l’état de grâce est toutefois de courte durée pour Nicolas, et Chantrapas se veut une parabole sur la nécessité de rester soi-même, malgré les obstacles. Ce qui n’empêche pas la poésie et l’humour. « Le cinéma est une foire charmante. Il y a de tout : des marchands, des buveurs, des gens sérieux, des fonctionnaires. Et le cinéaste au milieu, et tout le monde s’amuse», dit Otar Iosseliani.
Comme à son habitude, Otar Iosseliani a fait appel à des acteurs non professionnels, « afin d’échapper aux clichés, aux tics des acteurs, qui eux ne cessent de passer d’un rôle à l’autre ». Avec une petite entorse à la règle toutefois, puisque Bulle Ogier fait partie de la distribution. Tout comme Pierre Etaix, cinéaste (son film, le Grand amour réalisé en 1969, est progarmmé à Cannes Classics aujourd’hui à Cannes) et acteur occasionel (Jardin d’Automne d’Otar Iosseliani ou Micmacs à tire-larigot de Jean-Pierre Jeunet).
