Film still of Nos années folles (Golden Years) © RR
Tribute to André Téchiné and his Golden Years
In all, eleven films screened in Cannes. Since his first presence in 1975, French filmmaker André Téchiné has had a very special relationship with the Festival. In the context of the Festival's 70th anniversary, the director has been invited for his new feature film, Nos Années Folles (GoldenYears). The event film will be shown in Special Screenings, an occasion to pay tribute on stage to the director.
In Competition in Cannes with Les Sœurs Brontë (The Bronte Sisters) (1979) and at Un Certain Regard with La Matiouette (1983), André Téchiné really made his mark on the history of the Festival de Cannes with Rendez-vous. The film won Best Director Award in 1985 and heralded the beginning of a strong relationship between the Festival and the filmmaker.
For his 22nd feature film, André Téchiné was inspired by a true story. To avoid arrest after deserting the front, Paul is forced to disguise himself as a woman. With his wife's support, he beomes Suzanne. But in 1925, amnestied at last, he attempts to regain his true identity.
In solidarity over this mascarade, the couple sees their love metamorphose in line with the character changes they have fabricated. André Téchiné explores the nature of truth, falsehood and illusion, as they penetrate the very flesh of the protagonists.
This is not a biopic of Paul Grappe, but rather a biopic of this couple, who together give birth to Suzanne the way one gives birth to a child. Suzanne is really the third character.
To play the man with two faces, the director cast Pierre Deladonchamps, revealed by Alain Guiraudie in L’Inconnu du Lac (Stranger by the Lake), a film that introduced the actor to audiences at Cannes for the first time in 2013. His performance there earned him a César award for Most Promising Actor in 2014. Playing Louise, Paul's wife and accomplice, is Céline Sallette, noted for her role in Bertrand Bonello's film L’Apollonide – souvenirs de la maison close (House of Tolerance).
