Competition
Trop (peu) d'amour
A well-known, middle-aged film director (Lambert Wilson) is approached
by a 17-year-old woman (Elise Perrier) who wants to collaborate with him
on a screenplay. He is fascinated by her, and invites her to stay in the
big country house where he lives with his wife and teenage daughter. But
the visitor's wild, impulsive ways soon throw the household into chaos.
No, claims Jacques Doillon, the story is not autobiographical. Like
the man in the story, he may be a well-known filmmaker, but he has never
been persecuted by groupies in the same way. "Besides, my life is not interesting
enough for me to want to reproduce it on film."
He made the film, he says, because he was intrigued by the "chemical
reaction" the young woman causes when the door opens and she blunders into
the lives of the director and her family. Asked to describe Trop (peu)
d'amour, he points to the title. "It's about a girl with too much love."
On set, Doillon was surrounded by women and teenagers - a very different
experience from Ponette (1996) on which he was working mainly with children.
Since he first sprung to international attention with his second feature,
Les doigts dans la tete (1974), Doillon has earned a reputation a consummate
actors' director. He has a rare ability to coax brilliant performances
from even the most inexperienced of young stars. Victoire Thivisol, the
lead in Ponette, was only five years old when she played the part, but
that didn't stop her from winning a Best Actress Award at the Venice Film
Festival.
Although generally fearful of repeating himself ("I never like to make
the same film twice," he says), Doillon admits that he would like to work
with children again in the future. In the meantime, he is waiting with
interest to see how Trop (peu) d'amour is received by festival audiences
in
Berlin. Geoffrey Macnab
Synopsis
Paul, an eminent film director, is intrigued when he receives fan letters
from 17-year-old Emma. When she sends him an idea for a screenplay, he
invites her to come and work with him at the country home he shares with
his wife Margot, 25, and Camille, his 14-year-old daughter. But when Emma's
admiration for Paul careers out of control, the rural idyll of the family
is threatened.
Jacques Doillon has a certain niche in French cinema; since Les doigts
dans la tête (1974) and then La femme qui pleure, his unconventional
films have gained an avid following in artier circles and at festivals.
He has made a habit of giving lead roles to inexperienced young actresses
in his bitter-sweet takes both on family life (La vie de famille) and on
the trials and tribulations of being a young woman (La fille de quinze
ans). As a result, many well-known actresses credit him with giving them
their first break, including Fanny Bastien, Sandrine Bonnaire, Judith Godrèche,
Marianne Denicourt and Charlotte Gainsbourg - daughter of his long-time
partner, actress Jane Birkin.
(Dir): Jacques Doillon (Scr): Jacques Doillon (Cast): Lambert
Wilson, Alexia Stresi, Elise Perrier, Lou Doillon, Jeremy Lippmann (Running
time): 119 Minutes
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