On the occasion of the presentation of the jubilant BABY PHONE in Bordeaux, we had the pleasure of meeting the director Olivier Casas, accompanied by the two actors who form the couple of the movie Anne Marivin and Medi Sadoun. A meeting of rich exchanges friendly on the couple, the friends, the family and the life of the artist.
Our critique of BABY PHONE by Olivier Casas
Friendships and lies-are they compatible ?
– Olivier Casas : For me, friendship and lies are totally compatible, because when we love people, we always have plenty of reasons to lie ! And then, the lie is a clear interest in the comedy, in which there is a tendency to get stuck. The tragic dimension is a form of laughter that I love. This is a position that is exhilarating for the viewer not to be in the place of characters who spend their time to stumble, and to keep with them a relationship of empathy. For example, the character of Hubert, the father of Ben, is in a form of denial, between naivety and cowardice, which even passes for a form of wisdom, because he absolutely wants to avoid conflict. He also said ” a good nap is the secret to a marriage that lasts “. This sometimes changes the provides of friendship what are the issues and interests that exist within a group. Friendship can then become interested, and it works in both directions. Simon takes advantage of his superior position in the group and add value.
– Anne Marivin : to Me it seems to be a natural and good war when a friend is successful, wait for a nudge, I can see it clearly in our midst. If it can be done, it is done.
Tell us about your characters.
– A. M : The character of Charlotte is talking to me a lot, because when I shot the film, I’d just had my second child. Even if today, the word is released on to the pregnancy, it must be recognized that a baby, it is still a cataclysm in a couple ! Especially when one of the two leads a life as an artist and the other is more rooted in reality… Ca imbalance. Her husband Ben is égocentré and nothing balances the responsibilities that she has within the family. Charlotte has no desire to prepare dinner, it is in full burn-out ! I had a little fear that we can find Charlotte boring, killjoy and unsympathetic, but Olivier made it so, fortunately, that one guard of empathy for her : she shows her hand of humanity, when she says,” before I was more fun “. It is just someone cool who has fed the bowl.
![[INTERVIEW] L’ÉQUIPE DE BABY PHONE](http://penelopethemovie.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/interview-l-quipe-de-baby-phone-2.jpg "[INTERVIEW] L’ÉQUIPE DE BABY PHONE")
– Medi Sadoun : My character Ben is still stuck on his music, his passion. He has forgotten his marriage, his child, the charter to ensure his family life. In accepting the role of Ben, I responded to my desire of an actor to change roles and universe, to be in a more serious. The difficulty, when the text is good, it is the “next to the text” and to be in tension, to play on the silences, the glances, the discomfort… It is more difficult, but it is also more interesting.
– O. C : The character of Ben is not reassuring at all Charlotte, who became in spite of itself the leader of the family ! It is passive with what happens to him during the dinner as everything collapses around him and the leaves you speechless. It takes time to realize and react to what happens to him… But his communication goes through music, which is his truth… for I am persuaded that there is at the bottom of each of us, an artistic discipline that lies dormant and only asks to hatch.
Tell us about the scene of the piano.
– Mr. S : I wouldn’t say if it’s my hands that play it, because it is the magic of cinema !
– A. M : This sequence is an important issue for Charlotte at this moment of the film. The song moves me and what is said in this scene speaks to me a lot. I don’t think when I play if it is me or the character which is moved, but laughter and tears are transcended by my face and my physical, which are my working tools.
Can we say that your film is a feminist ?
– O. C : Yes, for sure, the film is a feminist ! I worked on the scenario with Audrey Lanj, my wife. I think that it has exorcised some of the difficulties of torque thanks to the scenario, and there was a lot of fun. The baby monitor plugged in all day is a cookie permanent, which puts all the world in the face of its records. I hope that this comedy, which wants to be original, will even be beneficial to some couples. We even think that everybody will be able to identify, in particular in the relationship with his own parents.
– A. M : The movie is a feminist to the extent that Charlotte decides to take things in hand, takes revenge and wins his freedom. And then, it is rare, but the film also shows a man who forgives his wife and realizes he is partly responsible, and that is the key feminist writer.
Interview by Sylvie-Noelle