– Benoît Mariage delivers a moving chronicle of the tensions of a young actor, caught between his origins and the destiny he has dreamed of
Bastien Ughetto in Habib, the great adventure
Benoit Marriage present in competition at Angoulême Francophone Film Festival Habib the great adventurehis fifth feature film, a fleeting portrait of a young actor navigating on sight between the injunctions of his profession and those of his community.
In the beginning, Habib was a sweet dreamer. We meet him on waking, still a little immersed in sleep. He shouts at two cooing pigeons at his window. Like his role model, he longs to talk to animals. He praises the humility of birds, their sense of contemplation. Habib is in the role, and maybe a little more. He is about to don the costume of Francis of Assisi for a play at the National Theater. A costume of Saint therefore, which is not without asking some questions about his commitment. How to announce to his family, certainly pious, but driven by another faith, that he is going to embody this hero?
Between the small roles of Arabs of service which run through his brief filmography, and this title role anchored in the Catholic religion, it is difficult to pass on his professional choice to his parents, representatives of the traditions. Until the day when, by chance at a casting, he lands a somewhat special appearance: a few minutes alongside the Cinema itself, an embrace with Catherine Deneuve. Something to reconcile his family, even his community, with his job.
Through this portrait of a singular artist, it is also the portrait of an era that Benoît Mariage paints without seeming to, illustrating the quest for identity of a young man lost between his origins and his aspirations, tempted by the power of a faith which is not a priori his own, and which chooses an ancestral model, figure of an ultra-modern decrease, champion of a happy destitution.
But this spiritual quest is ultimately above all a quest for identity. Habib will learn, over the course of this great adventure, to allow himself to be himself. By dint of tackling, looking for references, it is a bit of himself that he has lost along the way, more than of his father against whom he seeks to build himself. “You are my father, but I am no longer your son”, he proudly proclaims to his parent, like Francis of Assisi. Habib breaks ties to better create new ones, overcome shame and fit into the world in his own way.
Behind this personal quest, Benoît Mariage reveals behind the scenes of cinema, by offering a mischievous and absurd vision, carried by the gently hallucinated interpretation of Bastien Ughetto in the role of Habib, by a slew of tasty supporting roles, and of course, by the iconic Catherine Deneuve.
Habib the great adventure is produced by Daylight Movies (Belgium) and Formosa Production (France) who have accompanied the Belgian filmmaker since Zebra Stripes [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film]. The film is co-produced in Switzerland by Cab Productionsand co-produced in France by Polaris Movie. International sales are handled by BeForFilms. The release in France, dated for the moment February 22, 2023, will be provided by KMBO.