Benjamin Lavernhe aptly embodies Abbé Pierre in front of Frédéric Tellier’s camera, in a biographical film about this committed and tormented humanist priest. A man who dedicated his life to the homeless and the destitute. And one of the favorite personalities of the French in the 1950s and 1960s.
Abbé Pierre said that we give meaning to our life by realizing the happiness of others. “Life is a little time given to one’s freedoms, to learn to love and share with others. »
Born Henri Grouès in Lyon in 1912, into a rich and bourgeois family, Abbé Pierre took a vow of poverty and entered the Capuchins at the age of 19, before leaving to help put a balm on human misery. In 1949, he founded the Emmaus Movement, which is still active in 350 communities and 41 countries around the world.
Both priest and tribune, man of faith and heart, Abbé Pierre is a figure of solidarity, known and loved in France and elsewhere. A character that Benjamin Lavernhe never thought he would one day embody on the big screen.
“There was a responsibility towards his heirs, his foundation and the Emmaus movement. However, the scenario, which exposes its doubts and its gray areas, reassured me a lot. »
The filming of the film lasted 12 weeks in two parts (winter and summer 2022), interspersed by two theater commitments for the Comédie-Française actor. A long and exhausting shoot, with makeup sessions that could last six hours, while the actor lent his face to the hands of the designers in the special effects workshops, before going to the set.
Beyond the acting, the composition or the vocal and physical verisimilitude, what he retained while working on this role was the great ambivalence of Abbé Pierre.
Capuchin, resistance fighter, non-commissioned officer, deputy in the National Assembly, co-founder of Emmaüs with Lucie Coutaz (played by Emmanuelle Bercot), his great accomplice in his battles, Abbé Pierre was all that. Before becoming known across Europe when he launched his call for solidarity on the radio in 1954, during the coldest winter recorded in France. The power of his speech instantly made him a star: “He had a talent as an orator and a tribune. The crowd received his words like an electric shock. At the height of his popularity, he was like a rock star who attracted crowds, including several women, under his spell. »
“When we were asked to go to Cannes, we asked ourselves the question whether, ethically, a film about Abbé Pierre has its place at the Cannes Film Festival, a place of luxury and glamour. But we said to ourselves that Abbé Pierre would have rushed there to get his message across. Because it is one of the most covered media events on the planet. »
With around 800,000 admissions in five weeks in France, L’abbé Pierre – Une vie de combats is a great success for the actor. He hopes the film will be as successful on this side of the Atlantic. Benjamin Lavernhe had already come to Montreal, in the summer of 2017, to play at the TNM in Victor Hugo’s play Lucrèce Borgia, with members of the Comédie-Française. He would have liked to accompany the film at the opening of the Rouyn-Noranda Festival in October, but he was busy promoting it in France.
In his eyes, it is important to rehabilitate the figure of Abbé Pierre today, in order to make him known to young people. “We need light and hope in a world where we feel powerless. In an unequal society where young people are disenchanted, a little lost, the question of commitment takes on its full meaning. Faced with all the current emergencies, we cannot sit back and do nothing, saying it’s every man for himself. If cinema can help raise awareness and encourage people to get involved and take action, so much the better! »
