L’Etabli: The glorious real story behind this social film with Svan Arlod

What is it about? A few months after May 68, Robert, a normal and left-wing activist, decided to get hired as an assembly line worker at Citroën. Like other comrades, he wants to enter the factory to ignite the revolutionary fire, but the majority of the workers no longer want to hear politics.

When Citroen decides to compensate the Grenell contracts by requiring workers to work 3 hours of overtime for free per week, Robert and a few others then consider the possibility of a social movement.

An exciting true story

“Established” are students who, since 1967, “settled” (recruited) in factories to get to know the working class better, to participate in social struggles.

Matthias Gokalp’s L’Etabli is adapted from Robert Linhart’s novel of the same name, first published in 1978. A communist activist, the young man was hired at the Citroën factory in Porte de Choisy, Paris in 1968 at the age of 24. . Thus, he spent a year as a worker in this facility, where he worked on the assembly line, suffering, like his colleagues, from inhumane working conditions, but also from the surveillance methods of his superiors.

Robert Linhart also describes other issues inherent in this world, such as the “lobotomization” of employees, racism, and of course, the inevitable strike. L’Etabli thus presents a portrait of the French working class at the end of the 1960s, seen from the inside. The writer stood out from the experience, both physically (he lost a few pounds) and psychologically. In the end, he drew a particularly authentic book, which is considered to be on the subject.

A beautiful pen above all else

Matthias Gokalp read working table When he was a film student. The director was obviously sensitive to its political content, but even more so he considered the literary quality of the text. He explains: “Robert Linhart was, for me, a ‘modern’ writer whom I would put at the top of my literary pantheon, along with Dura and Colte.

“I grew up in the bourgeoisie, where education tries to develop the qualities of individuals so that they can discover themselves and improve themselves: reading this book I realized that the world did not work on this principle at all, and that the main purpose of society should be to produce workers and productive forces. Children in my age group did not have the opportunity to go to school and had to work earlier than they could.

“They were consumed and destroyed by this machine. Workbench spoke very clearly of the violence, absurdity, madness and impersonal nature of this machine.”

adaptation work

Robert Linhart’s book is a chronicle that includes very good descriptions of the work and striking portraits. The first idea that Matthias Gokalp had was to restore the relationship and bring to life the characters around Robert: workers, leaders, bosses, immigrants, etc. Director says:

“I realized how clever his story was and how it was structured, with a very subtle dramatic force. There were two stages to the adaptation, with two screenwriters. With Marcia Romano, it was a time to clarify and define the perimeter: we decided. Which characters and which parts of the story we were going to keep ( first two-thirds of the book).

“I was very careful with the text when I was with Marcia and I couldn’t get away from it. Then we left it to Nadine Lamar, leaving our hands free. Nadine knows the world of work well and wanted to work. on this space for a long time. It brought a lot of narrative elements. He took a story and turned it into fiction.”

Filling the factory

For the reconstruction of the 2CV production line, Matthias Gokalp and his team settled in the Michelin desert of Clermont-Ferrand: “We filled large sheds with factory tools that were discontinued in the region. As for the 2CVs, we worked on vintage cars that were completely dismantled to rebuild the production line in the film. Also the manufacturers provided us with new parts, raw materials. Bodies and doors. We no longer produce complete 2cv, but we still produce spare parts to repair those that are still in circulation.”the film director recalls.

casting side

Robert Linhart is played by Swan Arlod. Mathias Gökalp justifies this choice: Swann is very strong, which made his physical suffering less predictable. He was very precise in his gesticulations, he played the awkwardness with great accuracy and naturalness, and he is not clumsy.

“But he has an inner fragility that Robert had. He also brought a form of opacity to the character. It takes time in the film to understand the character. The character gradually unravels and Swann built it up with his performance.”

In addition to the headliners who embody the institutions (Olivier Gourmand as a trade unionist, Denis Podalides as a factory manager, etc.) the director explains:

“They are professionals, but we wanted young French actors who are less visible and talented. Okinawa Valerie GuerrardThe casting director found them after leaving the conservatory or the theater. They are more used to the stage than the camera.”

“They are not in pure naturalism, and they are forces of suggestion, in compositional roles. Swann received them like a big brother with great generosity and benevolence.”

“Swan knows what it’s like to play second fiddle, having been a little-known comedian. There are shots where he disappears behind them. He’s with the others without appearing, and it’s to his credit that the film becomes the story of the band, not the hero.”