Released in theaters on February 8th, 1989, La Soule returns to theaters on September 27th, courtesy of distributor Panoceanic Films! This is Michel Sibra’s only feature film. The plot introduces us to Pierre Cours, played by Christophe Malavoy. During the Battle of Vitoria in Spain in 1813, his horses were stolen by a fugitive.
The man was captured and sent to an English floating pontoon. He manages to survive, but vows to find the traitor who brought him to Hell. Courcy found him two years later in a village in the Dordogne; Francois Lemercier (Richard Bohringer) is a shoemaker.
The latter is also the captain and hero of the local Soule team, a ball game that dates back to the Middle Ages. Despite their clashes, the course finds a knightly man of honor in Lemercieux.
If this movie will be released in theaters on September 27 in a restored version, it’s no coincidence! Indeed, soul being the forefather of rugby, it was only logical that this work would appear on the big screen during the current World Cup in France.
“Michel Sibra, whose first feature film, drew a spectacular fight and a fascinating chronicle. Christophe Malavoy and Richard Bohringer compete for roles where we did not expect them. Strong actors, they create a bit of a “shadow” for their partners. The symbol is more charming than effective, La Soule is a movie about men and action.”wrote Le Monde in 1989.
Filming took place in the summer of 1988 in the Dordogne, Beaumont-du-Périgord and Isigeac. Restored by the Cinémathèque de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, La Soule gets a nice facelift for its return to the big screen. “We worked like crazy while everyone was at the beach”, noted Patrick Malefond, Director of Kinomathek. Note that the feature film received a César nomination for Best First Feature in 1990.
on the rugby grounds
35 years later, Christopher Malavoy recalls shooting this piece on a rugby field. “It’s a good memory because it’s a summer shoot, great weather in a region that’s just as beautiful. I rented a house in Bellevue with my little family, not far from Isigeac. I had the opportunity to ride some very beautiful horses. Remember the magnificent village of Isigeak and its Second Empire reconstruction. Wearing the dragon suit was great”– the actor confided in the south-west columns.
“Swinging is different from rugby. It was a sport where everything was allowed”, adds the actor, who clearly had a lot of fun making the film. Additionally, Christophe Malavoy enjoyed working with Richard Boehringer; The duo’s chemistry is palpable on screen.
Malavoy already knew Boehringer before La Soul. He liked it “His eloquence, his generosity, the humanity he carries with him, with all this emotional baggage, sometimes his grunts, his broken voice. It’s a poem, a Boehringer and a pen. We also have a party (laughs). There was a festive spirit on set, no rivalry, rugby spirit of sharing”recalls the actor.
“We were there to tell the same story, we knew that the opportunity to be with the local people. With Richard Boehringer, Roland Blanche, Jean-Francois Stevenin, Marianne Bassler, we were all more or less friends, and what’s more, he was the rugby team that we He came to help and to appear in the film.”Trusts Christophe Malavoy.
Full rooms
Before its nationwide release on September 27, La Soule was previewed in the Dordogne region where it was filmed.
“The film is shown not far from the lands of Issigeac and Beaumont (today Beaumontois-en-Périgord), where it was partially shot in the summer of 1988. The Ciné Passion chain welcomes it in about ten cinemas, before its national release. September 27, in partnership with the local authority of Rugby.noted Newspaper Sud Ouest.
According to media reports, the room was full of Eimet, “Where and the audience hung out before the post-screening exchange with the director. One-day actors and actresses of the time recalled epic memories of filming in the neighboring village of Isigeak. Sometimes with heartbreak, they recalled who they were. And proof that rugby is not all about it. It’s up to historians to trace its ancestral and social roots. definition”.
Source: Allocine

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