Bewitched by Arte: A Little Girl, a Mentally Deficient Father, a Motion Picture

Can a father’s love for his daughter be enough? How do we grow, learn, and thrive with a deficient father? The film Les Enchantés tries to answer these questions.

Loosely adapted from the novel remaining By Jean Benamore, Les Enchantés follows the story of Thierry (Gregory Montel), a man born mentally retarded and raising his six-year-old daughter Luce (Daphne Richard) alone.

If they are like-minded and united, this father and his daughter are united above all by unshakable love. But the little bubble they live in explodes when Lucy enters first grade and learns about her father’s disability.

How do you grow when you are torn between your thirst for learning and your undying love for your father? Fearing that knowledge will forever separate her from her father, Lucy decides not to study anymore. However, it will not take long for the institutions to come on board.

Therefore, we will follow this exciting story through Lucy’s eyes. Without wallowing in pathos or thrills, Les Enchantés finds balance thanks to a delicate, nuanced script as well as a flawless production.

While Gregory Monteli gives a breathtaking performance, the young Daphne Richard is stunning. Accomplices, the actors effortlessly manage to draw us into this story, which is as brilliant as it is moving.

Last September, during the artistic festival of La Rochelle, Gregory Montel, Thierry’s translator, spoke to Allocine about this film, which should not leave anyone indifferent.

How did you approach this project?

Gregory Montel : I was very scared and really thought about making this film. At first I didn’t really feel like it was possible.

Did the role of Thierry scare you?

Yes. And then who am I to talk about someone I’m not? And at the same time, I’m an actor, so it’s my job to get into someone else’s skin. I’m really tired. Many actors have already turned down the role. Finally I told myself I had to go and it wasn’t that hard.

What attracted you to the script?

I liked the story and that it was treated like a bit of a fairy tale. I knew right away that Stanislas Carré de Malberg, the film’s director and screenwriter, wanted to be realistic in terms of the game, but we were going to allow ourselves a fairy tale where we drift apart. A little bit from the truth.

I am a father, I really liked the relationship between father and daughter. There’s a 38-year age gap between Tier and Luce, but they’re almost the same age after all. He may have the natural authority of a father over his daughter, and at the same time he may be as angry as a classmate when he tells her, “You are mean.” I was very interested in this relationship between equals.

In this film, you play Thierry, a man with a mental deficiency. How do you prepare for such a role?

I watched a lot of movies to see what I wanted to do and most of all, I didn’t. I talked to doctors and specialist teachers. I also went home, mostly to talk to people with mental disabilities. I had soaked it all up to make it my own.

Tier itself is individual. It has its own ways of working. He doesn’t walk straight so I lean forward a bit to make him walk. I also spoke softly so that he could have his own diction.

What message are you going to convey with this film?

I don’t know if I’m kicking myself by saying this, but I believe that, in principle, this movie has no other message than to feel love in this moment.

What was it like working with Daphne Sentoni, with whom you have great on-screen chemistry?

We tried to meet well in advance and see each other a lot. I spent time trying to make the situation as natural as possible without infantilizing it too much.

That didn’t stop Daphne from scaring me a little at times. It’s normal, there are such situations in the movie. Then it happened that I puffed up because I’m a little talkative on the set. Sometimes he needed a little peace (laughs).

But we always managed to find our moments and moments. We still got lucky and shot this movie in seven weeks, which is no small amount for a 90-minute TV movie.

We had time to look for a little more special moments, a stronger relationship between me and Daphne. We were in no hurry. This allowed us to preserve the beautiful moments where we both wanted to be.

Have you seen the movie and what do you think about it?

I admit that I was very afraid. I can see all the flaws, but overall, I’m told it works in a way that makes me happy. I want the film to work and the audience to get into the story.

Do you have any other projects you can tell us about?

I’m going to play Le Signal, the first French series from Paramount +. I will be with Clotilda Hesme and Sara Pachud. It is an adaptation of Maxime Chatham’s novel, directed by Slimane-Baptiste Berhoun and Karim Ouaret.