At the cinema: In his image… why should we see this charming romantic fresco in Corsica?

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Fragments from the life of Antonia, a young photographer from Corsica-Matini in Ajaccio. His loyalties, his friends, his love intertwine with major events in the island’s political history, from the 1980s to the dawn of the 21st century. This is the mural of a generation.

A little more than two years after the highly successful investigation of the state scandal, director Thierry de Peret is back in his image. The filmmaker discovers here the environment and themes that he has already filmed several times with talent: Corsica and the history of Corsica.

A romantic mural in the 80s and 90s in Corsica

We find the ingredients that have already made his previous films successful: a careful screenplay, a captivating plot and a wide staging. In his image there is tragedy, tension, violence, to which the screenwriter and director added the world of photography and journalism and Corsica.

All characters are purely literary characters

As Thierry de Peret summarizes, “It puts this photographer’s trajectory in tension with important episodes in contemporary political history“The film is a romantic mural with many twists and turns. The romantic impression is emphasized by the choice of voiceover. Several political and historical events frame the story: “The Bastellica-Fesh affair, the double murder in Ajaccio prison, the death of Robert Sozzi, the split in the FLNC…“But as the filmmaker points out, all the characters are”purely literary characters“.

His image is precisely adapted from the novel (a first for Thierry de Peret). The book is also called A son image and is signed by Jérôme Ferrari, 2018. This author won the Prix Goncourt for a previous book, in this case Sermon on the Fall of Rome (Actes Sud), in 2012. Note that the adaptation is tighter in time than the novel.

A political chronicle in the tradition of A Violent Life

À son image is a continuation of the demanding work begun by Thierry de Peret and specifically his first two feature films Les Apaches and Une vie violent. A Violent Life was a compelling dive into the mysteries of the Corsican mafia, by a realistic and little-known actor.

Like A Violent Life, In His Image is a political chronicle, but this time from the point of view of a female character (again a first for Thierry de Peret). This heroine is played by Clara-María Laredo, 20 years old, for whom this is her first role in a movie. It impresses on this character that it should develop over the years.

“When I read his portrayal, I was quickly fascinated, but also worried, because I had just finished “A Violent Life” and I had the impression that the novel was, in some way, in dialogue with my film.

At first I thought it would be silly to adapt it

At first I thought it would be silly to adapt it because you’d be trying to do the same thing again just by changing the characters… but interestingly, that’s what made me want to do it. When I closed the novel, I immediately talked about it with my producer, Frédéric Jouve, who bought the rights.

Filming took place in the spring of 2023, then the film was presented at the Quinzaine des filmmakers last May. In His Image hits theaters this Wednesday, September 4, 2024.