La Petite Bande, the new colorful comedy by Pierre Salvador, is expected to bring a breath of fresh air to this scorching summer of 2022!
After the crazy En liberté in 2018, Pierre Salvador is back with La Petite Bande, his new quirky comedy.
The troupe that gives the film its name is Cat, Fouad, Antoine and three, four 12-year-old schoolboys. Out of pride and provocation, they embark on a crazy project: to blow up a factory that has been polluting their river for years.
But in the newly formed group, disagreements are common, and equal voices constantly paralyze action. To make a decision, they decide to bring Aimee, a rejected and lonely child, into their little group.
As excited as they are by the magnitude of their mission, the five accomplices will learn to live and fight together in this fun and uncertain adventure that will completely surpass them.
Five children and a kidnapping
After a strange heist in En liberté, Pierre Salvador this time organizes a kidnapping that turns into a fiasco, and it’s all carried out by 12-year-olds!
Initially, the film was not intended for children to wear. It focused on a small group of adults “Incompetent and clumsy”. The director changed the tune because he thought it was broken.
“I attacked the children because of drama. Suddenly I was more interested in their sense of improvisation, lies, cunning.
What I like is watching these kids come to terms, exploring their ideas of justice and injustice, showing how kids invent themselves.explains the film director.
A summer comedy?
La Petite Bande is the perfect movie to spend time at the movies with the kids in this hot weather! The film, which takes place in Corsica, brings its share of magnificent scenery, all in a refreshing atmosphere, thanks to the energy and vitality of the teenagers in this group.
However, due to some somewhat difficult scenes involving the factory boss’ kidnapping plot, La Petite Bande is recommended for ages 10 and up.
Pierre Salvador has managed to assemble quite a group of talented young actors, from Colombe Schmidt to Matty Clodon-Guinness, through Aimee Madeville, Redwan Selam and Paul Belhost. The latter comes out of the game in an absolutely hilarious college boy-on-the-wrist Amy outfit.
According to the actor, this character is basically a bastard. But he is brave enough to find friends. He’s also the type of person who immediately wants to be the boss, wants to get involved, even if he doesn’t know the people he’s dealing with or the situation.
Paul Belhoste plays Aimee
“For me, a newbie in a group can’t get involved in everything like that! He needs to calm down and that’s not the case with Aimee at all, who directly suggests things. She’s also someone who likes to integrate others.”emphasizes the 12-year-old young actor.
During the casting, he was chosen by Pierre Salvadori “Lovely, interesting personalities. I also wanted kids who wanted to play, who enjoyed it. Someone who could be interested in the character, even if it was very far from them.”
A loyal director
To reassure these apprentice actors, the director had this to say about his personality: “I deliberately made fun of myself: I played all the roles, a little boy, a little girl, I ran into the dust! He was not afraid of stupidity, he wanted to encourage them to surrender in front of the camera.
Redwan Selam had never acted until he was cast in a short film for a festival in his hometown. His older sister, who was taking him, then went through the casting notices and signed him to La Petite Bande.
Colombe Schmidt, Paul Belhoste and Matty Claudion-Ginness were already in the theater. The latter starred in a musical and a Canadian short film.
Finally, Aimee Madeville sent her own video for casting because she couldn’t go to Paris: “I chose to talk about my passion: history. I’m really passionate about World War II and cinema, especially the propaganda films of that time.”he confided.
Pierre Salvador and his small group
An eco-friendly movie?
In addition, La Petite Bande raises awareness about the topic of ecology without teaching lessons, which Pierre Salvador wanted to avoid when writing the film.
The filmmaker denies making the film “Elevation or relaxation on ecology”. Wary of works on this topic, he wrote characters who were not initially militant in approach, but still aware of environmental problems.
According to him, today’s children “They are well aware that their habitat is threatened, they are aware of the possibility of the finite, but it does not overwhelm them. There is this form of childhood amnesia that makes them still open to play, to invention…
As if there is a new breed of “hybrid” children in which innocence and conscience, lightness and despair coexist.he analyzes.
In this Corsican village, children are let out into nature. They have their own paths, landmarks, treasures, caves and trees. They live in nature and in nature. “But I was very careful not to have the speech I needed”Pierre Salvador explains.
“Of course, I have a personal opinion about all this, but I don’t like program films where the characters are speakers, everything is disembodied.
The characters have to embrace their contradictions, their humanity quite easily. Then everything continues, their ideas improve. The story of the film is this long discussion”he concluded.
La Petite Bande hits theaters July 20.
Source: allocine
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
