Vimala Pons is not Tom Cruise (and vice versa). But if the actor excelled in comedy more than the star of Mission Impossible, the two share a physical approach to the work and the idea that the actor is also an author, building a world for himself and even himself. A recurring character from one work to another.
That’s what we talked about with the French actor, who describes himself as such “author-performer of physical works”And whose talent French cinema and theaters enjoyed, at regular intervals, for more than a decade. If her first role on the big screen dates back to 2006 and Enfermés out by Albert Dupontel, the announcement took place on July 14 with the girl who came out during her first show.
From The Jungle Book to Vincent Must Die, including Planeswalker, Wild Boys, Now I’m Yours or Marie and The Hooked, Vimala Ponce regularly displays her sparkling side in the films in which she shines. A taste for comedy, burlesque and genre cinema.
Associated with William Lebgill in The Beautiful Role, Victor Rodenbach’s first feature film, he plays the mise en abyme card, playing a theater director. An opportunity for him to combine cinema and stage on the big screen. And we discuss with him how he builds his career and character from one work to another.
AlloCiné: In “Le Beau Role” you play a theater director. Was it that purposefulness that drew you in, so much so that the character was close to you as an artist?
Pons hid : Obviously, this was one of the givens, to the extent that, somewhere, you have already done 60% of the work and know what you are talking about. And, at the same time, it invites you to go through things that you have experienced so that you can understand them anew. In the end, this is the principle of living psychodrama, and it is quite nice to be able to overcome the role and re-understand what you have missed in life.
So it’s a role you haven’t been able to play before because it took you so far?
Anyway, it was good, because I know what it’s like to be responsible for a project, what it’s like to lead a team. There were many moments when this experience allowed us to find humorous points, or the specificity of certain situations. Then I really have the feeling that we can’t play everything and often, strangely, I’m often offered roles that I’m a little bit.
I think acting is a bit like turning off parts of yourself to let others in, which allows you to get closer to the psychology of certain characters. And here, I’m not a theater director, obviously: I’m an author-performer of physical plays, so I’ll never adapt Chekhov. Dead leaves are excluded (laughs)
So it was at least somewhat a composite role, because Victor Rodenbach was also inspired by his partner Pauline Baillie, who is a theater director and director in Montreal. And I think for all of us it was a kind of giant psychodrama as well. There was a lot that resonated with other people’s lives, more so than in a dystopian movie.
His very first role was the opposite… Titi and Grosminetti:
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You talked about not being able to play everything: where exactly is your limit? What type of role seems unattainable to you?
I don’t know how to do anything. So I’m super active and I can’t play passive characters. I would love to know how to do this so I can have the launch that William has. I’m not saying it’s full of passivity (laughs). But there is some sense of relaxation. It was Kareem Lecleux who said of William’s game: “There’s a tremendous amount of composure, release and listening that I don’t have at all.” I don’t listen to anyone, especially the person I’m playing with (laughs)
No, it’s not, but he taught me a lot about how to do it. I think there is an aspect of stress and modesty, through the issue of comedy and rhythm, which means that I in the form of speed and he in the form of tender and poetic phlegm, we attack the film very much. Complementary and very different places.
Was it a taste for comedy, often burlesque, as in the case of Bruno Podalides or Antonin Peretiatko, who worked at the School of Circus Arts? Or is it the love of the genre that allowed you to participate in it through the circus?
There is no doubt that I had the chance to meet these directors throughout my career, because I always followed these two paths simultaneously. Moreover, Antonin Peretiatko and I could have been a whore, The Girl from July 14, a short film by Baya Kasmi, was released at the same time as my first show. So I was always on both fronts.
These two things fed each other and allowed me to always be active. Not only in the desire of others, but to express my own desire and my own vision of the world as an author. And at the same time, being an actor also means being an author for me. It’s a different way of being.
There is a form of auteurism in the actor’s choice. This is his filmography, his overall script.
We actually have a feeling that you build a world with your movies and shows.
At first, I had read a lot of what Andy Warhol had to say about success and achievement. And when I started, I told myself I was going to get a bob because it’s unmanageable. You have to stay like this, you can’t tie your hair. This allowed me to always have the same face. This is what Andy Warhol recommended, so the loss leader is very limited.
I also told myself that I would be a more lunar character than I am, and I suggested it from film to film. So, from the beginning, there was a desire to create a kind of meta-narrative and to carry this character from film to film. Then Bertrand Mandico arrived, he offered me Les Garçons Sauvages And broke that momentum. So I think there is a form of auteurism in the casting. This is his filmography, his overall script.
But I also think that there is, at the same time, auteurism among authors. but also an interpretation. Because the way we interpret our lives is how we write them. In the sense that when something happens to you, you will interpret it by saying “that’s a shame” or “that’s great”. The interpretation is very strong in this sense. It is one of the most powerful superpowers we have.
Wimala Ponce on her show “Denver Perimeter”
Interpretation is the original art that I try to practice: in a sense, I interpret gravity through the fact, like, for example, balancing a four-meter rock with dynamite on top. – Sometimes when I say it, it seems so crazy to me (laughs). And the art of acting is to put that rock in yourself, talk about emotional imbalance, move in gravity and restore yourself.
We always see a lot of comedians, great actors who are moving. There is something about the emotional balance that I find quite common between the two. And interpretation once again means writing. And writing is interpretation.
Commentary collected by Maximilien Pierret in Paris on December 6, 2024
Source: Allocine

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.