It is one of the most beautiful films of the beginning of the year and will cause a lot of conversation

Can love withstand all storms, differences of opinion or the worst crime? That’s the question, by the way, playing with fire, the third feature film by Delphine and Muriel Cullin.

Adapted from the novel What you need at night By Laurent Petitmangin, published in 2020 by La Manufacture de Livres, the story is Pierre (Vincent Lyndon), a widowed railway worker who raises his two sons, Fus (Benjamin Voisin) and Louis (Stephane Crepon). If the latter is already destined for great learning, the former, the elder, struggles to find his way and allows himself to be seduced by small far-right groups.

For his role, Vincent Lyndon won the best actor prize at the last Venice Film Festival in September 2024. It won the prize against Adrien Brody and Daniel Craig, which gave the film incredible exposure.

Even if it is aimed at all audiences and all ages, Playing with Fire is a story rooted in its time, especially aimed at young people, regardless of whether they are aware of political issues or not. Meeting with directors.

AlloCiné: The plot of this film is part of the news. How did your sense of urgency arise to tell the fate of this family?

Delphine Cullin: The current situation worries us personally and collectively. The far right is gaining ground everywhere, but at the same time, we didn’t want to make a film about a guy on the far right. This is what has already been done. Our goal was to make a connection between this father’s fear of his son’s condition and our own concerns about the progression of these values.

The father, played by Vincent Lyndon, is an ordinary hero. In cinema, we often talk about “courageous mothers” and rarely apply this term to fathers. I think that’s the case here. Was Vincent Lyndon an obvious choice?

Muriel Coughlin: When we read the book, we immediately thought of Vincent Lyndon, both of us. We wrote the script with that in mind, telling ourselves that surely there were still aspects of it that we hadn’t seen yet. Especially sensitivity, tenderness. In our film, she defends her ideas, she fights, but we wanted to explore her unbelievable weakness.

Even if you hate to think otherwise, things will not go well.

This film questions conditional love. Can this love change if we no longer identify ourselves in the values ​​and actions of our loved one? You both disagree on this point. Did your opinion change after this movie?

Delphine Cullin: As for me, I said to my sister Muriel:No matter what you do, even something very serious, I will protect you, I will hide you if necessary, I will continue to love you..” It is the same story in this movie. We have been working on these questions every day for two years. I still think that sister remains sister, father remains father and son, it’s even stronger…

Muriel Coughlin: To me it depends on the nature of the crime. I no longer felt that my sister would still be my sister if she committed the worst crime. I think I was completely shaken there and my sister’s love was really tested. I don’t think our views have changed that much.

It’s all too easy to judge, mock or point the finger at people who are gradually losing touch with society. The film also asks this problem: how to reintegrate them?

Delphine Cullin: Even if you hate to think otherwise, things will not go well. Neither by displaying authority or anger like the father at the beginning of the film, nor by sinking into silence.

During family dinners, we often hear comments that can upset us, but what should we do? Not responding and provoking a family crisis, or keeping quiet to maintain a good atmosphere? I think silence is not the answer.

In the last part of the film there is this line: “I hope Lulu We will do all three.“At this time, the three men of this family become a unit again. It’s the same in society: we need to return to the connections and values ​​that truly unite us.

How do you work with human tensions that seem so real on screen?

Muriel Coughlin: The most important thing for us with Dolphin is to create a climate where the actors feel good and where we can also leave room for some inventions or discoveries in gestures and so on. It starts with the decor, for example.

The house should become their home. When they arrive on the first day of filming, they have to occupy their space, make their room their own, act as if they are really at home. We often talk about actors, but the real direction starts with casting. Once the role is cast with the right actor, the human material emerges naturally.

Why do you think it is important for young people to see this film?

Delphine Cullin: This is important and we were very happy, because in addition to the prize for Vincent Lindon, we received the youth prize in Italy, the Golden Lion. The student gave a very beautiful speech, which caused a special resonance in Giorgia Meloni in Italy.

Muriel Coughlin: Young people are the ones who move. All my hope is in this regard, and they are there, be it in environmental issues, but also in political demonstrations, as in July 2024. I really hope that they will come and see the film. The film is still intended for everyone, even politicians who pay little attention to young people. That the cinema is interested in all these topics is the least we can do.

Commentaries collected by Thomas Desroches in Paris on January 14, 2024.

Playing with Fire by Delphine and Muriel Cullin