Malik Bentalha director and adventurer for Jack Mimoun
Known for his performances and comedic roles in cinema, Malik Bentalha he went behind the camera Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde (2022), in which he also plays the lead role. In it he plays an adventurer who survived for months on the island of Val Verde. When he returned, he shared his story in a book and launched a survival show. All of this was actually born from a lie. Jack Mimoun is not so brave and even less resourceful in the jungle. What Aurélie Diaz (Joséphine Japy) will discover, as she reluctantly takes him on a quest in hopes that he will help her find a legendary pirate sword. On their adventure they will be accompanied by Bruno (Jérôme Commandeur), Jack’s agent, and Jean-Marc Bastos (François Damiens), a pilot who shoots at everything that moves.
Mixing action and comedy in an exotic universe, Jack Mimon fully takes on the influence of old-fashioned cinema with similar films The man from Rio (1964), In search of the green diamond (1984), or even the Indiana Jones. We are more into homage than parody of the genre, for an effective result (see our opinion). Unfortunately the feature film did not attract as much as hoped because “only” 657,000 entries were recorded during the theatrical release. A score that is not up to the budget of 15 million euros.
Filming in complicated conditions in full Covid
Originally, the filming of Jack Mimon was to take place in Réunion. For logistical reasons the production eventually turned to Thailand to benefit from the natural scenery. Except that after the location search began in February 2021, for filming scheduled between April and June, the Covid pandemic it forced many changes, sometimes overnight, as Malik Bentalha explains in press kit.
We found extraordinary settings that the day before had become inaccessible for the next day. We had to leave in the middle of the night to find the others without actually seeing them. All this, in extremely strict health conditions: 15 days of isolation every time we returned to the place before we could leave our hotel room.
Luckily for the director, “the entire cast agreed to play along” and remain confined away from their loved ones. Furthermore, by arranging the rooms with treadmills, Playstations or terraces, Malik Bentalha believes that this period “wasn’t that difficult” and even helped to “unite the group before filming”. For his part, Ludovic Colbeau-Justin, co-director of the film, remembers having seen it the country is closing itself more and moreforcing us to improvise for the shoot by adapting to the weather.
From the 4th day we had to leave the region where we were. I can tell you that the filming plan was a bit messed up! We had to continuously find new locations to shoot, alternating the north and south of the country, reinventing ourselves every day or almost, with meetings at night and on weekends to adapt… Then there was Covid of course but also the vagaries of the weather, etc… So I experienced things as a constant 45 day battle!
15kg too much below 45°
In addition to technical difficulties, Malik Bentalha also suffered as an actor. First, the actor made the choice gain 15kg for the rolenot wanting to be too blunt to match “this clumsy boy, who let himself go physically once success came.”
I would have liked to fight once in Thailand because of my weight and the heat, like Jack who, this time, will have to really face the hostile nature without worrying about reality.
Malik Bentalha lived the fight well, below 45° in the heart of naturein the “jungle which was not his favorite element”, according to Ludovic Colbeau-Justin. The actor then confronted “animals and physically complex situations”, but without ever asking questions and maintaining a positive mentality.
I saw him do very difficult things with himself, without being able to take a break like the actors, since he was co-director. He convinced himself that he would resist and he resisted! I still took him out to sea even though he got sick right away on the boat but he resisted.
Source: Cine Serie
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