A dangerous friendship (France 2): “We take liberties, but we were careful to respect history”
Alain Tasma and the creators of the series tell first the conception of the great fresco of France 2, in the heart of the 17th century and the unknown history of Marie de Rohan at the court of Louis XIII.
The Historical Fresco A dangerous friendshipbroadcast from this evening on France 2, plunges into the heart of the French 17th century to tell the emergence of a young free, fiery woman, in a courtyard locked by the label, the intrigue and the balance of power. Written by Castro Eve,, Alain Tasma And Henri Helmanthis mini-series in four episodes chooses to tell the story through the female prism, without anachronism but with modern energy.
It all starts with Marie de Rohanyoung wife of the royal favorite, the Duke of Luynes. She entered the court at 18, becomes the confidante ofAnne of Austriaand troubles the established order. “What we wanted to stage, first of all, is the introduction of an 18 -year -old girl, free, in an extremely frozen courtyard, directed by a neurasthenic king and a neglected queen. The introduction of Marie brings a puff of oxygen. She opens the windows so to speak …”says the director Alain Tasma. A tonic arrival that shakes up the fragile balance of the royal family.
For Castro Eveit was a question of having complex and emblematic female characters exist: “We have three types of women: Marie de Rohan, who brings life into a corseted atmosphere. There is the queen, Anne of Austria, who cannot free herself because locked up in her role. The two are the same age, they are kids. And then there is the mother-in-law, Marie de Médicis, a woman of power and an abusive mother, who does not like her son, Louis XIII. era.” The trio, interpreted by Kelly Depeault,, Stephanie Gil And Maya Sansacomposes a subtle female fresco, between rivalries, alliances and intimate frustrations. Facing them, Jérémy Gillet embodies a Louis XIII Young, fragile and overwhelmed by the tensions that surround him.
“Young actresses had trouble applying another reading grid than that of today, than that of Metoo”
But there is no question of placing a contemporary grid on their routes. “The cast was not easy because young actresses had trouble applying another reading grid than that of today, than that of Metoo”resumes Alain Tasma. “It was complicated to make them understand the reality of men’s relationships with women in the 17th century, to make them hear this relationship of submission that existed at the time. And it was very important for us to respect this: language, the outfit of bodies, while integrating a form of vitality which was there too. Because they were 18 years old …”
This concern for historical accuracy crosses the entire project, even if it gives way to assumed narrative choices. “We take liberties, but of course we are careful to respect the story”tempers Tasma. “The memorialists of the time do not all tell the same thing. The journalist of the time sometimes invented. There are already fake news (laughs). So between three versions of the same facts, we choose the one that suits us.”
Where was the series filmed?
The care taken in reconstruction has also passed through filming, especially in the choice of the place. The Louvre, a framework for a large part of the action at the time, was out of reach. Impossible to film in the largest museum in the world. So we had to improvise. “The Louvre is unique and we knew that it would be difficult to find the equivalent. We tell the story of a dysfunctional family living under the same roof, of people who do not support themselves. So I was very attentive to traffic which can exist inside the walls of the castle.” It is at Ancy-le-Franc castlein Burgundy, that the team installed its districts: “We have not made precise replicas of their apartments in the Louvre, but they are apartments of the 17th century, historically credible. They have this greatness.”
Accessories, costumes, furniture was carefully chosen. “Upstream, there is great attention paid to places and sets, accessories, costumes, and then doesn’t care about it and focusing on the actors. We see all that, but it is never at the center of the staging.”
A dangerous friendship, historical mini-series in 4 episodes, to see Wednesdays June 18 and 25, on France.
