Benoît Magimel – Pacifiction: “If I feel good about the person in front of me, I go for it!”

In Pacifiction, filmed in Tahiti, the actor conformed to the unique method of filmmaker Albert Serra. Confessions.

Arte will broadcast in the second part of the evening Peacetion. Torment in the Islandsby Albert Serra. A film which caused a sensation when it was released at the end of 2022, then which offered its main actor, Benoît Magimel, his second Cesar in two yearsafter that won for During his lifetime by Emmanuelle Bercot.

Peacetion is also available in replayfor free on the channel’s website. When it was released in theaters, its star spoke in First. Today we are sharing his words again.

The Spanish filmmaker Albert Serra, 46 years old, evolves in a margin where the staging remains a living matter, a laboratory where beings evolve who are obliged to tame a framework in order to exist. Man thus likes to appropriate quasi-sacred figures to better probe their fragility: Don Quixote (Honor of Cavalleria), the wise men (The song of the birds), Casanova and Dracula (Story of my death), to the Sun (The death of Louis XIV). Benoît Magimel, who plays here a High Commissioner of the Republic based in Tahiti, follows in the footsteps of all these people. If it was necessary to designate a prestigious pedigree for his character of Peacetionwe would evoke the heroes of Conrad, Melville or Stevenson. Men stranded in the middle of the tumult, balancing unstable on a lost thread.

Imperial Charisma

Benoît Magimel has embarked on a journey which, to say the least, does not come with a road map to guide him. A trip where he was one of the only professional actors on board. “ Albert (Serra) presented his project to me without a script. He just made me read a few lines of a treatment, certainly very well written, but which remained quite vague on the purpose of the film, Benoît Magimel explained to us on the phone in a clear and cheerful voice. I didn’t know his cinema at all, but when I mentioned his name to certain people in the industry, I saw their eyes light up. We spent some time together. He described to me his intentions, his very particular way of working, based on a lot of improvisation, with three cameras that would be rolling constantly… I saw it as a different way of working. I liked his personality. I am naturally instinctive, if I feel good about the person I have in front of me, I go for it. …»

As a result, with imperial charisma, he plays the prince in a kingdom – Tahiti – which is wavering everywhere. His character is looking for the right measure and, above all, the right figure to give, to reassure a population which suspects a possible resumption of nuclear tests in the region. Sometimes boastful, sometimes mute, the man adapts, prowls. Simpering too. Magimel walks here on waves of disquietude.

Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands: Benoît Magimel, immense (review)

“Him and no one else!“

“ It was him and no one else Albert Serra told us in a Parisian bar. I remember a screening at the Cannes Film Festival of An Easy Girl by Rebecca Zlotowski where it was brilliant. I felt that the ambiguity he exuded could be taken even higher. Benoît has something disturbing in his face. He gives the impression of having come a long way… When I spoke to him about Pacifiction, I was aware that the project could seem a little crazy. I saw in front of me a person you can’t scare… »

“ At the start of filming, Albert constantly came towards me to reassure me in order to be sure that I had fully understood the issues of his production. “But, I’m not worried Albert! »» replied the actor. If I knew the stakes of the scene I had to play, there was a large element of uncertainty. We were constantly looking. The team turned on the cameras. I would sometimes wait before entering the scene, taking the time to observe… This would allow me to avoid moments of hesitation. But once I started, the instructions were not to stop… »

In Peacetionthe actor, captain courage, is in all plans.

Spain. By Albert Serra. With: Benoît Magimel, Pahoa Mahagafanau, Montse Triola… Distr. The Losange films. Duration: 2h45. Released November 9