“I cried at Elvis Presley’s grave” | EUROtoday

Did your parents have a big impact on your literary or cinematic tastes?

Not so much. I was, let’s say, a good student, and as a result I read quite a bit of what was required to be read at school, the books on the curriculum, and even all the other books recommended by the literature teachers. I was always encouraged to read, we placed a lot of emphasis on reading at home, yes, and spelling too. But I formed my tastes a bit on my own, and quite late. Typically, I discovered American literature late, in my twenties, and it was all the Kerouacs, and then The Conjuring of Fools by John Kennedy Toole… The great authors and their masterpieces like Madame Bovary, Father Goriotit touched me but the lived side of a Kerouac or a John Fante blew me away.

What is your favorite movie?

It’s difficult to answer, because it is partly linked to what we were experiencing at the time we saw them. The film I have seen the most is undoubtedly Indiana Jones and the Last Crusadebut my favorite is probably Thelma and Louisewhich is, for me, the most beautiful female role I have seen in the cinema. There is music, wide open spaces, this modern sorority, this theme of freedom, and, of course, the middle fingers!

And what about the series?

I think I lost life points watching 24 Hourswhen we all fell into binge-watching. To tell the truth, I’m too weak and I prefer to avoid series so as not to have sleepless nights. I did too much, and now, with children, it’s no longer possible! As a teenager, I obviously watched a lot Beverly Hills.

Were you team Brenda or team Kelly?

Absolutely Brenda. Her relationship with Dylan made us dream. In the end, we liked the most toxic one. At the time, these were our references.

What did your bedroom look like as a teenager?

There were quite a few movie posters. Obviously James Dean in full size, and also photos ofGone with the Wind. In my romantic mythology, the kiss scene between Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler is foundational. However, it is obviously disgusting. Rhett Butler is more than twice Scarlett’s age, he’s two heads taller than her, he kisses her by force. It’s a problematic film in many respects, obviously on sexism, slavery and even the representation of African-American populations. At the same time, I don’t want to erase these memories. At the time, it wasn’t “problematic.” I by no means talked about it with my mother and father or my grandparents whereas watching it. The query did not even exist.

What was your first report?

An Elvis Presley CD. There had been photographs in it, I discovered him so lovely… I fell in love along with his blue eyes. I bear in mind crying when my mom instructed me he was lengthy lifeless.

Do you continue to hearken to it at this time?

Yes, I’m nonetheless a giant fan. I went to Memphis, I visited Graceland, I cried within the Garden of Meditations, the place he’s buried along with his mother and father, his brother, his grandmother. I even went on a pilgrimage – in quotes, however nonetheless – to Tupelo, Mississippi. I took a Greyhound bus, like within the films, to get there. It’s a really small city, and the home the place he grew up seems extra like a backyard shed.

Which different singer do you set in your Pantheon?

There is my fantasy love story with Elvis, after which there’s on a regular basis life: the one who listens to you, who understands you, who speaks to your coronary heart, and that’s Jean-Jacques Goldman. Listening to it once more with this prism of feminism and popular culture, I understand that there are such a lot of of his songs that speak about girls, not about love within the romantic sense, however about girls’s points, about robust and impartial girls. One 12 months, I did The Bastards and I believed I noticed him, I used to be excited, however in truth… it was his brother, Robert. I used to be so upset.

What are you going to see on the cinema at this time?

I grew up with American tradition, clearly, then I found Korean and Italian cinema, and above all, Flemish cinema. Among my favourite movies at this time are these of Felix Van Groeningen, together with The Shit of Things And Alabama Monroe. There can also be Hasta la vista by Geoffrey Enthoven, a Belgian movie which did not actually work in France. It’s a highway film about three younger disabled males – one blind, one quadriplegic, one paralyzed – who resolve to go to Spain to a specialised brothel to lose their virginity. They go on a highway journey, and it’s totally humorous, very touching. There is one thing, in Flemish cinema, extra uncooked, extra gloomy, however on the similar time extra human and extra poetic.

Is there a barely shameful movie that you simply prefer to rewatch?

Yes, Blonde’s Revenge. I really like this film. It’s spherical, it is pink, it is candy, it is Reese Witherspoon. It’s “shameful”, however the disgrace is misplaced: it is a lady who takes management of her future, who goes past her private injunctions, who distinguishes herself independently of her fantasized love story with a man who’s in truth a nasty man. The climate is at all times good, the characters are well-coiffed, and casually, it is a tremendous sororal movie, even when the sorority is represented by blondes obsessive about their nail polish.

What do you set in your 2025 cultural pantheon?

Among the books I learn this 12 months, I’d say Justine Lévy, A wierd sorrow. I attempted to not learn it too rapidly. What she writes about grief, the journey with out her mom and as a mom, is transferring. These are themes that she has already explored, however she does it with a lot sincerity, with out hiding behind something and with numerous humor. I’m additionally a giant fan of Nicolas Mathieu. I came upon late, however his Instagram posts alone could make me cry. I additionally began Flinchby Maria Pourchet. There can also be the primary novel by my good friend Carole Agary, Break by the night timea really darkish and on the similar time very human e-book, which isn’t afraid to discover sophisticated themes between two sisters, the other of sorority, exactly. He may be very highly effective.

Who would you invite to your superb New Year’s Eve dinner?

I’m pondering of Calamity Jane, Cher and Virginie Despentes as a result of we might have a superb chuckle… And I’d get numerous recommendation on learn how to combat in opposition to patriarchy in thought and in fight! I beloved the gathering Letters to his daughter by Calamity Jane. There is somewhat doubt about its authenticity, however these are letters that she would have written to her daughter entrusted to a household higher ready to make sure her schooling. Authentic or not, these letters are jubilant.

They are three highly effective girls but in addition, we’re right here to chuckle. Dear, it is a late revelation. His tranquility in his freedom impresses me. Her selections of songs, garments, hair, are sensible.

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Kangaroo of the day

Virginie Despentes, I found it too late, I ought to have learn it earlier, particularly King Kong Theory. I re-watched fairly just a few of her interventions and I noticed that, within the 2000s, the extent was not very excessive in comparison with her… It’s an incarnate feminism, not simply theoretical and that pleases me.

Killer Joeon the Théâtre de l’Œuvre in Paris till January 4, 2026. A play by Tracy Letts, tailored by Patrice Costa and Sophie Parel.