Just trying to get across a positive, lasting message
Cinema has many different faces for Patrice Leconte, one of France’s most flexible directors, who avoids being tagged to one genre and whose every film is different from the last. Leconte was in Greece recently for two separate occasions: He received an honorary Golden Horse from the 15th Mediterranean Film Festival in Larissa, and he appeared at the 7th Francophone Film Festival, organized jointly by the French Institute in Athens and the Thessaloniki Film Festival, and which runs until Sunday. «It appears to be a bit odd that I make films that are so completely different from one another,» Leconte said at a Monday morning meeting with the public and the press at the French Institute. «But, I also like to watch many different kinds of films. I don’t know anyone who’ll watch only Westerns, for example. I seek freedom. I would get very bored doing the same thing over and over again. I know this may not be a very proper stance and that all great auteurs have a recognizable style… I am not great and I don’t care one bit… Why shouldn’t I express the things that are mine? I haven’t got a schedule or a set of rules about the films I want to make. I don’t channel myself into something specific and strict. I like strolling around.» Leconte was also in Athens to present his latest film, «Amis pour la vie,» which opens at Greek theaters on July 6. This film comprises the third part of the highly successful «Bronzes» comic trilogy and stars George Aguilar, Josiane Balasko, Karine Belly and Elio Beretta. «Les Bronzes 3» is about a group of friends who first met on the screen in 1978 and then again in 1979. The third film has already sold over 10 million tickets in France. Leconte sees the difficulty in trying to make a different audience to «get» his sense of humor. «Comedy is often impossible to export. Humor is not universal,» he says. «Things that may make the Spanish or the French laugh may leave the Greeks indifferent. I normally find it very hard to watch my films along with the audience, but during the Athens screening I saw the audience was laughing and it moved and relieved me.» Two years ago Leconte came into some heavy conflict with French critics, accusing them of discriminating against French cinema. Has his position changed today? «Let’s not pour oil on the fire,» he said. «I would accuse the French critics of loving French cinema less than I do. I understand that they may not like some films, but they can’t express themselves so aggressively and especially against films that the public likes. When I said how I felt, it sparked off a war that grew, and what I realized was that you can’t criticize critics. We all calmed down a bit, but then they started again… I believe that the role of the critic is to direct people to films that are not so public.» In matters of aesthetics, Leconte says he prefers films that resonate with the public’s emotions over films that are perfect on a technical level. «I enjoy films that are uplifting, where the director takes me by the hand and leads me somewhere. I consider a film good when it touches me, moves me, makes me laugh. Life is hard and we don’t need to make it any harder. Films should express something positive, something lasting. We can reach out to people with humor, with a light-hearted attitude.»
