21/08/2007

Filming kicked off in Avignon yesterday on the eagerly awaited Parlez-moi de la pluie (“Talk to Me About the Rain”), Agnès Jaoui’s third feature after The Taste of Others (2000) and Look at Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2004).

The new ensemble film stars the director, her regular partner Jean-Pierre Bacri and a new arrival to the Jaoui-Bacri world: Jamel Debbouze (Best Actor at Cannes 2006 for Days of Glory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean Bréhat
interview: Rachid Bouchareb
film profile]). Other cast members include Frédéric Pierrot, Pascale Arbillot, Florence Loiret, Guillaume De Tonquedec and Bernard Nissile.

Co-written as usual by Jaoui and Bacri, the story remains under wraps. What is sure though is that Jaoui will play a feminist and the film will deal with, in the director’s words, "a couple, guilt, victimisation, the past, inheritance." Another clue is that feature’s title, inspired by the lyrics of the George Brassens song “L’Orage”, about an adulteruous encounter between two neighbours.

Winner of three Best Screenplay Cesars for Smoking/No Smoking in 1994, Family Resemblances in 1997 and Same Old Song a year later (as well as prizes for Best Supporting Actress and Actor), Jaoui and Bacri then went on to work for themselves with Jaoui taking the director’s seat.

The formula was a successful one, with Jaoui’s feature debut The Taste of Others proving a huge success in 2000 (3.8m admissions in France, an Academy Award nomination and four Césars, including Best Film and Best Screenplay). The success was repeated in 2004 with Look at Me picking up Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival and attracting 1.6m viewers in France.

In recent years, the acting duo have been seen less often onscreen, with Bacri only starring in four films in seven years (among which Charlie Says… [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Feelings), while Jaoui has appeared in The Role of Her Life and 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman).

Produced by Jean-Philippe Andraca and Christian Bérard for Les Films A4 , Parlez-moi de la pluie received co-production funding from France 2 Cinéma and pre-sales from Canal +.

Filming will last until October 19 in and around Avignon, with the final week to be shot in Paris. French distribution and international sales are still under negotiation but it is more than likely that the film will be ready for Cannes 2008 and a theatrical release the following autumn.

(Translated from French)