METEORS
Météors (Meteors), as seen by Hubert Charuel
Eight years after the success of Petit Paysan (Bloody Milk), thanks to which he won the César Award for Best First Film, Hubert Charuel brings together Paul Kircher, Idir Azougli and Salif Cissé to share the story of Météors (Meteors), his new feature film presented in Un Certain Regard, a reunion in adulthood of three childhood friends who grew up Haute-Marne, a rural region of the “empty diagonal”.
What was the starting point for your film?
At the beginning, there was a desire to talk about a specific region and friendships at risk. The region is Haute-Marne where I grew up, and the characters are inspired from those close to me.
How did you shoot the film?
The conditions were pretty tough in terms of fatigue, with many takes at night and in the winter. As we did not have much time to shoot, we had to rewrite the film while we prepared it and therefore also prepare it while we were shooting it. It all had to be done quickly… but the entire technical crew supported us and reuniting with the actors every morning or every evening wiped the hardships from our memory. The end goal was clear and filled us with emotion. Human beings were central to the project, which echoed the theme of the film.
There is obvious chemistry between Paul Kircher, Idir Azougli and Salif Cissé…
The heart of the film is the three of them. We wrote a story about characters who have known and cherished each other for a long time… If their mutual feelings were not believable, the film was doomed. We searched a while for these three actors but the meetings made it obvious. The unknown factor was the chemistry that needed to occur and I felt extremely privileged to watch what unfolded. They fooled us all because the love between them never seemed faked: it all looked so simple and natural once they stepped on set. A comment as well for the supporting roles who all showed up with real purpose. They were not there to assist the lead actors, they had something serious to protect, and it was a pleasure to watch them perform.
What would you like the audience to remember from this feature film?
If viewers still remember the names of the three characters a few months after having seen the film, it’s because they loved it to the level of what all screenwriters and directors aspire for the characters that they create.
What made you want to become a director?
Going to the cinema was the one thing that got us off my parent’s farm. It was an investment on their part because they did not have the time. Once per week, we drove 30 minutes, escaped for two hours and then we talked about what we saw. It was an opportunity to share something with my parents other than discussions about the farm and the cows. As an adult, I had the feeling that by being both a farm child and a child of the “empty diagonal”, I could offer a point of view on the place and the inhabitants that deserved to be told.
