Jean-Stéphane Bron
France, Switzerland | 2017 | 110 min
Language : French
Subtitle : English
“I wanted to stage the collective, the concept of the chorus and the loneliness of artists.” Following his portrayal of Christoph Blocher, the filmmaker immerses himself in the Opéra National de Paris. He depicts one of the world's most prestigious lyrical institutions, from top to bottom, from dressing room to stage, with a sensitive, spellbound, removed yet humorous gaze.
Minimum legal age 6 years, recommended 12 years and over
Six months after Stéphane Lissner took over the direction of the Opéra National de Paris, Bron stepped through the stage door at the end of 2014 with an idea in mind. He wanted to immerse himself - a first for him - in this prestigious musical institution, in order to film the place where a certain form of utopia comes into being each night, as the curtain goes up on the Bastille stage. What he poetically calls “a moment of the happy collective”, during which everybody – from stage manager to director, diva to dresser, orchestra to maestro, unskilled workers to stars – comes together to create the “Opera”. His light and sensitive gaze observes a group at work, from top to bottom, during on-stage rehearsals, and the handling, from the 8th floor, of any tensions and conflicts that might rock the boat. Through the figure of a young Russian baritone-bass (veritable alter ego of the profane Bron) discovering the workings of his new “home”, the filmmaker also reveals the relative solitude of the artists who are often their own worst enemies on the road to excellence.
Emmanuel Chicon
