I'm very happy to be here with this film, with
Mélanie, and to receive an award. I understood it's an award for my career,
which did feel a bit weird, admittedly. It's over. We're already at that stage. I did wonder when
I'd get my first Lifetime Achievement award. And there you have it.
I still have things to do. I liked the writing, how the Revolution
turns these gods into people. How they face the revolutionaries and become aware of
the hardships people deal with in the outside world. I was also very moved by Louis XVI, because I
learned things I didn't know about him. His valet's memoirs reveal a sickness, socially. He was very
shy around other people, almost autistic in a way. The film is called THE FLOOD, because his father said "After me,
the flood." He didn't think his son was fit to rule the country. It's a fascinating story of genes and human nature, how his inability to rule enabled a whole country's Revolution. There have been many films about these pages of history, but
not about the final lines. This film starts with those lines. It's about the end, about self-awareness, about
two people who never really knew each other. They met at a young age, and never had the time
nor the space to really love each other. There's fear, despair, acceptance.
The stages of grief. There was a huge struggle because of them, and then
you see they're people, maybe undeserving of such punishment. Maybe they don't deserve decapitation. We move from a space that's too large to a very small one,
with people who are scared to death. Our transformations were different: it was impressive to see
Guillaume arrive on set looking like Louis XVI. I loved working on the physical downfall
step by step, as in, I start with a wig so huge I couldn't get through doors,
and at the end I had holes in my skull. I think it's enjoyable, as an actor, to embrace transformation and
ugliness, it adds something to the performance. It's my first time in Locarno, and I'm very happy to share
this prize with Mélanie, one of the great French actresses. - We've worked together before.
- Yes, indeed. It's also a bit intimidating to receive an award, and when it's
for your whole career you almost don't believe it. I knew of Locarno's open air screenings with tons of people,
and that's quite a rare thing nowadays. If there's no torrential rain tonight,
it's going to be pretty impressive. We're very lucky to get to write and direct as well,
it would be very frustrating to just be an actor. When you're an actor, which is not easy to begin with,
you're depending on someone else's plans. It's great to be able to say no, and write a role for yourself
that they won't offer you, as Mélanie also does. It's a different angle on our craft,
and it changes everything. As actors on someone else's film,
we understand the director's perspective. There are misunderstandings between department heads
who don't know what each of them does. And when you get to write, direct, operate the camera, et cetera,
it helps you understand the job better. It's more exciting to be on set, because in addition to our
acting careers we get to have a layer of discovery.