Two journalists research the likely future president between the two rounds of the presidential election campaign. What is he hiding? We follow in the footsteps of Pierre-Henry Mercier (Albert Dupontel) with the reporter Mlle Pove (Cécile de France) and the cameraman Gus (Nicolas Marié). We are in a film written, directed and acted by Albert Dupontel: everything is transgressive, funny, imaginative. The filmmaker welcomes us to the premises of his production company in Paris. Its flow is still as fast as ever. The director of “Goodbye there” and “Adieu les idiots” wants us to talk about “Second Tour” about pure entertainment. But the man full of convictions, intelligent and cultured, knows full well that this is also a film that deals with today’s world.
Paris game. “Second Round” grew out of the documentary “Bobby Kennedy for President,” about his 1968 campaign. What caught your attention?
Albert Dupontel. I discovered it during delivery. I was frustrated watching the world worry about an economic crisis while we were experiencing a health crisis. The speech in Indianapolis announcing the death of Martin Luther King was very profound. A few weeks before his assassination, Romain Gary had warned him: “They will kill you.” Robert Kennedy spoke a word that was not what those in power wanted to hear. I asked myself a question: What if Robert Kennedy had said nothing about his true intentions? I wanted to build a fable out of this absurd question. “Second Tour” should not be taken seriously.
I took it seriously.
It’s a shame.
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Isn’t “Second Round” a libertarian pamphlet against liberal society?
I’m not Ken Loach, who has the talent to deliver political rants with a kind of artistic purity. My approach is more civil. “Second Tour” is a train station novel about a real world. Through light, camera, dialogue and acting we give ourselves the opportunity to distance reality. Sometimes it takes a lot of untruth to have a little truth. The times mean that we will find political topics there, but that is independent of my will. I never voted, I’m not a good citizen. In my films I simply allow myself to make a small comment on the space-time that I traverse.
I try to do funny dramas more than comedies
Albert Dupontel
Especially with hunters and footballers.
I’m not a football fan. What mistake caused the World Cup to be held in Qatar? They are suspected of subsidizing Hamas. We are giving money to a country that would fund an organization that wants to destroy our civilization. Football was invented by democracy. The players now travel to Saudi Arabia, where opponents are killed and women have the right to wear a headscarf and remain silent. The West is tired of money. The fall of the Soviet bloc intensified globalization, which gave rise to an identity reflex.
Therefore, can we not assume that there are multiple degrees in the “second tour”?
“The Dictator” or “Modern Times” by Chaplin are films with multiple levels of reception. The initial feedback to “Second Tour” was popular, with no apparent political message. My main goal is entertainment and in this context we attach great importance to clarity and rhythm. I can understand that people don’t like the film, but I would consider it professional misconduct if they found it long and incomprehensible. I want it to be quick and understandable, even if the topic is controversial against my wishes. I try to do funny dramas more than comedies. There is a great comedy writer in France: Francis Veber.
Today, with global warming, we live in a false peace
Albert Dupontel
Why do you show the human side of politicians?
Politicians all have personal stories that make them want to be in the public eye. The circumstances are sometimes so dramatic, as at the time of war, that personalities like Clemenceau and de Gaulle come to the fore. But couldn’t we also think rationally in peacetime? Today, with global warming, we are in a false peace and the way we live is a threat to ourselves. We are burning the ice we sit on. It takes strong leadership to change the way we live and think. When in doubt, we fight. This is what is happening in the world.
“I can understand why people don’t like the film. But I would consider it a professional mistake if they found it long and incomprehensible” Paris Match / © Patrick Fouque
Doesn’t the journalist Miss Pove, played by Cécile de France, embody a fourth saving force?
She is poetic, in search of an ideal. One day it was revealed that during the production of “Goodbye There” I was living at the Hotel Fortuny in the 17th arrondissement of Paris at the princess’s expense. The hotel was disused and served as a film location. Nobody checked. When I see the magnitude of this anecdote, I wonder what the rest is.
I don’t understand why ecology is classified on the left because it affects everyone
Albert Dupontel
You had already played a president in Lionel Delplanque’s 2006 film. Are you interested in politics in life?
I find the left-right divide childish. I don’t understand why ecology is classified on the left because it affects everyone. Furthermore, we saw a smarter left. Wasn’t there a debate over the summer about whether or not to invite a rapper to the European Ecology-Les Verts Summer Days? Many people want objective and realistic politics. For me, making films is a way of doing politics. When I was old enough to vote, we stood between Jacques Chirac and François Mitterrand. I abstained. My father was appalled by François Mitterrand and his attitude during the Algerian War. A father’s word was important to me.
I believe that many adult deviations have their origins in childhood. Mine was spoiled and happy
Albert Dupontel
Does the label of anarchist not suit you?
I don’t care, but the journalists who say this know nothing about anarchy, which is a structured movement with history. For my part, I allow myself an ironic look at a world that I dispute intellectually. You have to be careful with the words. The word “politics” is not the same for everyone. Thinkers from civil society such as Jean-Marc Jancovici, Emmanuel Todd, Gaël Giraud and Bernard Stiegler are convincing. You have a way of doing politics that interests me. It has nothing to do with people in the National Assembly insulting each other. We pay them to debate, not fight.
You have a filmography that is consistent in terms of content and form. Is your professional affiliation not great?
I believe that many adult deviations have their origins in childhood. Mine was spoiled and happy with tennis, horses and piano. However, when my father saw “Bernie,” he said to me, “What have I done to you?”
Could you have made a mistake when you were younger?
NO. I was impulsive because I was anxious, but my parents provided a coherent, protective, and reassuring framework for me.
Michel Deville, Tavernier, Belmondo? I spoke to them almost until the end; their disappearance moved me
Albert Dupontel
You studied medicine for five years. What have they brought you?
I understood specifically that we were impermanent. In the cinema I found a refuge from reality. I jumped from the Place d’Italie subway station and by Wednesday evening I had seen almost all of the week’s films. I could have taken drugs and drank, but given the drama of life I witnessed every day in the emergency room, I chose the movies.
Why pay tribute to Michel Deville, Bertrand Tavernier and Jean-Paul Belmondo at the start of the “second tour”?
I talked to them almost until the end and their disappearance moved me. Bertrand Tavernier had immense culture and made notable films such as “Coup de Ragon”. Michel Deville embodied elegance in his work and in his life. Jean-Paul Belmondo deeply nourished me with his apparent carelessness and his frantic desire to distract us and appear like a puppet. I understand this humility.
Society is undeniably macho. Men need to learn to control their libido
Albert Dupontel
Their unique universe enjoys enormous public success. “Goodbye up there,” “9 Months Close,” and “Adieu les idiots” each have over 2 million entries. Does success calm you down?
NO. We are only as good as the last film and can go from euphoria to despair in an instant. I hope Second Tour reaches 1.5 million admissions so I can make another film. And then nothing happens that makes me forget that time is passing at full speed and that we can’t stop it.
Is it good that cinema is being shaken by the #MeeToo movement?
There are caricatures everywhere, but it’s good that dominated people are making this known and protesting. Society is undeniably macho. Men need to learn to control their libido. I believe in complementarity between the genders. In my films I am attached to the characters of seemingly fragile women who know how to argue correctly. In religions, women’s only right is to remain silent. All religions get on my nerves.
Could you do a series?
Yes. I stay true to the ceremonial nature of the big screen, but I watch it. The German series “Babylon Berlin” is excellent.
I’ve been working with the same people for twenty years. Would that be the case if I were difficult?
Albert Dupontel
You are not a collective person. Filming doesn’t bother you?
I’m anxious and impatient. If there’s a line at the bakery, I’ll eat later, and if there’s a line at the cinema, I’ll go back tomorrow. But I believe in collective intelligence. On set, I’m alert everywhere and hold meetings. If an idea is solid, I accept it. When I often film with Nicolas Marié, it’s not out of loyalty, but because he’s a good actor. Life has no morals.
Why do you have a reputation for being a difficult man?
I’ve been working with the same people for twenty years. Would that be the case if I were difficult? Fifteen years later, people still talk to me about the moment I walked off a set because the journalist hadn’t seen the film. I find that I have mastered myself.
SECOND ROUND By Albert Dupontel With Cécile de France, Nicolas Marié, Albert Dupontel…
Miss Pove (Cécile de France) is a to-the-point political journalist. In a twist of the situation, she will team up with the cameraman Gus (Nicolas Marié) to unveil the secret hidden by the favorite between the two rounds of the presidential election campaign: Pierre-Henry Mercier (Albert Dupontel), son of a good family, seems more complex than it seems. At his side, a mysterious man (Uri Gavriel) never leaves his side. Fans of the Dupontel cinema will not be disappointed. Fast pace, incredible situations, unusual dialogues. The duo of the one who thinks too much and the one who doesn’t think enough works wonderfully: Cécile de France and Nicolas Marié seem to be having fun and amusing us at the same time. “Second Round” is a political comedy. But with Albert Dupontel the tragic is never far from the comic.
3/5