This weekend, the 18th Mouans-Sartoux festival took place. On this occasion, Nice Première came across, among the book stalls, the unforgettable abusive mother from Guy Bedos’s films, Marthe Villalonga.
“Quite simply,” with her inimitable accent, Marthe Villalonga, who is not afraid to proudly state that she comes from a Pied-Noir family, gave us a moment of her time to answer a few questions.
Nice-Première: What has writing your book “Quite Simply” brought to you?
Marthe Villalonga: Ultimately, I’m very happy that I did it. I wrote it with a friend. The outcome is exactly what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. It’s a biography. It’s my journey from the day I was born until two years ago. It’s exactly me.
N.P. : Guy Bedos is also at the Mouans Sartoux festival, and you’ve played his mother in films. What do you think of his book “Memories of an Over-Mother”?
M.V.: I started reading it because I only received it this week, but as I’ve worked with him, I know him quite well. We did a movie together. He says things the way he thinks them, and that certainly must come through in the book. I suppose it’s really him in this work.
N.P. : In the minds of the French, Marthe Villalonga is often associated with Rose from the TV series “Maggy”; would you say this role has marked your life?
M.V.: Yes, absolutely. It lasted long enough that people remember the character. People identified with these characters. They felt concerned. One day, I met some ladies who were housemaids, and they congratulated me for having the guts to scold my boss.
The network decided to stop, and we had to comply. But we’re often asked to bring it back.
N.P.: What does the South mean to you?
M.V.: Ah, the South, it’s life, the sun, the sea. I’m happy whenever I’m in a southern place. I come here for my vacations, but I live in Paris. When I come back, I regain my roots. There’s the brightness, the light, the way of living, of talking, of expressing oneself…
N.P.: Have you been to Nice?
M.V.: No, no. I don’t go as far as Nice. It’s a big city, and it doesn’t interest me.
N.P.: What has time taught you?
M.V.: First of all, time has taught me tolerance. Second, I would say, to be thankful for the journey I’ve had. Even now, I’m in very good health, and that’s what matters most: having good health.
We thank her for her kindness and availability. Marthe Villalonga will be at the Théâtre Debussy in Cannes on January 6, 2006, in “She Will Outlive Us All” by Jean Franco.
Interview by Audrey Bollaro
Information: https://www.palaisdesfestivals.com/article.php3?id_article=1130
