A moving film that mixes the small story with the big one and “accurately describes the moods of young people who aspire to build a new world in a region of the world subjected to extreme tensions.” A film about a man’s love for a woman, and a man’s love for a country, a film about selflessness that might never have seen the light of day in 1991. But when Sophie Marceau accepted to come to shoot in Israel despite the imminent “Gulf War,” Alexandre Arcady’s film was on its way. No one deserted.
The DVD “Pour Sacha” is a film, or rather a “souvenir album” that will undoubtedly find its place in every family.
Nice-Première followed in the footsteps of Sacha. Along the way, she met the director and screenwriter of the story: Alexandre Arcady, a magician of the real.
Nice-Première: After 15 years of the release of “Pour Sacha” in theaters, you’re releasing this film on DVD, why?
Alexandre Arcady: 15 years because at the time of the film’s release, there were no DVDs so we released it on VHS (Smile).
N-P: But why this year, and not last year?
A.A.: Time needs time. I didn’t have the time to take care of this DVD before this year. I wanted to make a DVD with style, a complete DVD with making-ofs, interviews, a TV zapping… And then, in the end, it’s not bad to leave this time gap because today, I feel that it is a renaissance, a rediscovery with this DVD.
N-P: So, what was the starting point of this film?
A.A.: From the will to recount a period I lived when I was 18: leaving to live in Israel in a kibbutz. I was surprised by the “Six-Day War.” I obviously kept the traces of it and it’s this magical moment where you are in full swing, where you have a moment of life within you. You absolutely don’t want to extinguish it. It’s an extraordinary moment. It’s a film about love and youth.
N-P: Autobiographical?
A.A.: Inevitably, since it is inspired by elements I have known because one does not invent beings who lived somewhere in Israel at the time of the “Six-Day War”. It really is something that befalls you. We are there to participate in an experience that is a beautiful one… utopian, then we find ourselves confronting history with a capital H.
N-P: How was the atmosphere during the shooting?
A.A.: A bit strange, in the sense that we were in 1990, we were shooting this film that recounted the beginnings of a war, that of 1967, and we were experiencing daily the aggressions of another conflict that would occur a few weeks later: it was the first “Gulf War.”
N-P: Not easy?
A.A.: Indeed, not easy, because we had to disregard these anxieties that were really legitimate anxieties. Because when they distribute gas masks to you… and they tell you what to do in case of attack, it’s a bit complicated.
N-P: If you had to keep only one image from this adventure?
A.A.: That of Sophie Marceau, with her weapon on her shoulder… running between the shells, at night, to reach headquarters. One feels that on this face, something is brewing, there is tragedy, history begins to mark this face. I find this moment extraordinary (smile).
N-P: On the Internet, I found several comments about you, one of which caught my attention: “Alexandre Arcady gives me happiness: that of finding my roots, our solidarity, and the anti-racism we have always known in the country, I also love his way of telling the story of Pieds-Noirs, Jews, and Arabs, which is truly that of a child from ‘there’. Thank you.”
A.A.: It’s a beautiful tribute. There’s an anecdote I’d like to tell you related to the film. About 4 years ago, a young woman stopped me in the street saying, “Can I kiss you?”, as she was pretty, I obviously didn’t refuse (Smile). She told me that when she was 18 in 1991, she was in a deep depression, she had no purpose in life, she was medically followed, things were really not going well. For several weeks, she hadn’t left her house. Then in April 1991, it was the first beautiful days in Paris, it was a radiant sun, she decided to get some air and went down the Champs-Elysées. There, she saw the poster for “Pour Sacha,” she knew absolutely nothing of the film because she hadn’t listened to the radio or TV. And since she liked Sophie Marceau, she went to see the film. The next day, she went to an agency and went to live in Israel in a kibbutz where she met the man of her life, he is her husband today. She has three children and is the happiest woman in the world. And I told this woman: “Listen, if I made this film just for you, I’m very happy.”
N-P: You gave her the key to happiness.
A.A.: That’s right, exactly.
N-P: Another comment I found on the net, or rather a wish: “I would like you to make a sequel to ‘Le Coup de Sirocco’.”
A.A.: (Smile) There won’t be a sequel to “Le Coup de Sirocco”. Apparently, I’m going to make a film that precedes “Le Coup de Sirocco”. I wrote a book that tells the story of my very early childhood: “The Little Blonde from Kasbah”. I want to recount the Algerian war seen through the eyes of a child. How children are the involuntary witnesses of conflicts organized by adults? How are children going to be confronted with the horrors of a war? That’s something I’m very keen to do.
N-P: A film that will include the usual cast of actors you tend to stage?
A.A.: No, not necessarily. If I make this film based on my book, I won’t need stars, I will need friends.
N-P: I’ll mention some names of actors who have played in your films, and you’ll tell me the first word that comes to mind when I mention their name.
A.A.:
– Roger Hanin: The Great Forgiveness
– Sophie Marceau: La Boom, no I’m not just going to mention films (Laughs)… Beauty
– Richard Berry: A violin, because it’s an exceptional instrument for a director.
– Marthe Villalonga: My mother
– Patrick Bruel: My brother
– Gérard Darmon: My uncle
(Laughs)
N-P: And lastly, any projects?
A.A.: The one I just mentioned above and also two comedies, one with Jean Loup Dabadie “Forcing” and another which will be called “Can you keep a secret”, but shush it’s a secret (Smile)
Production company’s website: https://www.alexandrefilms.c.la
Where to get the DVD? Fnac
