The comedian delivers a new side of himself in the comedy-drama The Great Circusat the cinema on Wednesday.
Comedian and stage man appreciated by the French, Booder delivers himself as never before in The Great Circus, his first film as a director, in theaters this Wednesday. “It’s a human film that explains real life,” he explains to BFMTV.
In this dramatic comedy, Booder embodies Momo, an actor in need of roles. During a visit to a friend at the Robert Debré pediatric hospital in Paris, he became a clown for hospitalized children.
His challenge: to make them laugh despite the illness. Very quickly, Momo becomes an integral part of the pediatric ward and decides to stage a circus show within the hospital in which each child will have a determining role.
“A way to challenge me”
Presented for several weeks in previews throughout France, The Great Circus captivates the audience: “It’s intense,” Booder exclaims. “The public is there and warm. The film is well received. We are happy.”
“The public goes through several emotions while watching the film,” adds the actor-director. “In this film, I make people laugh and I make them cry. But we wanted to avoid falling into misery, to be fair in sincerity. It was a way of challenging me.”
“Gaelle Falzerana, my co-writer and co-director, told me that it wouldn’t be deep and touching if we just made jokes and jokes.”
However, Booder does not make “his Tchao Pantin“, in reference to the famous film where Coluche left comedy for drama.”The Great Circusit’s not my Tchao Pantin! It’s Booder when he comes home. Booder when he’s not on screen.”
“A film to say thank you to the clowns”
For this film, he was inspired by his career (he was born with a respiratory complication): “When I arrived in France, I spent seven or eight years at the Necker hospital. I met these people weird, making jokes. They made me laugh.”
“They made me take the pill – literally and figuratively. Much later, when I became Booder, I went back to see the children in Necker and Debré and I ran into these clowns again. I said to myself that if I had to make a film, it would be to pay homage to them.”
“It’s a film to say thank you to them, to pay tribute to the hospital staff who supported me when I was sick and who support us now,” adds Booder, who had already discussed his life in the hospital in his autobiography A piece of air.
“A film to watch with the family”
The film, starless, was not easy to edit. The budget was reduced: “We didn’t have a lot of money to do it, but we did it with a lot of heart,” he says. “That’s the most important thing, because it shows on screen.”
The result is “a film that you can go and see as a family: without vulgarity, without daring scenes, with a positive message”, insists Booder. “In theaters, I want there to be grandpas, grandmas, dads, moms, children. I wanted to make a film that parents can share with their children.”
The trailer like the poster does not reveal all the secrets of the film – which offers an end as unexpected as it is touching: “We didn’t put all the best jokes in the trailer. I want people to find out by themselves.”
