After Lambert Wilson in Hiver 54, Abbé Pierre (1989), it is the turn of Benjamin Lavernhe (Jeanne du Barry, Le Sens de la fête) to lend his features to the Catholic priest in the biopic L’Abbé Pierre: Une Fighting life. The 1989 film focused on a specific episode in the clergyman’s life: the winter of 54. The feature film by Frédéric Tellier (L’Affaire SK1, Goliath) explores the existence of Henri Grouès ( his real name), from his youth to his death in 2007.
L’Abbé Pierre: Une vie de Combat was presented out of competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The biopic traces the clergyman’s struggles, from his mobilization during the Second World War to his acts of resistance, including his commitment to the homeless and even the founding of Emmaus. However, the director does not paint a hagiographic portrait of the priest. “I wanted to tell the story of the man who hid behind the myth without embellishing the reality or hiding the controversies,” he assured us in our columns during the filming of the film almost a year ago.
Close-cropped hair, hunched back, fragile appearance and slow speech… In the trailer, Benjamin Lavernhe is unrecognizable. “It’s a very technical role, with a lot of text and physical metamorphoses, which must be sustained over time. I needed an actor of Benjamin’s caliber,” Tellier said at the time. At his side, spectators will find Emmanuelle Bercot in the role of Lucie Coutaz, who hid Abbé Pierre during the war before becoming his secretary, and Michel Vuillermoz in the character of Georges Legay, former convict and first member of Emmaüs . Chloé Stefani, Sébastien Corona and Xavier Mathieu also complete the cast. L’Abbé Pierre: A Life of Combat is expected in theaters on November 8.