“Les Misérables” on DVD and VOD: “The subject of our film is sadly topical”

He followed the controversy launched by Camélia Jordana's comments on police violence, observed for a few days the demonstrations and riots triggered by the death of George Floyd after the arrest of this black American by a white police officer who asphyxiated him by blocking his neck with his knee for long minutes, in Minneapolis in the United States. And Tuesday evening again, he was moved by the rally organized by the family support committee of Adama Traoré. "All these events show that the subject of our film is sadly topical," emphasizes Alexis Manenti, actor and co-screenwriter of "Les Misérables" by Ladj Ly, which is released this Wednesday on VOD and DVD. It is time for the authorities to understand that everyone has the right to breathe, regardless of their skin color. "

With Ladj and his other co-writer Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti was inspired by a real police blunder to write "Les Misérables": the one filmed by the director in 2008 in Montfermeil, in Seine-Saint-Denis. Ladj Ly then released these drone images to the Internet, which resulted in the conviction of two police officers. "I make films, I do not have the authority to resolve the issue of police violence, comments Alexis Manenti. But what is certain is that nothing will change until justice is done and it is more transparent and more ... just. "

Jury Prize in Cannes and 2 million spectators

With this hypersensitive theme, "Les Misérables" had an exceptional destiny: Jury Prize at Cannes, it brought together 2 million spectators in theaters, represented France at the Oscars and won the César awards from the public, the best editing, the best film … And that of the best male hope for Alexis Manenti. "We were not prepared for that," says the 38-year-old actor, who prefers to highlight the "reward of common work" rather than his own statuette. When we insist, Alexis Manenti says all the same "very happy" with this award, even if the health crisis has so far deprived him of the "César effect".

"As with the Caesar I became a star, I thought I was going to turn like crazy ... and I found myself confined", quips the man who left his trophy with his mother. Before exploding in the role of the brutal and borderline cop of the Bac, this son of psychoanalysts had already turned in ten feature films, including "Mea culpa", by Fred Cavayé, "Divan de Stalin" by Fanny Ardant or "Dans la brume" by Daniel Roby. In recent months, his career has accelerated: Alexis Manenti has filmed in “K opposite” by Sarah Marx, “The Eddy”, the series by Damien Chazelle for Netflix, and “Poissonsexe”, by Olivier Babinet. In March, he finished Thierry de Peretti's "Infiltré", where he plays a journalist who is investigating a state scandal.

Until now, Alexis Manenti has almost always interpreted police or thugs, sometimes with an eastern accent (Editor's note: of Corsican origin by his father, he speaks Serbo-Croatian thanks to a mother of Yugoslavian origin ) . “I love playing bad guys, recognizes the actor. But now, I would like to surprise with other emotions, other universes. In the coming months, the actor and screenwriter will go on to make a short film in Belgrade, then should find Thierry de Peretti's camera in Corsica. In the meantime, he saw a friend this week with whom he was working on an idea for a series before confinement: the director Ladj Ly.

EDITOR'S NOTE: 5/5

"Les Misérables", by Ladj Ly, Ed. Le Pacte, from 19.99 euros.