At 86 years old with flowers, after having survived two cancers and a “carabinated” covid
,
Mylène Demongeot is today on the poster for
Retirement home,
social comedy well in tune with the times, Ehpad scandal obliges, setting staged by Thomas Gilou (
The truth if I lie
) on an original idea by Kev Adams.
Read also Mylène Demongeot recounts her “
obsessive
” love story with Marc Simenon
Passing through Paris, in front of chocolate profiteroles served generously by the Closerie des Lilas (Paris VIe), the actress confides, with a banter full of charm that belongs only to her.
She talks about her reunion with Gérard Depardieu and her great ambition: to adapt to the cinema
Adieu Kharkov
, the story of her mother and her grandmother, two women "
with incredible courage
" born in Ukraine...
Watch the videoMylène demongeot pays tribute to Jean Piat
LE FIGARO. - During the filming of
Maison de Retraite
, you discovered Kev Adams.
Did he blow you away?
Mylene DEMONGEOT. -
Yes, of course and I must tell you that I knew his writing even before seeing him on the set.
He is the co-author of
Maison de Retraite
and from the first reading I said to myself: “
This guy has something in his stomach.
And then afterwards, I saw that he was also the producer of the film, which proves that he doesn't hesitate to get wet.
With this social comedy, he signs a story that is both funny and touching.
It passes into another category of cinema.
He was already a star for the younger generations, but there, with old tonic and virulent like Depardieu, Daniel Prévost, Firmine Richard, Marthe Villalonga and all the others, he put on an exceptional tragicomedy.
“We laughed a lot and from time to time we had a teardrop in the corner of our eye.”
On the set, you also found Gérard Depardieu...
We've known each other since
Evening Wear
by Bertrand Blier.
It was in 1985 or 86. Both of us were very moved to see each other again.
You know Gérard, he is a monster of sensitivity.
Together, we talked about his son Guillaume.
I mentioned Marie-Jo Simenon (Georges Simenon's daughter), my sister-in-law who committed suicide at 25.
Depardieu is a giant and fragile because he suffered a lot.
It makes him vulnerable and at the same time very sensitive.
It is no coincidence that after Jean Gabin, he will play Maigret.
I'm sure he'll give the commissioner all the nuances that Simenon knew so well how to suggest in his novels.
You have, I believe, a film project that is close to your heart...
Last year, I released the comic strip
Adieu Kharkov
(ed. Dupuis), the novel about the life of my mother and my grandmother, two Ukrainian women who, throughout their lives, had to struggle.
Claudia, my mom, will have been an incredible adventurer.
An adventurer who will have made a free woman, me.
I want this story to be told in the cinema, it deserves it.
I must say, moreover, that beyond the novel of my life, the story with a capital H fascinates me more and more.
I am lucky to know Yves Coppens and Claude Douce who opened a museum on prehistory at the Château de Sauveboeuf in Périgord.
Go for a walk there, not far from Lascaux, it's worth the detour.
Retirement home
is also a kind of rebirth for you after your repeated health problems...
Yes, it's crazy, I had everything.
The covid, cancers... But I told myself that it was not my time and that mentally, with ferocity, I was going to try to get out of it.
The doctor heard me scream when he told me he was extremely pessimistic.
Listen, I had to wake up my lucky stars and today, I'm crossing my fingers that everything is fine.
Retirement home
by Thomas Gilou, in 2022, screenplay by Kev Adams, with Gérard Depardieu, Kev Adams, Daniel Prévost, Mylène Demongeot, Marthe Villalonga, Jean-Luc Bideau, Firmine Richard...