Documentaries on celebrity concerts are all the rage.
A week after that of Florent Bodin on Maître Gims (Netflix), here is that of Mathieu Spadaro on the disproportionate show at the end of the world by Mylène Farmer in June 2019 at Paris Défense Arena.
A show seen by 27,000 fans per night (there were nine in total) and packed with references, from the famous HBO series
Game of Throne
to
Blade Runner
by Ridley Scott.
The 45-minute three-part documentary to watch on Amazon prime immerses viewers behind the scenes of this extraordinary creation.
The fans will be delighted.
This new film entitled "Mylène Farmer, the ultimate creation", complements the filmed concert already available on DVD.
Those who know less about the singer's universe will also find their way there.
Seeing the creation of a show from costumes to special effects to choreography and lights (the biggest budget ever used in Europe) is fascinating.
Interview.
LE FIGARO .- How did you manage to keep this film a secret for so long?
Mathieu SPADARO .-
This documentary was made in a very small committee.
I was alone with my cinema camera.
I didn't see any fans around the rehearsals at the Seine Musicale in the west of Paris.
There were on the other hand around Paris Defense Arena during the spinning but my presence was not sufficiently noted to raise questions.
The first day of rehearsals, Mylène Farmer came to see me and said: “
You have carte blanche.
You can follow me everywhere and shoot as you want.
You make the movie you want to watch.
"
Did she participate in the production, the editing?
We worked in two stages.
I proposed something 100% me.
After a year of editing, we met at the end and she stepped in to put her voice over.
This voice is the common thread of the documentary.
How did you cut your film?
There is a real evolution between the episodes.
In the first, with her sixteen dancers, she reclaims her choreography, her songs specially arranged for the show.
We see her in the studio rehearsing.
In the second, she discovers the incredible venue that is Paris Défense Arena and what she and her teams have imagined for the show.
In the last episode, excitement rises but so does apprehension.
You start with a long sequence on a cabinet of curiosities and a
Game of Throne
atmosphere
.
Where did you shoot that?
At home, in her garden, her bedroom, her living room.
I walked there, I filmed the most striking objects, the sculpture of his grandfather, a child who plunges his hand into a skull, gifts from fans ... It was very nice, we were walked around and she told me the anecdotes related to each of them.
It's not a staging, she really has a skeleton in her garden.
The idea was to immediately have a sort of preface, something more personal, more intimate that tells about his world and his references.
How many hours of rush do you have?
If someone wants to look at all my images, they have three weeks without sleeping (laughs).
I filmed at the kilometer, without stopping to ultimately take the best of the best.
I filmed with a Red, a real cinema camera.
There were real challenges like recreating the concert by filming it with nine different axes during the nine evenings.
We find images of the filmed concert screened in the cinema and available on DVD?
Any.
All of my images are exclusive.
Another team filmed the concert.
For the fan, seeing the two films is very complementary.
What is this "
check check check
" that punctuates the film?
It's a private joke with Mylène Farmer.
We created this little test and kept it as a recurring gimmick that ends the different sequences.
We go from rehearsals to the stage in a flash ...
Yes, the idea is to show why there is all this work.
Where Mylène Farmer and her teams want to go in artistic creation.
It is a form of wink.
You never see a whole song.
Did Mylène Farmer sometimes veto?
Never.
She told me again that I had carte blanche.
I had to make the movie I wanted to see.
I never consulted it.
There were just marginal adjustments in terms of rhythm and his voiceover at the end added as a final touch on the canvas.
Why does she intervene via a voice over and not interviews?
Filming interviews is the classic form of behind-the-scenes documentaries.
We wanted to take the opposite view, create a hybrid documentary, a kind of immersive journey alongside him.
And then the interviews, she hardly ever gives.
It would have been weird.
What did you retain from the atmosphere during rehearsals at the Seine Musicale and then during the shows at Paris Défense Arena?
It was amazing to see all this creative work.
What really struck me was having a family in front of me.
Some have been used to working with Mylène Farmer for years, others were new.
But all are there to surround it, protect it, go in its direction and create together.
There was a lot of cohesion.
She is at the center of everything, she is very much loved.
She has incredible natural leadership.
An impressive aura.
I discovered someone very human, accessible, caring at all times.
See an international team working together with many Americans and Brits.
Your favorite moments during the shoot?
Be on stage during the spinning.
It was incredible to experience.
I also love filming costumes.
It is very poetic, in the detail of the craftsmanship.
Finally, there is this moment with Mylène Farmer on the catwalk 40 meters above the ground at the start of the show, where we felt the same as her.
Does she wear a wig on the show?
Of course not, it's her real hair.
They just have a more flamboyant red color than usual.
I am absolutely sure, I was in his neck with my camera!