“Those Who Count” is the third feature film by Jean-Baptiste Leonetti, a mix of humor and pessimism, lightness and melancholy. A lonely man in his thirties, Jean (Pierre Lottin), disconnected from the world, meets Rose (Sandrine Kiberlain), a mother of three children hit by tragedy, whose unyielding joy unexpectedly forms a bond between them. The two actors, in harmony, replay a familiar role: that of the Auguste who, through enthusiasm and clumsiness, eventually cracks the shell of his counterpart. But with an added touch of fundamental poetry, carried by a soft photography (David Nissen). While the situation may initially bring to mind the duo from “The Troublemaker” by Édouard Molinaro, the presence of a mute Pierre Lottin introduces a realism that remains throughout the film.
2025 – LES FILMS DU 24 – FRANCE 2 CINÉMA
Have you thought about the iconic duo from “The Troublemaker”? Sandrine as the heiress of François Pignon and Pierre in the silence of Lino Ventura?
Sandrine Kiberlain. Not at all, even though I love that film! What I love above all are the flaws, twisting the characters. In life, we want to be sure, stay on course, and suddenly, we slip on a banana peel. I have infinite tenderness for these bourgeois women supposed to stay in line, in the manner of Claude Gensac or Maria Pacôme. On paper, they are classy, well-thought-out, but in fact, they are completely crazy. It is this hidden fantasy that gives them all their flavor. In “Those Who Count”, there is something reminiscent of the process in American comedies, like “Working Girl” by Mike Nichols, with Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford, where they are poles apart, or films by Ernst Lubitsch.
Pierre, you have just won a César for “The Outsider”, where your minimalist acting style made an impression. In “Those Who Count”, you take this logic further. How do you prepare to play with such sobriety?
Pierre Lottin. Jean is so broken that he has little to say, he becomes a hermit. He is forced to isolate himself to avoid facing his own lack of values and principles. My acting was about showing emotions that should not be spoken, habitual silences. There is a Japanese term for this: yūgen.
(Short Context and Fact Check: The actors discuss their characters and acting style in the film “Those Who Count.”)
(Source: https://media.sudouest.fr/28084853/1200x-1/1-ceux-qui-comptent-2025-les-films-du-24-france-2-cinema.jpg?v=1773915429)
