Your film “Juste une illusion” is set in the 80s, like “Eté 85”, by François Ozon, or “L’Amour Ouf”, by Gilles Lellouche. How do you explain this trend of French cinema revisiting this decade?
It’s simply a matter of generation. We were all born in the 70s and have just passed the age of fifty. I believe that at some point, we either turn towards the existential anxieties of old age or towards the light of childhood. We discussed this with Gilles, when I read that he was going to make his film because we were already working on this project with Olivier, to make sure our stories didn’t have too much in common! But each has its own uniqueness, and we are very different in what we tell. Anyway, I hope so!
Olivier Nakache and you were of the age of the youngest son. How did you come up with this film together?
For over twenty years, the stories we tell have been inspired by things we have shared: the struggles where we made short films and were waiters to make a living (“Le Sens de la fête”) or the life of holiday camp counselors (“Nos jours heureux”). Now, we go back to a past we didn’t experience together. It was funny to compare our observations on first desires, sex, love, religion, or family.
