In the television show “Conversations,” the directors and childhood friends presented their new film, “Juste une illusion,” an introspective and intimate journey into the 1980s.
The duo Nakache-Toledano is writing a new chapter in their cinematic partnership. “Juste une illusion,” in theaters on April 15, delves into the daily life of a family in the 1980s, focusing on the first months of love and the transition to adolescence. “Almost 100% of the film is true,” revealed Olivier Nakache in the “Conversations” show of “Madame Figaro.” “We have often been represented through our films, especially in ‘Nos jours heureux,’ ‘Hors normes,’ and even ‘Le Sens de la fête.’ But this time, we have delved deeper into the path we are trying to carve. It’s a joint autobiography. We have put all our intimacy into it.” In the film, Camille Cottin and Louis Garrel portray a married couple, inspired directly by the parents of the two directors.
Returning to the heart of their childhood, they raise questions that still resonate today. “These were years of paradox: the arrival of the left and the beginning of unemployment, freedom, solidarity, the AIDS virus, SOS Racism… there are many things happening. Through this family, we wanted to tell the story of the era,” explained Eric Toledano to Joseph Ghosn, the deputy editor.
In “Juste une illusion,” the directors aimed to depict this delicate passage from childhood to adulthood. “During adolescence, there is a very brief moment that does not last long, where we are between childhood and adolescence. It’s like a sunrise. It’s very moving,” described Eric Toledano. Olivier Nakache, on the other hand, remembers his first months. “We all remember our first kiss, we all have in our memory the time she looked at us and something happened.”
Adolescence is also a time of big questions. The two filmmakers recalled the young adults they were and the existential questions that troubled them. “We asked ourselves this question at some point: ‘First of all, what are we?’ Are we French, are we Jewish, do our parents speak Arabic, they come from Algeria, Morocco, and what are we first?'”, confided Olivier Nakache. Over time, they both learned to understand the paths and sacrifices of their parents – and this is the tribute that “Juste une illusion” pays to them.
