Do not be fooled by the title. “Bagarre” by Julien Royal is not just a brawl movie! This action comedy revolves around Naim, a very nice boy who turns into a machine as soon as he has to deal with opponents. Nassim Lyes, who portrays him, was notably featured in “Farang” and “Sous la Seine” by Xavier Gens.
After “En passant Pêcho” (2021) and “Nouveaux Riches” (2023) directly distributed on Netflix, the partners reunite for this new quirky adventure they co-wrote. “We came up with the idea for the movie when we stumbled upon a video on an app called ‘Uber Bagarre’,” explains Nassim Lyes. “We wondered if it really existed or if it was fiction, and we discovered that it was an urban legend.” This is how the film’s hero ends up registering on the fictitious site “Allo Bagarre” to pay for his sick dog’s medical bills.
Between “Fight Club” and “Dragon Ball Z”
“Our reference was a bit of ‘Fight Club’, of course, but especially Son Goku in ‘Dragon Ball Z’ because I don’t like violence,” emphasizes Nassim Lyes. “My character only fights out of love for his pet. He wants to save his dog at all costs because it is his last emotional attachment.” “Bagarre” is indeed filled with gags and oversized emotions, which attracted a great cast around the actor: Audrey Lamy, Marina Foïs, Hakim Jemili, Hedi Bouchenafa, and Ramzy Bedia are part of the film.
“The film never advocates responding to violence with violence in real life. I wanted to make that clear in the story,” insists Nassim Lyes, who nevertheless doesn’t shy away from throwing punches at others. “We wanted to release the film in theaters to try to revitalize French action cinema, a popular genre but underexplored today,” he confides. Fans will not be disappointed by finely choreographed fight sequences in collaboration with the Campus Univers Cascades.
“We thought a lot about the classics of Hong Kong cinema with Jackie Chan. But, unlike him, I couldn’t perform all my stunts myself for insurance reasons. I want to emphasize the incredible work of my stunt double, Jamel Blissat.”
On the big screen
In addition to the hero’s brawl, another unexpected hero could captivate the audience: the hero’s dog played by two interchangeable dogs. “There was a calm sweetheart and an excited sweetheart,” recalls the actor. In fact, the male dwarf spitz of the hero was played by a male dog and his daughter, who are impossible to differentiate on screen and steal the show from humans. However, Nassim Lyes does not have too much to worry about. He fully occupies the charisma on the big screen in “Bagarre.”
While waiting to embark on a new project with Julien Royal, he will be seen in a new “Highlander,” directed by Chad Stahelski (the creator of the “John Wick” saga), and the sequel to “Sous la Seine” that Alexandre Aja is currently filming.
