Juste une illusion : Toledano and Nakache are back with a sweet and bitter comedy

After the disappointment of their previous film “Une année difficile” (about young eco activists), Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache regain their mojo with “Juste une illusion,” blending inventive humor and spicy emotions without reaching the level of excellence seen in “Le sens de la fête” (2017) and “Intouchables” (2011). Louis Garrel, Camille Cottin, and Pierre Lottin shine in this bittersweet comedy.

Prior to its release on April 15, the most bankable duo in French cinema (approximately 35 million admissions for their first eight films) spent a day in Vaucluse. Their goal was to meet with around 300 operators from all over France in Avignon before presenting their work to the audience at Capitole My Cinewest in Le Pontet. Encounter with two quirky, sharp, and profound fifty-year-olds, just like their cinema, at heart.

The Lobster Complex

“Juste une illusion” is set in 1985 in the suburbs of Paris, within a family portrayed by Camille Cottin and Louis Garrel. “We follow a 13-year-old child, Vincent (Simon Boublil), who symbolically looks back at his childhood building to move towards adulthood,” notes Éric Toledano. “There is a quote by Charles Péguy that says: ‘We are always a little exiled from the country of our childhood.’ Adolescence is a pivotal period, where we discover the senselessness of existence. We become aware of death. Desires, existential questions, all collide,” he adds. Olivier Nakache continues: “Françoise Dolto described it well in ‘The Lobster Complex,’ the process of shedding your childhood skin, being naked, and then creating a new one.”

“Film of Sensations”

“It’s our ninth film. We’ve made story-driven films, pure comedies. This time, we wanted to make a film of sensations, such as rediscovering the smell of those years. It’s almost Proustian,” highlights Éric Toledano.

Nostalgia or Not?

Currently trendy in French cinema (as seen in Jérôme Commandeur’s recent “T’as pas changé”), the 80s serve as the epicenter of Toledano-Nakache’s new film. “In this film, there is no nostalgia in the sense of ‘it was better before.’ When we talk about nostalgia, there is an idea of suffering, as one suffers from a lost paradise. In our story, there is an unemployed father, we address the AIDS crisis, SOS Racisme emerged at that time. It’s difficult to be nostalgic,” states Éric Toledano.

Musical Marker

Is this the most musical film from the directing duo? Definitely. The soundtrack of “Juste une illusion” is an emotional rollercoaster, starting with the title track, “Just an illusion” (1982) by the funk group Imagination. Along the way, we encounter The Cure, Joy Division, and the iconic “I’m so excited” by the Pointers Sisters (featuring an unforgettable dance by Camille Cottin…).

Of course, “Un autre monde” by Téléphone is also part of it. Toledano mentions: “In the film ‘Nous nous sommes tant aimés’ by Ettore Scola (1974), there is this line: ‘We wanted to change the world, but it’s the world that changed us.’ At 13, we dream of another world. We are not yet adults, where we discover disillusionment. The hardest part was not to fall into a predictable jukebox.” For Olivier Nakache, “music is a temporal and intimate marker, which always plays a crucial role in our films” (Avishai Cohen in “Le sens de la fête” or Ludovico Einaudi in “Intouchables”). “Before budgeting the films, we always tell our producers: we need to allocate a significant sum of money for the soundtrack (rights acquisition),” he adds.

Claude Lelouch and Them

In “Juste une illusion,” Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache reference Claude Lelouch’s film “Un homme et une femme” (1966) and even recreate scenes from that time as a strong tribute, especially the magical moment when the image transitions from color to black and white in the rain.

“Lelouch has always been very supportive towards us, he has made foundational films for both of us,” notes Olivier Nakache. To recreate scenes from that cult film, they had to seek his permission. “We sent him the script, he found it amusing and said: take whatever you want, on one condition: that I come and frame a shot in the film! So he came, he shot with a zoom. There is a shot by Claude Lelouch in our film. We are very proud,” they share.

The Feared AI?

Are the two directors afraid of AI (Artificial Intelligence) for the future of cinema? According to Olivier Nakache, “It’s a revolution that can give the impression of vertigo, the feeling of not being able to control anything anymore. Recently, we saw this video generated by AI on the fight between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. It’s impressive. We will need to regulate all of this, so we can distinguish the real from the fake.” Éric Toledano goes further: “The education system will have to teach students discernment, show them where the truth is and how to seek it.”