THE MAN WHO LAUGHS

L'HOMME QUI RIT - CLOSING FILM

CHRISTA THERET will be present

Victor Hugo's poetic and deeply human historical drama has been faithfully adapted to the big screen, set deep in the countryside of rural France. Young Gwynplaine, scarred for life with a permanent smile on his face, and Dea, a blind girl, nearly perish lost in a wintry blizzard, until rescued by the kind and jovial Ursus (Gérard Depardieu). Years later, the grown‐up Gwynplaine, (Quebec's own Marc‐André Grondin) roams from village to village entertaining adoring audiences. The "smiling man" accumulates wealth, becomes involved with an alluring duchess (Emmanuelle Seigner), and begins to distance himself from Ursus and Déa, the only people who have loved him for who he truly is.

Director Jean‐Pierre Améris, in Venice for the recent screening of L'HOMME QUI RIT, closing film of the prestigious MOSTRA 2012, commented: "I have always been especially moved by films that have a “monster” as a hero. Figures of human monsters are universal, not because they are physically different but because we can always perceive of the monster inside of each of us. The love story of L'HOMME QUI RIT is sublime. The amorous conflict that torments the hero is truly human. On the one hand there is Déa, the blind girl (Christa Theret) he helped save, and on the other is the duchess and her carnal passions. This story from the past talks to us about our society ‐ a society of entertainment, the importance of finding idols for the masses, the abyss between the rich and the poor, the difficulty of changing social class, the impotence of politicians to change things, the supremacy of appearance, idealism defeated by corruption..."

2012 VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

CLOSING FILM

 

2012 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL