Sylvain Tesson 's story was a phenomenon in bookshops. So it was only natural that the cinema should take an interest. And filmmaker Denis Imbert is in charge of the adaptation, with Jean Dujardin in the lead role. Scheduled for release in cinemas on March 22.
The film tells the story of Sylvain Tesson himself, in 2014, after suffering an accident during a drunken evening. With over 230,000 copies sold before its paperback release, the book was a huge success. In addition to Jean Dujardin, the cast also includes Izïa Higelin, Anny Duperey and Joséphine Japy.
Our opinion
One might expect an opportunistic, miserabilistic film about a man attempting a long walk of resilience after a serious accident. But Sur les Chemins noirs is quite the opposite. First of all, we appreciate the fact that the story of the accident (shown too much in the film's trailer) is avoided, leaving only snatches of it. Throughout the story, we won't know exactly what happened to this pseudo-Sylvain Tesson to leave him so disfigured. The tragedy is evoked in small touches, before we get the full picture.
Denis Imbert thus manages to avoid a classic, somewhat boring narrative, and shows his character from the outset as a man who is somewhat unsympathetic, but transformed by this tragedy. This is well served by Jean Dujardin's fine acting. But let's make no mistake: what will interest viewers most in this feature-length film is the splendor of its natural settings. This tour de France of back roads is visually sumptuous, and gives the film a postcard look that's far from unpleasant.
Of course, this won't be enough to convince even the most cinephile, which is why the screenplay is fleshed out by the story the character writes along the way. This makes Sur les Chemins noirs an eminently literary film, with the protagonist's voice-over as witness to what is written in these little notebooks. We haven't read Sylvain Tesson's book, but we wouldn't be at all surprised if this voice-over were taken directly from its pages.
In the course of this therapeutic journey, the character meets a whole gallery of characters, but it's alone that the adventure is most exhilarating for him. It's about losing oneself on the road to better find oneself, a beautiful journey of resilience, which commands respect when you know that it was actually made by Sylvain Tesson. This is a film that will appeal to lovers of the beautiful language and little-known corners of the country.
Pierre, a writer and explorer, drunkenly climbs the façade of a hotel and falls several stories. The shock plunges him into a deep coma. When he wakes up, barely able to stand, and against everyone's advice, he decides to cross France on foot along the diagonal of the void, to traverse these forgotten paths. A unique, timeless journey to the hyper-rural. "My salvation was in the movement; if I succeeded in my crossing, I'd get compensation.
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Dates and Opening Time
Starts March 22, 2023
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