31/07/2024 - Simon Abkarian, Niels Schneider, Thierry Lhermitte and Karim Leklou dominate the XXL cast of this historical mega-production, which is steered and sold by Pathé

Friday 12 July saw shooting wrap on the second instalment of Antonin Baudry’s two-parter, De Gaulle, which is the biggest project in French cinema today, given that each chapter has benefitted from a budget totalling 37 million euros. These will be the filmmaker’s 2nd and 3rd feature films after The Wolf’s Call [+see also:
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Stand-out names in the XXL cast - dominated by Simon Abkarian (at his absolute best in Army of Crime [+see also:
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film profile], as well as in Casino Royale, among other movies), who plays the titular role - notably include Niels Schneider (awarded the 2017 Best Newcomer César for Dark Inclusion [+see also:
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interview: Arthur Harari
film profile] and nominated in the Best Actor category in 2021 for Love Affair(s) [+see also:
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interview: Emmanuel Mouret
film profile]), Thierry Lhermitte (nominated for 2014’s Best Actor Lumière thanks to The French Minister [+see also:
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film profile]) and Karim Leklou (nominated for this year’s Best Actor Lumière via Vincent Must Die [+see also:
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interview: Stéphan Castang
film profile] and for the 2019 and 2022 Best Newcomer Césars via The World is Yours [+see also:
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interview: Romain Gavras
film profile] and The Stronghold [+see also:
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film profile]; likewise well-received in Cannes back in May for Jim’s Story [+see also:
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interview: Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu
film profile]).

Other actors in on the action include Benoît Magimel (recently awarded the Best Actor César and Lumière awards in 2022 and 2023 for Peaceful [+see also:
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interview: Albert Serra
film profile], and at his very best last year in The Taste of Things [+see also:
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film profile], The King of Algiers [+see also:
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interview: Elias Belkeddar
film profile] and Rosalie [+see also:
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film profile]), Anamaria Vartolomei (the winner of the Best Actress Lumière and Best Female Newcomer César in 2022 for Happening [+see also:
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interview: Anamaria Vartolomei
film profile], who’s also starring in this year’s The Empire [+see also:
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interview: Bruno Dumont
film profile], Being Maria [+see also:
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interview: Jessica Palud
film profile] and The Count of Monte-Cristo [+see also:
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film profile]), Simon Russell Beale (recently seen in Benediction [+see also:
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film profile], as well as in the House of the Dragon series) and Kacey Mottet Klein (nominated for the Best Newcomer César in 2013 and 2017, thanks to Sister [+see also:
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interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
interview: Ursula Meier
film profile] and Being 17 [+see also:
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Q&A: André Téchiné
interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
film profile], and recently well-received in The Vourdalak [+see also:
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interview: Adrien Beau
film profile]), together with Tom Mison, Anthony Calf, Noémie Schmidt, Janis Ahern, Soufiane El Khalidy, Alice de Lencquesaing, Tom Neal, Loïk Corbery, Tom Pannetier, Pierre Aussedat, Sami Ameziane, Christophe Kourotchkine, Pablo Cobo and Hugo Bariller.

Written by Antonin Baudry (awarded the Best Original Screenplay Prize in San Sebastián 2013 and nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay César in 2014 via The French Minister) and Bérénice Vila, based upon British author Julian T. Jackson’s book, De Gaulle, une certaine idée de la France, the story begins in June 1940. An unknown general refuses to allow his country to be defeated by Nazi Germany. He moves to London without support, troops or a mandate, upholding the idea of a free France against all opposition. A handful of men join him in his fight, while in Paris and in Lyon, young and intrepid high schoolers embark on their own little battles against the occupier… Baudry’s diptych charts the life and political engagement of Charles De Gaulle between 1940 and 1945, until he embarked upon a political career.

The two-parter, De Gaulle, is produced by Pathé Prodexe in co-production with TF1 Films Production and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, and it has also been pre-purchased by Canal+, Disney+ and TMC (for the first instalment). Filming on the first chapter took place in the summer of 2023 with Pierre Cottereau and Giora Bejach (European Cinematographer award at the European Film Awards for Lebanon [+see also:
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film profile]) helming the diptych’s cinematography. Distribution in French cinemas and international sales are both entrusted to Pathé.

For the record, Baudry’s diptych falls into Pathé’s wider strategy of bringing about a renaissance of big, spectacular mainstream movies in France, which are rooted in the country’s literary and historical heritage. It’s a movement which was initiated last year, which has met with success at the box-office thanks to Martin Bourboulon’s The Three Musketeers (3.33 million admissions in France for The Three Musketeers: Artagnan [+see also:
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film profile] and 2.57 for The Three Musketeers: Milady) and which is currently doing well with Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière’s The Count of Monte-Cristo [+see also:
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film profile] (which was at 3.2 million admissions by mid-July).

(Translated from French)