Les mans buides

The story could be told from several points of view. There’s Perroquet, a pesky parrot who witnessed the premature demise of his owner, Madame Catherine, due to her excessive lifestyle. The bird was also around to see Eric, the mechanic, bury her on the sly. Then there are also the trains that stop at the small town, and the nomadic ticket controllers like Sophie who move through their carriages could all spill a few beans. The story could also be told by Yann, the café owner, and the many drinks he serves. It‘s a story that is both simple and totally chaotic. Marc loves you to shoot from the shoulder. Not in the sense that you forcibly follow every action, but in the sense that you observe what is going on. He likes the camera to remain slightly hidden, and so the pace is not excessively bound to the action: the actors‘ pace is not necessarily the same as that of the camera that is observing them. The actors are aware of how close we are to them, and we always stay within their field of vision. We even rehearse with a screen to ensure that this technique does not cause them to lose concentration. (Hélène Louvart, Director of Photography)