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| Félix Kysyl on Misericordia: 'I already knew the director’s other films and I just plunged in like you would do at a swimming pool – and I didn’t ask too many questions' Photo: New Wave |
Being offered the chance to work with one of French cinema’s most original directorial talents Alain Guiraudie, who is instantly remembered for the 2013 queer tale Stranger By The Lake, would be enough for most upcoming actors. But to receive the accolade of the chance of the principal role in Guiraudie’s latest opus Misericordia (Miséricorde) was beyond 30-year-old Félix Kysyl wildest expectations.
After its premiere at last year’s Cannes Film Festival the film has gathered an impressive roll call of awards nominations including a César nod as a “Revelation” for Kysyl as well as a Lumière Awards nods bestowed by international journalists working in France.
Kysyl plays Jérémie who returns to his village in deepest rural southern France for the funeral of his former boss, the village baker. He decides to stay for a few days with Martine, the man’s widow. A mysterious disappearance, a threatening neighbour and a priest with strange intentions make the young man’s short stay in the village take an unexpected turn…
Not quite as unexpected as the call Kysyl received from Guiradie’s casting agent requesting his presence at the auditions for the film. The director had remembered him from ten years previously when he had shown up for another film. He didn’t get that role but Guiradie had pigeon-holed him away in his memory bank of actors he would be happy to work with.
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| Félix Kysyl: 'I miss the theatre when I am doing films, but the reverse also is the case' Photo: Stephen Dunn |
“We spent a couple of days filming with some of the other actors [mainly lesser known names who appeal to Guiradie’s sensibilities], and at the end of the casting process he told me: ‘You’re hired.’
“He said he liked the fact I gave off the vibe of being both angel and devil at the same time. I’m not conscious of that perception but on reflection I guess I am not astonished either. I already knew the director’s other films and I just plunged in like you would do at a swimming pool – and I didn’t ask too many questions.
“You simply have to accept that the film is his vision and you go with it. You can talk to him about the intricacies of the script but the narrative has a lot of mystery about it both for the audience and for those of us making it. Most of the questions I wanted to ask him, he was not keen on replying. He wanted to keep the mystery from me and the other actors and perhaps even from himself. I found that quite a liberating experience.” One of the enigmas is his character’s relationship with Martine: Is it a romantic obsession, or projecting a mother figure upon her? Or is Jérémie really in love with her dead husband?
Kysyl relished renewing his professional relationship with established actress Catherine Frot, often associated with comedic roles whom he describes as perfect for the part of Martine. He had previously worked with her on Belgian director Lucas Belvaux’s period piece Home Front (Des Hommes) set in the aftermath of the Algerian War and adapted from the novel by Laurent Mauvignier. Besides Frot, Kysyl found himself in the experienced company of Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Gérard Depardieu.
During the shoot the cast and crew were billeted in accommodation around the village of Saint-Martial in France’s Cévennes national park and close to the director’s own home turf.
“The locals in general seemed to be pleased to have a film in their midst and were a bit curious to see what was going on,” observes Kysyl who is more used to the Parisian hang-outs of his childhood than bucolic surrounds. Both his parents have an acting background, he explains, so he was already accustomed to the milieu when he decided to take up acting lessons at the Cours Florent and then passed the competition for a place at the Conservatoire. His first stage appearance was in a Feydeau farce (J’ai la femme dans le sang) and he continued mixing a classical repertoire (Tartuffe, Madame Bovary) with contemporary productions.
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| The mysterious Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) and Father Griseul (Jacques Develay) in Alain Guiradie’s Misericordia. Kysyl on director Alain Guiraudie: 'He wanted to keep the mystery from me and the other actors and perhaps even from himself' Photo: New Wave |
He also managed to find gainful employment on television, most recently in La Fièvre, a political series from the makers of Baron noir. Besides Belvaux’s Home Front he made an impression in cinema playing film director Jean-Pierre Gorin in Michel Hazanavicius’s playful Redoubtable (Le Redoubtable) about the Sixties affair between Jean-Luc Godard and the actress Anne Wiazemsky and based on her memoir of her time with the enfant terrible of the Nouvelle Vague.
The consensus of reviews for Misericordia (named after the Latin word for ‘mercy’ or ‘compassion’) have been fulsome in their praise: “Surprisingly hilarious yet unsurprisingly horny,” opined Rolling Stone; “Nerve-rattling...One of the greatest filmmakers working today,” suggested The Playlist while The Hollywood Reporter critic considered the performances were “reminiscent of Robert Bresson [and] the macabre humour and underlying suspense of Hitchcock.” The august French publication Cahiers du Cinema, never easy to please, chose it as their Film of the Year for 2024.
From the close-knit world of Giraudie Kysyl has progressed to a big budget two-part exploration of the life and times of General De Gaulle, the legendary French army officer who led the French resistance against Nazi Germany during the Second World War and eventually became president of France. It is based on British author Julian Jackson’s book and is directed by Antonin Baudry and features Simon Abkarian as De Gaulle.
Kysyl takes the role of Jean-Pierre Moulin, a civil servant who became a hero of the French Resistance. He explained: “The two films will follow De Gaulle's life and political commitment between 1940 and 1945 and trace his development towards a political career. The films won’t come out until next year, but I have learned a lot in being part of such a vast production – very different from the films that I would normally do. Everything was on a vast scale so it was fascinating to observe it all at close quarters.”
His only regret about all his recent filming activity is his absence from the boards. “I miss the theatre when I am doing films, but the reverse also is the case,” said Kysyl philosophically, conceding he has reached an enviable position for any actor to be in with so many choices in prospect.
Misericordia is now on selected release in the States (Sideshow/Janus Films) and in the UK and Ireland (New Wave) from 28 March. Richard Mowe talked to Félix Kysyl at the UniFrance Rendezvous with French Cinema in Paris earlier in the year.
