Julie Delpy:

American independent film actress Musa (saga: before By and with Richard Linklater, Broken Flowersby Jim Jarmusch…), director Julie Delpy also placed her cameras beyond our borders (The Countess, Two days in New York, My Zoe…). Also, when he returns to work in France, it’s another look at France that he offers, a unique voice in the French cinematic landscape. Without being mean, simple without being cruel, he outlines the contradictions of our society with liberating energy and perspective.

after The SkylabAn irresistible 1970s family portrait and loloa romantic comedy set against a backdrop of class scorn, it plays with the variable geometric generosity of the French. The barbarianswas selected at the opening of the Angouleme Francophone Film Festival. From primal racism to heartbreak, his eighth film cuts to the reactions of Breton villagers when the Ukrainian refugees they were about to take in are replaced by Syrian refugees. Delightful.

Madame Figaro . – Why did you choose to name the film? The barbarians?
Julie Delpy. – It was the idea of ​​constant fear of the other, of the unknown. The fear that your work, your women, your food will be stolen, like during the Crusades. We have evolved little since 12^e century finally! However, it is enough to have a dialogue to understand what wealth the other represents. This is the optimistic thought that I wanted to convey with this comedy.

What was the impetus for writing this story?
I have seen many documentaries about Syria and the effects of the Bashar al-Assad regime on the population. migrants who die at sea, those who are abandoned after arriving in France… I wanted to talk about a family that wants to integrate and repair, to show another face of immigration, a source of dynamism, talents and skills.

How can we avoid caricatures of these kinds of subjects?
Presenting a series of reactions to the foreigner. My character as a teacher is a kind of Mother Teresa who wants to help the whole world. His girlfriend, played by Sandrine Kiberlain, is a follower who doesn’t always know what to think. Farmer grandfather, played by my father (Albert Delpy, Editor’s Note), contrary to all expectations, is the most open of all. The plumber, played by Laurent Lafitte, is the ultimate racist. His wife (India Hair) finds his civic conscience awakening. The mayor is open-minded, but above all he is focused on his re-election… A broad spectrum that somehow shapes the faces of French society.

We have evolved little since the 12th century.

Julie Delpy

Which looks at migrants differently depending on their nationality…
At the beginning of the Ukrainian war, I saw many people open their doors. An outpouring of generosity the likes of which I have not witnessed in relation to Syria. When I asked about this difference in treatment, I was told: “But it’s not the same.” How are they different? Skin color? Religion: Let’s stop demonizing everything. This is what drives fascism and fuels extremism. Most people only want access to simple things: food, drink, support for their family.

Why did you choose comedy prism?
I did not want to rob while giving a moral lesson. I wanted the film to be accessible to everyone, but it wasn’t easy to produce. We got into trouble, but as many people told me. “We don’t care about Syrian refugees,” was all I could stand.

Can we afford something at the cinema today?
Of course not. Times do not always forgive political incorrectness. However, despite having grown up Charlie, Hara-Kiri, To Woolem or erotic comics, I don’t believe I’m perverted or precocious than others. I consider it a shame that we are afraid of this audacity, which for me represented another opening of the world, another fear of humor. As long as there is nothing unhealthy or aggressive, today it is very difficult to offend or shock me. All these free thinkers, including my parents, taught me second degree and dialogue, which I will always prefer over self-censorship and anger.

I wanted to show another face of immigration: a source of talent and skills

Julie Delpy

Living part of your life in the United States gives you more distance from your home country.
I believe it. My film is primarily a comedy, but it allows me to sound a little alarm. After witnessing the rise of populism in the US, I am not reassured by what is happening in France. Once the extremes appear, they don’t let go easily. Look at Trump, who clings to power like a mussel to a rock. We must open our eyes so that France does not suffer the fate of the USA.

In the barbarians as often in your films, your heroines look elsewhere, for liberation…
Stronger than me. I have seen so many women trapped in a life that doesn’t suit them. I give them their autonomy, their revenge in cinema. The fruit of my education, no doubt. My mother was a feminist, she signed Manifesto of 343 – but with my father they also supported the cause of homosexuality, they toured with people from all walks of life: trans people, black people… They were at the forefront. My mother inherited her humanism from a family of resistance fighters, and my father, growing up in the colonies in Indochina, developed it in response to his education. I was raised by very liberal parents who always put empathy above compassion.

The barbarians , With and by Julie Delpy, Sandrine Kiberlain, Laurent Lafitte… Released on September 13, 2024.