“Iron Boy” director Louis Clichy is joyful to deliver his newest animation to Cannes – despite the fact that the world’s greatest pageant is an entire completely different universe.
“I’m glad it’s not in some ‘special category’,” he tells Selection. Offered by Playtime, “Iron Boy” premiered in Un Sure Regard, dazzling critics, hailed by Selection as “both visually dazzling and deeply personal.”
“For us animators, Cannes is a foreign world. There’s way more ego around. Also, there are still all these stereotypes about what animation is, like it being ‘over the top’ or just for children. But we can do subtle stuff too, because animators are really good actors.”
He provides: “Animation is expensive, so many people don’t want to take risks. But that’s our responsibility!”
In his movie, little Christophe grows up on a farm. Life is tough there, and it requires a robust spine – which is exactly what Christophe appears to lack. He retains collapsing, inflicting minor disasters at house and at college. The answer is easy: He should put on an iron corset. Always.
“The corset is a metaphor for adolescence,” admits Clichy.
“When you’re that age, you don’t feel comfortable; you want to cover up your body. It exaggerates this whole idea of not being happy with what’s going on. Also, in a way, you have to be very ‘straight’ to survive on a farm. And he’s different.”
Clichy grew up within the countryside, too.
“I come from an agricultural background, but I moved to the city when I was 11 and my parents divorced. Now, I had to go back. I didn’t want to tell my own story – I just borrowed some things that were important to me. [Screenwriter] Franck Salomé helped me with that a lot.”
He notes: “I didn’t want anyone here to feel like a stereotype. Christophe’s father doesn’t like to express his feelings – he’s from that generation of men – but he loves sentimental pop songs and that already tells you a lot.”
Christophe consistently appears like he’s disappointing his father. He’s additionally more and more conscious that issues aren’t going nicely on the farm. He has to flee, and artwork provides him a manner out. Similar to for Clichy himself?
“I think that’s pretty obvious,” he laughs.
“I would also say that he’s not just finding refuge in art – he finds another father figure in that church organist [who teaches him how to play]. Christophe needs someone to take care of him. I’m not sure if this boy is actually a good musician. I didn’t want him to play in a big concert or win a competition à la Billy Elliot. He’s not Mozart, you know. He just likes this teacher and appreciates their time together.”
Clichy needed to maintain issues right down to earth in “Iron Boy.”
“That was a balance I really wanted. There’s something very realistic about it, but there’s also all this magic. We go big when they shout and when they laugh,” he explains.
“I didn’t know anything about organs before the movie, so I really had to study that. I think it’s important to make sure you know what you’re talking about. The audience might not know if you’re cheating, or care, but I wanted this story to have solid foundations. Only then I could be sure that the realism and fantasy would work together.”
Clichy is behind “Asterix: The Mansion of Gods” and “Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion,” however “Iron Boy” – produced by Eddy Cinéma with Beside Productions and Common Manufacturing – is an entire completely different ballgame. He calls it “traditional animation.”
“By which I mean it was developed frame by frame. That’s why I love animation, and although CGI and 3D have become so fashionable, after ‘Asterix’ I wanted to go back to something much simpler. That’s exactly what I’ve done.”
His chosen approach allowed him to be refined when it got here to the characters’ expressions.
“I liked the fact that everything was a bit… rough. It allowed me to be spontaneous, and fast and furious,” he jokes.
“It can be tough because you still want to communicate so much, and all you have is one line. It forced me to be precise. You can’t hide behind a full head of hair or beautiful clothes, so we had to make sure we were always on the same path.”
The smaller funds in the end allowed him to be free – “we had no limits” – and to transcend the same old restrictions.
“With animation, people either go very commercial or very arty, and then many viewers go: ‘This is not for me.’ I wanted to take a little bit of everything. There are animated films like that – it’s enough to look at Miyazaki, who’s often paints a realistic picture of the state of the world. I was really inspired by that.”
