In “In the name of the earth”, the French star Guillaume Canet embodies sinking agriculture. For director Édouard Bergeon, this film extends his work begun in the field of documentaries and allows him to tell his own story.
the moving In the name of the earth with Guillaume Canet
In the name of the earth is one of those films, released in recent years, which focus on the situation of farmers. In particular, we had little peasant, The Land of Men or The Cloud.
It must be said that this sector is very far from making life simple for those who make it live. It is therefore easy to understand that the cinema with a social tendency wanted to seize the problems which ensue from it.
In In the name of the earth, the main role is played by Guillaume Canet. He embodies Pierre Jarjeau, the father of two who is finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Supported by his wife, this kid breeder tries a gamble with a heavy loan to finance which should allow him to bounce back.
But the situation does not take long to deteriorate further and the whole family unit finds itself shaken.
In the name of the earth ©Diaphana Distribution
A true story behind this drama
The feature film has almost reached the two million admissions mark in France. The description of the agricultural world is glaringly true, thus making the issues touching on a human scale.
This sincerity in the words of Édouard Bergeon comes from his own experience. In the name of the earth is a story that draws heavily from his life, since his parents were farmers. The character of Thomas embodied by the excellent Anthony Bajon is therefore a kind of alter-ego of the director. In his youth, he spent on a farm near Poitiers, with a father stuck in the problems related to his work.
If we cannot know exactly what is fiction in the screenplay, Édouard Bergeon has put as much of his life as possible into it. For example, the sad ending, which we won’t reveal here for those who haven’t seen the film, is not invented at all and was experienced by the director when he was 16 years old.
The interested party also declared to our colleagues that First that what he went through was”more tragic and violent” than in the movie.
Pierre’s descent into hell is intended to be realistic because it generally reflects the situation of farmers in France. As a reminder, the agricultural world records an impressive number of suicides each year.
Even if In the name of the earth has caused awareness and some political reactions – the team went to the Élysée after the theatrical release – the context is still far from ideal.
