The film “Who loves me follows me!” by José Alcala released in 2019 with Daniel Auteuil, Catherine Frot and Bernard Le Coq was it inspired by a true story?
Who loves me follows me: a funny trio
In March 2019, the comedy Whoever loves me follow me ! released in French cinemas. Directed by José Alcala, it features three great actors of French cinema: Daniel Auteuil, Catherine Frot and Bernard Le Coq.
The story of the film takes place in a village in the South of France. This is where Gilbert (Daniel Auteuil) and his wife Simone (Catherine Frot) live a restless retirement. No longer supporting her embittered husband, the lack of money, and especially the departure of Etienne (Bernard Le Coq), her neighbor and lover, Simone leaves the marital home in search of a new lease of life. In shock, Gilbert then realizes that he is ready to do anything to win her back.
When it was released in theaters, the film had not been very successful with just under 200,000 spectators counted. For an estimated budget of just over three million eurosthe film made only half of that.
A very real starting idea
Whoever loves me follow me ! is it based on a true story? When the film was released, director José Alcala revealed his inspiration behind the subject of the feature film. He had thus confided (via the press kit):
I have a house in a small village in the South of France. On its outskirts, there is a long-closed gas station and, just behind it, a house that has always been on sale. It belongs to retirees, simple people who have tried everything to try to improve their retirement. They even tried to make pizza, but it didn’t work. The idea of the film started from there: to talk about these people who have an insufficient pension to meet their needs, but who, for all that, have not lost their desire to live.
If this subject of society is not, in itself, the subject of the film, the director confides that it runs, implicitly, throughout.
Coline Serreau and Marcel Pagnol
In his inspirations for Whoever loves me follow me !, José Alcala cites two filmmakers: Coline Serreau and Marcel Pagnol. For the premiere, he says he was inspired by the film Why not, which looks back on the daily life of a threesome. As for Marcel Pagnol, he confides that the latter, who cradled his childhoodinvited himself in his dialogue:
Some are even direct references to La Femme du Boulanger. Except that in my film it’s not a baker running after his wife, it’s a mechanic!
