by Anthony Frajman
Guillaume Brahimi is one of Australia’s most respected and well-known chefs. What some may not know, is that he is also a huge fan of French cinema.
Coinciding with the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2023, Brahimi spoke to FilmInk via zoom about some of his favourite French film memories.
You’ve spoken about French film as having played a big part in your life. Can you tell us about that?
“I grew up in a very normal French family living in Paris. And, there were two very important nights at home as a kid, Sunday night movie, 8:30 every Sunday, the whole family would be sitting on the couch, and Tuesday night… at school, Wednesday was a half-day in France, and on the Tuesday night there was a thing called The Last Movie. And it was two movies in a row from 8:30 to 10, and 10 to 11:30. We were always allowed to watch the first one. The second one, we always fell asleep.
“That reminds me so much of my youth. And when I arrived in Australia, I didn’t speak English. And also, 30 years ago, there was no iPad. There was no ‘I’m downloading a film on my computer’. I went to the video shop next to where I was living, and there was one French movie in the whole store, Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano De Bergerac.
“I think, at the end, I ended up buying the video because the guy said to me, ‘man, you’re renting it every week, just take it’ (laughs). And, that was my happy place. I was coming home from work and I kept watching it and watching it. (It has) the French language, and it’s such a beautiful movie that made me feel very warm, very happy.”
Did you have any favourites as a child in particular?
“Oh, I loved every movie from Claude Lelouch. He’s done about 40 of them or whatever. But you know what? You just keep watching them. I love A Man and A Woman. And what I love about his movies, is that the music is always fantastic as well. I love an actress called Nicole Garcia. I love Les Bronzés (French Fried Vacation). It’s just so funny, but you have to be French to understand the humour. I’ve been trying for 30 years to show it to my wife, to friends, and they say, ‘why are you laughing?’ I said, ‘it’s French humour’. But you talk to any French people, these movies really marked my generation.
“And of course, Jean Paul Belmondo, Catherine Deneuve, the monuments of the cinema, the monument of France, they’re bigger than the movies. That’s what makes France such a magic country. It’s their craftsmanship, and when I think about the actors, I think about the cinema makers, the music, they’re bigger than just what they do. They’re monuments. Giants.
“I come from a family of four kids, and my dad every week, he used to take one of us out on a Saturday. And we do whatever we want. That was my day, I did whatever I want. We used to go to a movie at four o’clock, finish the movie, and have dinner in the bistro. Those memories will always be very close to my heart.
“My favourite movie, I keep watching it on SBS on Demand. I think it’s the best thing ever, this SBS on Demand… You can sit down and watch one of the French classics, it’s Manon des Sources with Daniel Auteuil and one of the most beautiful French actresses, Emmanuelle Béart.
“When you see this movie, it’s set in the South of France in the early thirties or twenties. And you think you’re in south of France , you can smell the lavender. And when I watch these movies, it brings me tears. And, my partner said, ‘what’s wrong with you?’ I just said, ‘I’m happy’.”
Do you have a favourite cinema in Australia?
“Yeah. There’s a beautiful one, The Ritz in Randwick. Unfortunately, my children love going to La Premiere. That’s a new generation. And my children are more into Hollywood movies than anything else. Going to the movies in Paris, you go at 9pm, there is a session at 9:30, 10:00pm and it’s full.
“I have to say, French people, especially the Parisians, where I come from, you can think about all the technology now to watch movies at home, but we still go to cinema. We still go to restaurant. We go to the farmer’s market. We go to the movies, that’s being a Parisian!
“I love going to cinema. I love sitting down, I love the pre-movies, the five minutes where they show you what’s coming up. And, after that, I just love being in a movie. And French movies, for me, they have a feel-good factor.”
What have you enjoyed in this year’s program of the French Film Festival?
“Well, I only saw one so far, the story about the pastry chef, Sugar and Stars. It’s about a young kid who’s making cakes. You go pitching that in Hollywood, they’ll look at you and say, ‘yeah, thank you’. But in France, it’s a real story. It’s a story of a young kid facing adversity who becomes someone special. He is born into very hard circumstances, and he’s got a foster family who show him love. But there is hope and the way he becomes this pastry chef, it could be a painter, it could be an architect, it’s about the need to get there.”
Why do you think Australia and France share such a close cultural bond?
“The French people owed Australia for World War One, so many young men and young woman went to France and lost their life to free France. And I think about the poor guy from Dubbo, getting killed in north of France for what reason? So, we will always be indebted to Australia and also, I think Australian people love France. They love coming to France. There’s about a million Australians coming to France every year. There is a love story there, the French love Australia for what happened in the war and their support. And also, when the French come here, they say ‘it’s so far away, but it’s so beautiful’. But I think Australian tourism in France is huge because they love Paris. They just love France.”
What’s next for you? Do you have another series coming up?
“I’m leaving for Spain in few weeks. I’m going to do a new series following the Tour de France. Everybody said to me, ‘why are you going to Spain for the Tour de France?’ Well, the Tour de France starts in Spain this year. I’m doing 21 episodes, and after that I’m doing a new series. My favourite place in each arrondissement for where to get a coffee, where to get the best croissant, where to get the best seafood. And then I’m doing a series about the Atlantic side of France. So, think about Brittany, Bordeaux…”
We cannot wait. In the meantime, the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2023 screens until April 5. Details here.
