This is the first time that the Quebec conductor, notably at the head of the Orchester métropolitain (OM), has worn this hat. Happy Days features Sophie Desmarais as Emma, a young conductor who has a toxic relationship with her father, who is also her agent.
Two years ago, the first thing I did was to approach her, because I had questions about the character of the conductor and I wanted to talk to her about the script, says Chloé Robichaud. We clicked and it was he himself who said to me: “do you need someone to coach Sophie and an orchestra?”
The filmmaker of course answered yes, to the delight of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who lamented a lack of realism in the rare fiction films that feature an orchestra.
Chloe had the extraordinary idea and intelligence to contact me from the start, he says. I don’t think this degree of detail has been achieved much in a film: how an orchestra rehearses, how people relate in an orchestra…
A very invested Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Rereading the scenes, validating the details, giving directions to the OM musicians who appear in the film and even conducting the orchestra during certain scenes to give Sophie Desmarais a break… The involvement of Yannick Nézet-Séguin is constant, this portion representing about twenty minutes of the film.
« Yannick is very attentive and knows the scenario well. He knows what to look for in musicians, we have a great bond. »
He also participates in the choice of music. Over the course of the film, Emma, who did not allow herself to be emotional, learns to dive a little more inside herself, explains Chloé Robichaud. The music makes it possible to speak of this transition towards a less technical and more emotional conductor.
Emma forging a love affair with a musician from the orchestra, Chloé Robichaud was also interested in the experience of the star conductor, who himself has been in a relationship for a long time with an OM musician.
Strengthen the credibility of Sophie Desmarais
Another contribution from Yannick Nézet-Séguin: helping Sophie Desmarais to embody her character in a credible way.
To do this, you have to know how to count the beats, place them in the right places, inhabit them and give them meaning, but also know which instruments to look at, he says. It took a lot of steps.
Chefs Nicolas Ellis and Kensho Watanabe supported him in this work.
I am flabbergasted by Sophie’s progress
says Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who, to guide her, stays close to the camera during the filming, which began in the Pierre-Mercure room at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
To best accomplish his mission as a mentor, he engaged in a certain introspection, going back to the time when he was the same age as Emma.
She’s a young chef and there are times when you’re a little awkward and you can have more tense emotions. And all these emotions are transmitted in the direction of an orchestra.
Sylvain Marcel alongside Sophie Desmarais
The role of Patrick, the father, was to be played by Christian Bégin, but it was ultimately Sylvain Marcel, who we could see in copy of René Angélil in the film Alinewhich has integrated the distribution.
He is a character with many nuances. He can be very tough, but also very human suddenly, explains Chloé Robichaud. And Sylvain Marcel is capable of so many contrasts.
Nour Belkhiria, Maude Guérin, Yves Jacques, Vincent Leclerc, Katherine Levac and Jean-Philippe Baril-Guérard will also star in the film.
It’s been six years since the filmmaker to whom we owe Sarah prefers running et Pays thinking of making this film about a young woman who is trying to blossom and become the conductor she aspires to be despite the hold her father has on her.
When the #MeToo movement arrived, we started talking more about the toxicity in romantic relationships. Very often, the toxicity of family ties is the genesis, violence takes root in families.
Chloé Robichaud allows herself freedom as to the exact form the story will take. A film is written in the script, then in the shooting and then in the editing.
Happy Days will be released in 2023.
This text was written froman interview conducted by Eugénie Lépine-Blondeaucultural columnist on the show A whole morning. Comments may have been edited for clarity or conciseness.