Given the biases and elisions of memory, perhaps it’s just as well that Philippe Besson’s almost-memoir Arrête avec tes mensonges carries the description “novel” on its cover. Published in English as Lie With Me—three words that add an extra layer of meaning to the proceedings—the French bestseller (and subsequent play) relates the story of a successful middle-aged author named Philippe as he relives the ecstasy and heartbreak of his teenage love affair with Thomas Andrieu (1966–2016), to whom the book is dedicated.
For the film version, director Olivier Peyon changed the names of the principals, giving his actors a measure of freedom and distance. Starring Guillaume de Tonquédec and Victor Belmondo, with Jérémy Gillet and Julien de Saint Jean as the young lovers, the North American premiere of LIE WITH ME screens this week as part of The American French Film Festival. Join Peyon for a Q & A following the film.
See link below for details.
Directed by Olivier Peyon
Thursday, October 13, at 8 pm
The American French Film Festival
Renoir Theatre — Directors Guild of America
7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
See Lauren Collins, “Philippe Besson’s Book of a Lifetime,” The New Yorker, May 13, 2019.
Olivier Peyon, Arrête avec tes mensonges / Lie With Me (2023), from top: Victor Belmondo (left) and Guillaume de Tonquédec; Jérémy Gillet (left) and Julien de Saint Jean; Tonquédec. Images courtesy and © Be For Films.
