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The French director observes in ‘Arthur Rambo’ a young man of North African origin who, just after becoming the new literary and media sensation, falls into disgrace when a series of anti-Semitic and homophobic tweets are discovered
Titles such as ‘Human Resources’ (1999), ‘The Use of Time’ (2001) and ‘The Class’ (2008) -Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival- confirmed him as an accurate observer of both cultural and class conflicts. as of traumatic identity crises, and both issues are also explored in his new film. Inspired by the true case of Mehdi Meklat, ‘Arthur Rambo’ follows a young man of North African origin who, just after becoming the new literary and media sensation in Paris, quickly falls from grace when a series of anti-Semitic and homophobic tweets are discovered. posted in the past.
Why did you decide to adapt the story of Mehdi Meklat?
Because I don’t understand it. On his day I read some really interesting articles that he wrote about life in the suburbs, and I saw him very incisively interview political leaders, and I used to listen to him every morning on the radio. All his interventions denoted an amazing maturity considering that Meklat was only 17 years old at the time. And then one day I found out in the press about the horrifying tweets he had written in the past. How can the same person have such contradictory attitudes? I still can’t explain it.
The title of the film, ‘Arthur Rambo’, is also the alias that its protagonist adopts on Twitter. What led you to choose it?
That on the one hand alludes to the poet Arthur Rimbaud and on the other to the brutal fictional hero John Rambo, and I think that the fusion of two cultural references so opposed perfectly illustrates the conflict between the literary ambitions of my protagonist and the anger that consumes him.
What relationship do you have with social networks?
I’m not going to pretend I understand them. When I was young, we valued everything ‘punk’ and fringe, and instead, the only thing that matters to today’s youth is popularity. There is a worrying desire to please as many people as possible. What does this paradigm shift mean? Is that the way we have today to deal with the growing feeling of loneliness that plagues us?
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a disgusting anti-Semite but also a literary genius
The film reflects on a concept as hot as the cancellation of those artists whose behaviors or personal opinions are questionable. What do you think about it?
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a disgusting anti-Semite but also a literary genius. There are many more cases like his, of course, and I think it is necessary to put all those artistic figures in the context of his time instead of erasing them from the map. The problem is that in the culture of 280 characters there is no room for context, reflection, argumentation, or complexity. And that, inevitably, favors public lynchings, the more violent the better, and also the most simplistic solutions to problems.
If our politicians use the networks to spread falsehoods, their public follows suit
And that helps explain the rise of populism and extremism…
It was demonstrated with the triumph of Trump in the United States and later with the growing rise of parties such as Vox in Spain and Agrupación Nacional in France. The problem is that if our politicians use the networks to spread falsehoods, evade responsibility and promote violent confrontation, their public follows suit. In the end, the networks convince people that lies and abuse pay off.
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To what extent did you conceive ‘Arthur Rambo’ also as a reflection on how difficult social mobility is for immigrant France?
The film focuses on the realm of the culture industry, and I think the intellectual left always welcomes any young artist from the lumpen or minorities because it makes them feel good about themselves. But as soon as one of these young people shows signs of not adapting to the codes of the bourgeoisie that has welcomed him, he is immediately expelled. That is why figures like Mehdi Meklat or Arthur Rambo are trapped in a no man’s land, pressured from above to renounce the anger that initially inspired them and questioned from below for having deserted the cause. Is it possible to access one world without betraying the other? I doubt it.