Interview: Mélanie Laurent and Lucas Bravo on ‘Freedom’
French actress-director Mélanie Laurent and Lucas Bravo team up for Freedom, a film that brings to life the nearly forgotten story of Bruno Sulak, a notorious yet surprisingly gentle figure in French banditry history. Laurent, whose work as an actress includes roles in Inglourious Basterds and The Round Up, has made her mark as a director with acclaimed films like The Mad Women’s Ball. Here, she steps behind the camera once again to revive Sulak’s story. Bravo, widely recognized for his role as the charismatic chef Gabriel in Netflix’s Emily in Paris, but also for his scene-stealing turns in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Ticket to Paradise, takes on his first leading role in a feature film here.
For Mélanie Laurent, the story of Freedom began with an unexpected discovery. She was first introduced to Bruno Sulak’s story in a novel from Philippe Jaenada over a decade ago and was struck by his absence from popular culture. “I asked myself, why? Why is this guy not part of our icons in France when we treat really bad guys, not poetic ones and really less interesting guys, as icons?” she shares. She found it particularly intriguing that Sulak was a gentle soul, a figure with poetic aspirations and a profound love for his girlfriend — qualities that seemed to set him apart from typical crime figures.
Lucas Bravo was equally captivated by Sulak’s story. Not only was he new to the character, but he also felt a personal connection to his softer side. “The most surprising thing [about him] was to learn that he was a magician in Marseille for a while. I thought that was very cute,” he says, highlighting how this kind of detail made Sulak feel less like the typical criminals we see on screen and more like a nuanced, human figure.
Laurent says she chose Bravo and newcomer Léa Luce Busato, who makes her on-screen acting debut here, as her Bruno and Annie to bring an untested energy to the film. “I needed an energy on set of people who felt happy to be there because that was their first time instead of it being just another movie for actors that work so much and maybe lose a little bit of that energy,” she explains.
Bravo, who rose to fame on Netflix’s hit show Emily in Paris as, per Laurent’s words, the “sexy chef”, embraced this opportunity to reshape his image while diving into a role that allowed him to explore a character with sensitivity and depth. “Honestly, I was questioning Mélanie’s will to have me as a leading man because I wasn’t sure if I was ready to lead an ensemble,” he admits. It was Laurent’s constant encouragement that created a space for him to flourish, helping him feel “empowered” as both a leader and an actor. “We made this movie with so much love, and I’m hoping people can see that while watching it,” he says, referring to the “benevolent energy” on set. “It was an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life honestly, and I’m just grateful for Melanie to have met me before I met myself. To have seen that in me and that I was ready to step forward.”
Both Laurent and Bravo share a dedication to meaningful storytelling and creating positive energy on set. Bravo speaks of the responsibility he felt not only to his character but to his fellow cast members: “It’s not just about being good. It’s about inviting others into the performance and making room for your castmates.” Laurent’s approach as a director made a deep impact on him, especially her openness and understanding of each actors’ needs. “She’s very, very smart, and she knows what she wants. Cinema is her passion. She doesn’t beat around the bush. She goes straight for that shot.”
While she was starring in The Mad Women’s Ball and Wingwomen, her last two directorial efforts, Laurent expressed relief at not needing to be in front of the camera this time. “I never want to be in my movies ever. It’s always circumstance. For The Mad Women’s Ball, it was in the middle of the second wave of COVID. We couldn’t find anyone to shoot so I put myself in the movie. And then with Wingwomen, I wanted a specific actress who canceled on the movie three weeks before we started to shoot. So everybody was like, ‘Okay, you have to do it.’ So I never want to be in my movies ever. It’s always circumstance. ”
The making of Freedom followed a long list of projects disrupted by the pandemic, including The Nightingale, a film that Laurent had been set to direct with Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning. “It was very frustrating because I worked nine weeks of prep and then we were ready to shoot three days after, and then COVID shut everything down,” she recalls. “It was hard to imagine going back to a huge movie like this with so many extras and so many war scenes in the next wave. The second wave was like three months later. So yeah, everything was postponed and I think it’s really hard to get them [the Fanning sisters] both back.”
Though these setbacks haven’t stopped her from pushing forward as a director. She’s already hard at work on her next project, which will center around “women, rage and conflicts between two cultures.” Topics that she feels are more relevant than ever in today’s world: “I need to make a movie about peace right now.”
The collaboration on Freedom has had a significant impact on both Laurent and Bravo, as artists. For the latter, it provided him with the confidence necessary to take on more leading roles in the future, and he now wants to sit in the director’s seat himself someday. “I would love to direct at some point. I already have a script in the works, and Mélanie was just a dream to work with,” he says. “Honestly, she gave me more experience in three months than I’ve gathered in my entire career.”
As for Laurent, this movie serves as a testament to her commitment to stories that go beyond mere entertainment. By honoring forgotten figures like Bruno Sulak, she hopes to remind audiences about the potential impact of lost legacies. In her own words, Freedom is a story of a “poet, an artist who had a beautiful love story with his girlfriend that he loved so much”. Themes that, she believes, are often lost in such stories.
Freedom is now available to stream on Prime Video.
