‘Avignon‘ (2025) is one of those films that I can’t help but love despite some obvious shortcomings. Johann Dionnet, the film’s director and co-writer of the script, is probably known to you from other French films in which he played mainly supporting roles. ‘Avignon‘ is his feature film debut and he also cast himself in a supporting, but quite an important, role. The film is a romantic comedy belonging to the ‘feel-good movies’ category, but its main quality derives from the location in which the story takes place. It’s Avignon during the festival which every summer brings together the audiences interested in cultural tourism (this term had no negative meaning for me) and theater and entertainment groups from all categories: from the most vulgar boulevard comedies to the classics of French or world theater in lavish productions. ‘Avignon‘ is an opportunity for Dionnet and his team to tell a few truths about theater and the entertainment industry. It does so with a light-hearted approach that will delight fans of comedies with a soul and theater lovers. I include myself in both categories.
‘Avignon‘ is a film about theater and it is no surprise that at the center of the plot we find a theatrical device – the quiproco – well-known and broadly used for centuries in classical theater, especially in comedies. Stéphane, the main character, is an actor who has not enjoyed great successes or significant distributions and who is part of the cast of a boulevard theater play, one of the hundreds of performances during the Avignon Festival, with a troupe of enthusiastic actors, which is in a precarious financial situation. When he meets again Fanny, a charming actress-singer that he had previously known from an actors workshop, she believes that Stéphane is the lead actor in a famous troupe performing Corneille’s ‘Le Cid’. Fearing that he might lose her, Stéphane does not have the courage to tell her the truth, especially since Fanny is surrounded by a gang of arrogant actors who despise the boulevard theater. As in all comedies based on quiproco, lies hold water only up to a certain point.
In ‘Avignon‘ not only the main character lies but almost all the characters lie, but with the best intentions. Lies Serge, the owner and director of the show, who has invested his money, talent and life in the performance. Lies Coralie, his wife who is looking for an affair to take revenge on Serge’s public criticism. And when Stéphane tries to tell the truth, he risks losing his girlfriend. The love plot is resolved somewhat conventionally and predictably, but this is compensated by a few well-written and funny dialogues that comment on the differences in approach between ‘serious’ and commercial theater, translated into what looks like social class differences between the actors who play the two genres. The message conveyed without ostentation is that true theater means passion for the stage and the connection between the audience and the actors, regardless of the theatrical genre or the size of the theater hall. The other reason why ‘Avignon‘ conquers is the team of actors, all of whom are fun and talented, with special mentions for Baptiste Lecaplain in the lead role, his partner Elisa Erka who reminded me of Melanie Griffith in her youth, the formidable comedian Alison Wheeler together with Lyès Salem, and – last but not least – the actor-director Johann Dionnet himself. Theater lovers should not miss this film, which will bring back those who had the chance to be there during the Avignon festival and will give an idea of the magical atmosphere of the festival to those who did not have this privilege. Fans of romantic comedies and entertaining films will also enjoy it and – who knows? – maybe they will be charmed by the ‘spirit of Avignon’.