Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad

Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad
Film poster
Directed byRobert Guédiguian
Written byRobert Guédiguian
Gilles Taurand
Based onLa Bomba by
José Antonio Gurriarán
Produced byRobert Guédiguian
StarringSimon Abkarian
Ariane Ascaride
Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
Syrus Shahidi
CinematographyPierre Milon
Edited byBernard Sasia
Music byAlexandre Desplat
Production
companies
Agat Films & Cie
France 3 Cinéma
Distributed byDiaphana Distribution
Release dates
  • 20 May 2015 (2015-05-20) (Cannes)
  • 11 November 2015 (2015-11-11) (France)
Running time
134 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Budget$6.4 million
Box office$912.000[1]

Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (French title: Une histoire de fou) is a 2015 French drama film produced and directed by Robert Guédiguian, co-written by Guédiguian and Gilles Taurand, loosely based on the autobiography La Bomba by Spanish journalist José Antonio Gurriarán, who was left in a semi-paralyzed state after a bomb attack by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia in Madrid in 1981.[2]

The film had is world premiere in the Special Screenings section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2015.[3] It was theatrically released in France on 11 November 2015 by Diaphana Distribution.

Plot

Berlin - 1921. Soghomon Tehlirian, who survived the 1915 Armenian genocide, guns down Talaat Pasha, one of those implicated. His court case and acquittal would turn out to be a key moment in the struggle for recognition of the crime which had been denied by the Turkish government.

Marseille - 1970s. Hovannès et Anouch are making a living from their small grocery shop, their son Aram leaves home to join militants based in Paris who are committed to using violent ends to achieve their ends. Aram and Anahit are chosen to assassinate the Turkish ambassador in France. Gilles, an innocent passer-by, loses the use of both legs in the attack. Aram and Anahit flee to Beirut for an ASALA training camp run by Vrej. Anouch is horrified by events and visits Gilles in hospital who is unaware of the history of Armenians. The fanaticism of Vrej causes split and Aram leaves while Anahit remains as a supporter of Vrej. Anouch convinces Aram to meet Gilles in Beirut. The two men are reconciled, but Haïk is planning to shoot Aram. Over time Gilles and Anouch keep in touch and he accompanies her to Armenia to scatter the ashes of her mother.

Cast

Background

Working with some of his regular collaborators, Ascaride, Naymark, Abkarian, Leprince-Ringuet; Trégouët and Jolivert, Guédiguian uses their presence in classic cinema to approach "ever more thorny subjects"; for this film, which begins in black and white, he goes further with the subject of the guilt of Tehlihrian. A quote from the Israeli writer David Grossman is shown on screen to convey something key to the director's approach: the most important moments in history do not occur on the field of battle, or in palaces, but in the kitchen, or a child's room.[4] The switch of time period to the 1970s and 80s is marked by transition to colour film.[4] The result is an attempt by Guédiguian (himself of Armenian origin) to explain these horrors. He also suggests that the only means of healing is through raising awareness of past events and an attempt at understanding them.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Une Histoire de fou (2015) - JPBox-Office".
  2. ^ "'Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad' ('Une Histoire de fou'): Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Cannes Film Festival Adds 9 Titles to Official Selection Lineup". TheWrap. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Thomas Humphrey - Cannes 2015 Séance spéciale - Une Histoire de fou : la défense du terrorism. Robert Guédiguian porte à l’écran un combat pour la justice dans son nouveau film, projeté en séance spéciale (Cineuropa site, 21 May 2015), accessed 1 August 2025.
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