Kaamelott: “He’s a king who finds a new community of knights” confides director Alexandre Astier

Kaamelott, second part (part 1) hits the screens this Wednesday, October 22, four years after the release of the first part. In 2021, the first opus brought together more than two and a half million spectators in theaters, despite the delicate context of the immediate post-Covid period. Spectators will now discover the continuation of an epic for which the team worked for many months. The director, invited this Wednesday in Ma France, speaks to Wendy Bouchard’s microphone: “Filming lasted eight months, we shot two films in one go, and two long films. It’s more than a pleasure, it’s an adventure.”

A heroic and fanciful adventure which takes us far from our middle school stories, talentedly reinterpreting the adventures of Lancelot, Perceval, the Lady of the Lake and of course King Arthur, who we find in this part, losing motivation.

A King Arthur little motivated by the exercise of power

“He is a king who, despite having chased Lancelot, destroyed Kaamelott, finds a new community of knights of the round table and tells himself that he is not cut out for that. He is obviously the only one who manages to remove the sword, so he is the first to be affected. But it is very heavy to carry on his shoulders… His way of not wanting to go there is very pleasant to play.”

We find, in this opus, an Arthur without presence or descendants, surrounded by people with very diverse and often contradictory motivations. A king undermined by the idea of ​​having to engage and motivate characters with such distant prerogatives.

“There are a lot of parallel adventures, by small groups who go in completely different directions. Obviously, there are the young knights who are very motivated, full of energy and enthusiasm. While those who were there at the beginning have their backs full of it. This causes, at this round table, these perpetual confrontations between the veterans and the novices.”

Tasty casting, funny scenes and heritage settings

In this second part of Kaamelott, far from being stingy with tasty lines and chiseled dialogues, they tell the nonsense of power, served by a tasty and impressive cast. We find there, against employment, Virginie Ledoyen or Audrey Fleurot, but also Guillaume Gallienne and Clovis Cornillac. Without forgetting the indescribable Christian Clavier, as a lawyer, put in the hole and from whom Arthur calls to account in a key sequence.

“It’s so simple with Christian Clavier. I treated myself to a little face to face with him, it felt really good because he is a huge actor. He can be mischievous with his playing partners, he looks for the little beast, he bounces back. It’s really very pleasant and he didn’t seem unhappy with what he had to say.”

Funny situations, filmed in settings that give pride of place to heritage sites. The film, which takes place in the 5th century, crosses the four seasons and visits several kingdoms and lordships, particularly in Périgord and the castles of Dordogne.

“Filming Kaamelott, which is supposed to take place at the end of the 5th century, is always complicated because you have to find places untouched by modernity. It involves going up in altitude most of the time. And there are some constructions that can work, even if it’s not exactly the right century.”

Kaamelott, a family story

The world of Kaamelott is also a family story, with the director’s children and his father, the actor Lionel Astier, in the credits of this second part. A way for the director, Alexandre Astier, to pass on his know-how, like a craftsman.

“I want them to attend the filming, not just as witnesses but as workers, like the others. The children see me writing, creating. At home there are cameras, lenses… They know the concentration and the work that it takes to produce a good line. It professionalizes them sooner, the bridge is then less big to cross.”