The one who feels “in flip-flops at the foot of the Himalayas” in John Wax’s film, in theaters this Wednesday, is Pauline. Played by a funny and tender Audrey Lamy, this mother is raising her son Andréa, 6 and a half years old, who has been diagnosed with “autism spectrum disorder”. However, Pauline has neither an apartment nor a job. In addition, this carefree and party-loving blonde has just separated from Fabrice, the child’s father. And at school, they keep telling her that, for Andréa to enter CP class, she needs “stability” at all costs.
In real life, the one who was at the bottom of the mountain is Marie-Odile Weiss. Mother of a boy diagnosed with autism at the age of 2 and a half, this 43-year-old author and actress recounted her experience in a single scene already entitled “In flip-flops at the foot of the Himalayas”. The pretty brunette talks about her “giddiness” at the announcement of the diagnosis and her daily life made up of administrative pitfalls, acronyms and boxes… into which her child does not fit. A lively and lively show, lively but never tearful.
Marie-Odile Weiss performed her play this summer at the Avignon Festival. Before, she had only performed once, on October 19, 2020, at the Nouvelle Seine, in Paris (Ve), before the theaters closed the next day due to Covid. But that evening, his friend John Wax, co-director of “Tout simply noir”, with Jean-Pascal Zadi, was in the room. And, at the end of the performance, the filmmaker offered to adapt the only one on stage for the big screen.
Between lightness and gravity
“I accepted because I knew that John wanted to treat the subject in the form of a comedy, while adding depth to it,” explains the author. As with the show, I wanted to raise awareness about the issue of autism. Cinema is a wonderful weapon for changing people’s outlook. But I wanted to do it with humor. That’s how I go through life: I see the funny in it even when the situations aren’t necessarily funny. »
To co-write the screenplay for the film, Marie-Odile Weiss was inspired by her daily life, but also by interviews she had conducted with experts and other parents of autistic children for a podcast. A docu-fiction in four episodes, also entitled “In flip-flops at the foot of the Himalayas”, put online in 2020.
Through the feature film, the viewer understands the obstacle course of these parents: the shortage of support for children with disabilities, the inability of certain teachers to accept and integrate these students whom they find “turbulent” …
We also have fun with this teacher who asks Pauline if Andréa is a genius at the piano or if he speaks several languages. ” After Rain Manthe film with Dustin Hoffman, everyone thought that autistic people counted matches very quickly,” emphasizes Marie-Odile Weiss.
By oscillating between lightness and seriousness, John Wax’s comedy touches the heart. Marie-Odile showed it to her son, now 13 years old. “He really liked it. When he saw the sequences where Andréa said It’s not mei after breaking his bed or blocking the toilet, he looked at me and started That reminds me of someone! » smiles the mother. Who, like Pauline, assures that she has “made a lot of progress” in the ascent of her Himalayas at the same time as her “little sun” has grown.
Editor’s note:
« In flip-flops at the foot of the Himalayas »,
comedy by John Wax, with Audrey Lamy, Eden Lopes, Nicolas Chupin… (1h33)