“Les Vétos” is a film broadcast on France 2 this Sunday, January 19, 2023. Clovis Cornillac and Noémie Schmidt play two veterinarians there, and had to prepare in advance for this role.
[Mis à jour le 19 janvier 2023 à 20h00] “Les Vétos” is a dramatic comedy broadcast on France 2 this Sunday, January 19, 2023. Viewers can dive into the daily life of veterinarians working in rural areas. For the purposes of the film, Clovis Cornillac and Noémie Schmidt had to prepare well for the role. They thus followed veterinarians on tour, “so as not to betray this animal profession, in order to be closer to what they do every day”, explained the main actor in an interview with Linternaute when the film was released. , in 2020.
Noémie Schmidt lists: “We treated bulls, vaccinated calves, put dogs to sleep, treated cats… they explained everything to me,” she recalls. For the needs of the film, the actress was also trained to do a calving, which we see in the feature film. “It was completely crazy, she still remembers with a lot of emotion, it was crazy. I cried for an entire weekend afterwards, I was in a state of crazy adrenaline. was very moving, and so in tune with what we were saying in the film: that there is nothing more powerful than nature and life.” What convinced Clovis Cornillac to join the film “Les Vétos” was above all the idea that this specific profession should be highlighted: “I found the idea of making a film about veterinarians wonderful, we he confides in an interview. In 35 years in the business, I had never seen or heard of country veterinarians before in the cinema. So when I was presented with this project, I was intrigued”.
film sheet
Les Vétos is a tender dramatic comedy that follows the daily life of a Morvan veterinarian, played by Clovis Cornillac, desperately seeking to replace his retired colleague Michel. Alexandra offers to help him for a summer. But this young woman, who reluctantly returns to the village she left as a child, does not want to stay there long term. A tender and luminous family comedy, Les Vétos also tackles various themes, such as rural desertification, the burnout of overworked veterinarians, but also family breakdown.
Synopsis – In a remote countryside, Nico and Michel are the only vets for miles around. Nico bends over backwards to maintain his activity and his family life. When Michel, his partner, announces his retirement, Nico is worried about the future of his clinic. The next generation is embodied in the person of Alexandra, a young woman who has just obtained her diploma. Although originally from the area, Alexandra does not plan to base her career in her native countryside. Especially since this new veto is not unanimous …
In the Vetos trailer, we discover Clovis Cornillac as an exhausted campaign veterinarian who must find a replacement for his retired colleague. The latter sends him Alex, a young misanthropic graduate who refuses to stay working in the village where she grew up. Check out the movie trailer below.
A reflection on the desertification of rural veterinarians
Les Vétos does not hesitate to address a reality unknown to the general public: the desertification of veterinarians in the rural world, yet an essential profession to sustain these territories. The two actors confided that the film had also made them discover these problems specific to this profession. “I didn’t really know the French rural veterinary environment, admits the Swiss actress Noémie Schmidt when we interviewed her for the film’s release in the cinema. So, with the film, I immersed myself in this profession. And the director, Julie Manoukian, has also surrounded herself with veterinarians to write the script. Because it can be tricky, especially when you tackle this theme and you come from Paris. There, at no moment I said to myself that it was the sixteenth arrondissement that was talking about the countryside”.
Clovis Cornillac plays a country veterinarian, overwhelmed and on the verge of burnout: “When you see their days, their nights, their weekends … you realize that you have to be very solid not to freak out. And my character clings, because it is a job of faith, a job of passion”. However, Les Vétos goes further than giving a lesson on the rural world, according to the actor: “The film is not intended to give lessons, it is very gentle, very generous. All the difficulties of the rural world are addressed , but it’s a bright film that makes you want to. It’s also a real tour de force because the reality isn’t watered down, but there’s always a very positive outlook. It’s a very tender film. “