Freedom to Choose

Daniel Auteuil, who turns 40 this year, has reached the point where he is recognized in France as un grand acteur --a respected artist in the field of acting. Much of this acclaim stems from his portrayal of the peasant Ugolin in Claude Berri’s “Jean De Florette� and “Manon of the Spring� (1985).

“This has brought me true freedom,� Auteuil happily admits, “the freedom to choose my projects.� To choose and be choosy: working mostly on the stage, he takes a film role every 18 months.

In his latest movies, Coline Serreau’s “Mama, There’s a Man in Your Bed,� he plays Romuald, a Paris-based CEO so immersed in corporate life he’s blind to the conspiracies that surround him. Forcing his eyes open to this chicanery--and to life itself--is Juliette (Firmine Richard), a poor, black mother of five, who as the night cleaning woman happens upon discarded office secrets.

That the two eventually fall into a romantic relationship proved startling in France during this time of increasing intolerance for its Arab and black population, Auteuil says. “It’s a film about differences between human beings and how to accept your fellow man.�

Casting a maternal, heavy-set woman deliberately accentuated these differences. “A beautiful black woman would have been easier to accept. But this is about loving the beauty inside people.�

As with Serreau’s previous film, “Three Men and a Cradle,� Disney is preparing an American remake. Richard Dreyfuss will play Auteuil’s role.

This American mania for remaking successful French comedies brings a bemused smile to Auteuil. “Maybe our films are only rough drafts for the finished work to be done in America.� Then with a glean in his eye he adds, “Or maybe the imagination of American screenwriters is running dry.�