Longtime French-Jewish collaborators Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache have created their most intimate film to date, Just An Illusion, which is now screening in theaters across Israel.

The story offers a semi-autobiographical look at a Mizrahi Jewish household in a Paris suburb during the 1980s, released amid growing antisemitism in France and beyond.

The movie showcases their signature warmth and insight into characters, drawing audiences in as they did with The Intouchables, a tale of a wheelchair user and caregiver that became one of France's biggest hits, and The Specials from 2019, which follows a Jew and Muslim aiding those on the autism spectrum.

Yet in Just An Illusion the longtime friends, who met as kids and have directed together for more than three decades, turned to their own backgrounds for inspiration.

Toledano's parents came from Morocco while Nakache's hailed from Algeria, and they crafted a narrative rooted in their experiences that they hoped would resonate widely in France and internationally.

"This is a very personal project," Toledano noted in a recent conversation. "Still it connects with viewers and lets them tap into their own memories."

The film honors the memory of both fathers.

"We have shared so much in our film careers, but it was unexpected that our fathers passed nearly together," Toledano explained. "Mine died on the first day of shooting, and Olivier's went during editing, almost at the close."

"It felt as if we sensed their departures ahead and wanted to preserve a slice of our 1980s family life," he added.

Toledano sees film as celebration of fathers' full lives beyond later struggles

Although their fathers faced hardships in final years, Toledano stressed the work celebrates their true selves: "Their last period was tough, yet one cannot end only with that image since the earlier years were rich and full."

Production proved emotionally layered for Toledano: "I moved between real life and the story, and the fiction supported me as I spent time with an actor embodying my father, complete with familiar coat, newspaper habits, occasional outbursts, and that classic Sephardi desire to have the final say."

This Mizrahi heritage anchors the narrative. Toledano described how families of their era often chose French names such as Vincent and Arnaud for the brothers rather than traditional Jewish ones.

"Those names signaled a push for full integration into French society," he said. "Our families came from French territories where that culture already held strong influence."

For the mother character Sandrine, played by Camille Cottin, France meant career growth from secretarial roles to junior executive positions, while the father Yves, portrayed by Louis Garrel and modeled on Toledano's own, confronts job loss.

One memorable sequence shows him at an interview surrounded by identically dressed men, nodding to a classic Jacques Tati moment.

"As a boy all my father's colleagues seemed alike in their coats and looks," Toledano recalled. "Filming that felt charming, like revisiting an old memory."

The core follows Vincent, played by Simon Boublil, a reserved teen exploring romance, preparing for his bar mitzvah, and navigating life in a story that echoes Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows yet unfolds in a warmer household.

Toledano noted their recent focus on adolescence.

"At around 50, as Olivier and I are, one stands at a midpoint," he said. "It pulls one back to those teenage bridge years when love, desire, faith, and parental flaws all surface quickly."

"We often wonder what kind of teen someone once was," he added.

Working with the young lead proved intense. "Directing him meant capturing real-life fragments since he lives that age now, and his eyes reveal the boy's inner world."

Evoking the 1980s included era music, with the title track joined by selections from Joy Division, Earth Wind and Fire, The Cure, and The Alan Parsons Project.

"Music shapes the mood," Toledano said. "Olivier favored new wave while I leaned into funk, which we have used in films like The Intouchables."

Release comes amid rising antisemitism in France

Toledano acknowledged awareness that this Jewish story, closing with a bar mitzvah, arrives during heightened antisemitism.

"The climate perhaps pushed us to show our normalcy: falling in love, job loss, career ambitions, teen music clashes," he said. "We aimed to portray who we truly are."

The film has drawn over two million tickets in France despite a Jewish population near 200,000, reaching many non-Jewish viewers.

"Global events affect the Diaspora connection, yet our films remain our way to express humanity and feeling," Toledano concluded.