Fire. It is perhaps the most appropriate term to describe Juliette Binoche: like an incandescent star that rises ever higher, rapidly towards the deep firmament, leaving behind an immortal trail, although a bit slippery. And it is precisely with Fire (his third film under the direction of director Claire Dennis) that the current celebrity of French cinema dazzles us on this 70th anniversary of the San Sebastian Festival.
Indeed, at 58 years old, versatile and endearing, the actress has been awarded the Donostia Award for her career, beyond commemorating this edition, with her iconic face, already with a pale complexion and delicate features, in black and white, as the official poster of the event.
The actress has continually impressed us with her talent, which ranges from thriller to comedy, between tears and smiles, between seduction, devotion, rebellion and apparent docility. She has been an Oscar winner for her work in The English Patient and deserving of several prestigious nominations and awards such as the César, a Bafta and the female performance statuettes at famous film festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Berlin, of which she was also president of the jury in its 69th edition. Definitely, after More than four dozen notable films made on various stages of the world, and after several publications as a writer, she has managed to become endearing.
In the middle of a massive meeting with the press, the actress described yesterday how it was her challenging process to work with Jean Luc Godard, the French director, father of the New Wave, recently deceased, whose memory prevails in the San Sebastian event. Binoche made special reference to the audition process in his only collaboration, in 1985, to haily mary: “It went on for a long time. And in the last rehearsal, I had to be naked, combing my hair and reciting a poem that I learned by heart. “He didn’t cast me in that role, but he did create a new role for me,” she added.
With Godard, “it was like a cold shower,” he said. “It was a kind of eternal conflict, like he was looking for something he couldn’t find. More than five months have passed… it was not an easy relationship, but I felt happy, ”she asserted. “One of the most uncomfortable reasons was that he did not allow the actors to use makeup, so I often felt discovered. I would always blush in front of the cameras and it was hard to hide the discomfort. It was an eternal anguish ”, she assured.
Binoche took the opportunity to highlight his particular taste for exploring uncomfortable roles. She with total honesty she declared: “I don’t know if I’m very lucky or it’s my way of relating to directors like Claire Dennis (who joined the actress in the middle of the press conference). But I know that there are actresses who are suffering from having to accept more cataloged films, in which they have to play the roles of wives, often subdued”.
As for his character in Fire, a nightmarish story in which love manages to devastate some existences, Binoche stressed: “I don’t know if he does it in bad faith or if everything is a hoax. But for me he is a character who wants to be free, as I have always been. You want to live that love, that desire, but sometimes it happens like that. You don’t have to aspire to perfect love because we don’t even understand it ourselves,” the actress admitted.
“That idea of youth tied to desire and love is a very sad and unfortunate sight,” director Dennis added. “I don’t understand the idea of maturity. Being an actress or actor does not mean that you are an object. The idea is to show life, soul, desire. And when I see Juliette, in this movie, I see the beauty of her. But not the exterior, because she is an attractive woman, but something that goes beyond, much deeper: her strength ”.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
