Last November I went to the premiere of Elle at the French Film Festival in Cinéma Paris in Berlin. I see everything that has Isabelle Huppert in it. I’m always confused after watching her play and that’s what I like about it. There is a great interview with her in The Guardian and a lot of what she says can actually be used for art. I made a list:
- Avoid a statement
“I would never turn a character into a statement,” she says, “statement” sounding like something distasteful held between her fingers.
- Don't leave a message
A film must be taken for what it is. There is no message.” “Message” sounds worse than “statement”.
- Don’t bother too much
Would she describe herself as post-feminist? “I wouldn’t describe myself. I wouldn’t bother.”
- Don't be afraid
“I think women are the product of previous fights. Every woman should have equality with men. That should not even be a debate.” She sits again. “And men are not afraid of women the way women are afraid of men. Of course.”
- A little bit ... free
She rarely talks politics, at least publicly. “I don’t think that’s the type I am. I don’t have much rebellion in my soul. I’m just a little bit … free.”
- Withdraw
“Acting is imagination more than observation. I could have been locked in a room all my life and still been an actress.”
- Wink
She seems so sociable. “Not hysterically sociable. I told you, I’m curious. Everything is like a little piece of fiction to me. I like to peek into people’s lives. I meet them, talk to them, then step back and see them like a story. People are funny. Don’t you think so?” It takes me a moment to realise Isabelle Huppert has just winked at me.