"As soon as you talk about sexuality, people start screaming."
Modern French youth refuses sex, social networks are full of images of "ideal places" that do not exist in reality, and erotica is not necessarily nudity and physical contact, convinced director Audrey Couch. Her "Emmanuelle" will be released in Russia on November 28. On the eve of the premiere "Izvestia" asked the director about shooting a new adaptation of an old novel, scandals around the film and Russian composers who can do the impossible.
"Young people in France are giving up sex."
- It seems that the public was not ready for your picture and obviously expected something completely different? And you must have realized that this could happen, right?
- I was aware of the risks. When it was first announced that I was working on the movie, it was at Cannes and Léa Seydoux was announced in the lead role. And even then, of course, everyone's first thought was: well, clearly, it's going to be a titillating movie. The viewer will enjoy it. All this was at odds with how I perceived this project, and in general with what I shoot as a director. But it was impossible to beat that first impression. There are many countries in the world - and many journalists - who adore the old Emmanuelle. They remember and appreciate their sexual emotions while watching that movie. They didn't want me to change it so radically. And they didn't understand why it was even necessary.
A still from the movie "Emmanuelle."
Perhaps if the movie had been called something other than Emmanuelle, it would have been easier. I wanted people to be interested in seeing what I came up with, not what they were expecting. I think there's definitely been a big misunderstanding, and it's very sad. Because this movie is about experience through feeling. You can't expect it to be a repeat of the old "Emmanuelle." It offers not a quick gratification, but an attempt to understand where pleasure comes from in the first place. Where are its origins? Why do we sometimes lose the ability to receive it? Why are we so plagued by the idea that there is no more pleasure, even though there should be? I'm very happy to have been able to make a movie about this, because these themes are of great importance to all of society today. We are afraid of seeing ourselves for real, we are afraid of interacting with other people. In France, it's become a huge problem. Young people are giving up sex. There's a revolution in our civilization: people don't want to touch each other anymore.
- You know, I checked the rating of the old "Emmanuelle" and found it's pretty low too....
- Really? (Laughs) But that's natural. As soon as you talk about sexuality, people start screaming. As an artist, I'm not trying to please everybody. I don't mind if someone doesn't like me. Let them come to the movie and then hate it or love it. As long as we argue about what's done, as long as we have new experiences, I'm happy, because that's what my job is as an author.
A still from the movie "Emmanuelle."
"Eroticism can be spilled within a movie."
- Perhaps sexuality is linked to national culture, to language. Is that why you decided to make the movie in English?
- I don't think sexuality is stronger in English (laughs). No, it was important for me to work with the concept of the hotel. The hotel has people from all over the world and the only language they can speak about sexuality is English. Besides, I wanted to play with the fact that the words themselves bring pleasure. Eroticism is not necessarily nudity and physical contact. Eroticism can be pervasive within a movie, it can just be in the air. And so at the beginning of the movie, we see that the heroine arrives by plane at the hotel and that she feels nothing. Her body is silent. But in the middle of the movie, she says things that help us understand and feel the heroine better than we can by watching her. This eroticism of words is exceptionally important to me.
A still from the movie "Emmanuelle."
"She smiles, but you don't know what that smile means."
- Emmanuelle is played by Noémie Merlan, and this is a case where everything depends on the choice of the actress. Why did you choose this actress?
- Noémie is free. She has worked very carefully on the themes that we raise: what a woman is, what place her body occupies. She told me that when she read the script, she felt sadly connected to Emmanuelle's loneliness. She was happy to embody a woman who searches in vain for pleasure. She was such a good fit that we had a half hour coffee at our first meeting and I asked her if she was ready to be Emmanuelle. It was crystal clear to me that I had found the right person.
A still from the movie "Emmanuelle."
- Did you leave her room to improvise?
- The heroine at the beginning was supposed to be cold, unsmiling, like a prisoner. And that was very precisely set up. And then I let Noemi open up gradually with her character. To become alive. We discussed every scene before we started shooting. down to the last detail. But then I let her live on camera. Especially when it came to the sex scenes. We did, I remember, two 15-minute shots because Noemi wanted to explore, to try things out. And we explored with her.
I think this movie will be understood the same way in all countries. I, for example, am very interested in what Russian viewers will say. I saw how Japanese audiences liked it, and they have a very fine sense of art and sexuality. I just came from Tokyo, I saw it all with my own eyes. People received the picture very warmly.
A still from the movie "Emmanuelle."
- Russian audiences will probably appreciate the Russian component of the movie. I mean the film's composers Sasha and Evgeny Galperin. Can you tell us how you worked with them?
- We had very long conversations. I've known Sasha and Eugene for a long time and I trust them very much as artists. That's why I showed them the earliest version of the script. That is, they were involved in the project from the very beginning, they had time to think. I told them right away that I wanted the ideas to become the music, not the music behind the scenes, not the melody. For example, the sound of the music had to be equal to the heroine's breathing. For the film's finale, I asked them to write a fragment that symbolizes the awakening of the body. Step by step, something growing, something coming, you know. They asked me, "Why do you keep asking us for something impossible?" I answered: "Because I know you will do it!"
- Of course, I also have to ask about my favorite actress Naomi Watts. Why did you give her so few scenes?
- When we met Naomi for the first time, she asked me bluntly, "You want my character, the hotel manager, to embody power, right? She is the system? I propose to do it, but with gentleness, with a smile." And I told her go ahead, interesting. Naomi made it so that we didn't realize what was going on inside her character. Like a real, great actress she weaves an image from different layers. She smiles, but you don't know what that smile means. You don't know what to expect from her until the very end. And that creates the necessary suspense for the story.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
