We move to the use of Etta James’s “At Last” in “Let the Sunshine In,” not before Denis quickly hums a beat of “Rhythm of the Night” in reference to the classic closing scene in “Beau Travail.”
“Binoche is a good dancer but the magical balletic movement was from the camera, the great focus pull, the song. Binoche said ‘I have to take the role,’ and I said ‘You’re right! It is a disaster of love stories for a woman. I wanted Patricia Arquette, but timing meant she was doing TV, then it was simple that Binoche come in.”
It was opened to the audience for questions. Someone asked about “The Intruder,” a Denis film based on an essay by celebrated philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, in which he intellectual engages with his heart transplant.
“I was partly crazy at this point to do this film. I had read his short book and wanted to do a film about the heart transplant. Nancy said, ‘Then it’s a documentary with me in,’ and I said, ‘No, it’s fiction!’ Thanks to great producer Humbert Balsan, who sadly died, we crossed the world with that film. Nancy said to me when he saw the film, ‘This is not my book.’ But the second time he said, ‘It’s not an adaption, but you’ve adopted the book!’”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVLze00ViPo
Asked what inspired her choice of characters, Denis recalled the story she read about a young woman found naked in the street.
“I love to read stories in the newspaper. One was about a woman I knew well whose daughter was 18 or 19. She knew her daughter had a chaotic youth, was going out late, maybe taking drugs. The police found her walking the streets of Paris naked and in high heels, following a garbage truck, blood all over her. The mother had to go through that. They put the girl into a hospital. I was shocked that life can be that hard on someone, on the young girl. Real life is so cruel, so obscene.”
“The story catches my attention. This young woman had a mother and father, and could have had a good life. A character like this is close to my own emotions. It could be a male or female, an adult or child. I can’t invent a character if I feel no relationship. There are no characters in my films that I can say is such a piece of shit. It is always someone I would like, love, cherish and never judge, someone close to my spiritual life or dream life. I’m a dreamer.”
The 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam runs from Jan 23–Feb 3.
