You explain the situation to the guy.
“He's sleeping. I'm bored. Can't you come over?"
1983.
Suzanne, later called A nos amours, the story 0f a 16-year-old girl,
written by Arlette Langmann,
with Maurice Pialat both directing and starring,
with Sandrine Bonnaire, Evelyne Ker and Dominique Besnehard.
- I don't try to wake him up. - Of course not.
That's a nice robe, but why don't you take it off?
Go ahead.
My preferred acting style
is just one of many.
It's the one I prefer, but not necessarily the best.
For a long time I thought it was. Now I see it's not.
But I still prefer it and it's what I aim for:
a style that is as natural as possible.
Actually, that natural style is not -
It can be natural for a short stretch, but not for an entire scene.
Everyone is aware they're acting, that they're being filmed,
so they act in a low-key style, or they try to,
and it seems quite natural, but I'm not sure it is.
Don't tell me you're busy.
I asked you yesterday to fill in for me until 2:00.
If I can leave by 4:00, I'll be fine.
No, I'll be back by 2:00. I'm going to the Labor Board.
The Labor Board?
Is that astrakhan?
Just came in this morning. Nice, isn't it?
I read the piece you gave me yesterday. Not bad.
- You mean it? - Yes. A lot of people write well,
but not many can create real characters like that in just a few lines.
Well, it was based on some terrific characters.
I should ask for royalties.
You'll be the Pagnol of the garment district.
In this film, I acted more than I ever had, and better, I think,
than in my previous attempts, whether in my films or others.
In the first scenes, I was lost. I was neither director nor actor,
just the words and actions in the script.
It's like you're not there, not in your body. You feel uneasy, empty.
Hi.
I read the piece you gave me yesterday.
Cut. That was bad. Sounds like a detective movie.
Take four.
But with several takes under my belt, that feeling went away,
and in some takes I was really talking to my partner,
and it was real, just like we're talking now.
Yet watching the dailies,
I couldn't pick out the takes where I'd felt present
from the ones where I hadn't.
And that's both reassuring and troubling.
Actors won't like what I'm about to say,
but they're given credit for skills they don't necessarily have.
It's no news to anyone, especially in film, that presence is very important.
Some people aren't terrific actors but do very well.
In my opinion, all the great writers were actors.
You shouldn't put down actors the way some do.
They've written the best plays. - ls it too much a slice of life?
His acting reminds me of Michel Simon,
that kind of voraciousness.
He can say the nastiest things and look really mean,
but in his eyes you see all the tenderness he's concealing.
His character is more than touching. It tears your heart out to watch him.
- Studying harder this term? - Yes, I'm doing better.
What's gotten into you?
Nothing.
Don't want to follow in your brother's footsteps?
Good. He might make it, but we don't need two in the family.
I'm not interested in what he does.
You want to pursue an education? I mean, without forcing yourself.
Of course.
Forcing myself wouldn't do any good.
You don't seem to enjoy it all that much.
You can't always do what you like.
My advice is to stay in school.
I had to repeat a year when I was young, so I dropped out.
I've regretted it ever since,
because I wouldn't be where I am today.
Do what you want, but keep it up. It sounds stupid, but -
You forgot something.
How much freedom do you give actors when filming?
They don't make the most of it,
and neither do I, which proves acting isn't easy.
I'd say they have complete freedom.
That's what I always tell them.
I'll say “Go from here to there,” but even that's negotiable.
The cameraman on that film could've followed them.
He'd follow them into the spotlights if the scene was interesting.
We decide later if we can use a scene with spotlights in the frame.
In principle, anything's possible. If they go outside of the lit area,
or into a room we hadn't planned on shooting,
it hardly ever happens, but anything is possible.
I say, “They're just guidelines. Do the opposite. Change the scene. Why not?”
When working with Pialat, you need to be very available,
you need to be there practically all the time,
and you need to be open-minded.
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Because Maurice doesn't order you around. He pulls things out of you.
His crew members are given roles to play just like the actors.
Every crew member on the set is part of the scene.
He doesn't give much direction. He has certain guidelines in mind.
He'll say something like, “Focus on her face here.”
On the other hand, if we do something completely different,
it could be just as good.
They're just talking points, and sometimes he even means something different.
Pialat is difficult to interpret. You have to learn to decode him.
His hidden side is much vaster and much more interesting
than what you see.
The fascinating thing about filming with him
is wondering what voyage he's taking you on.
It's like you've set sail for destinations unknown,
where nothing is familiar.
...while she's with the mother. It was very calm in the beginning.
Nothing was happening. They talked about Frederic, the trip, all that.
They moved because you don't stand by the door when you come home.
Someone came in and said, “There's no light. We blew a fuse."
I imagine it without any light.
It's a setup for when she turns on the lamp to go to bed,
and she realizes the two are in there.
She could walk into the room without noticing -
- But if it's lit - - It's a farce.
Sometimes he gets a bad reputation,
because you're supposed to shoot so many minutes a day.
We might shoot nothing one day and ten minutes the next,
because he gets inspired, like a painter.
He always tries to take it further.
Something inside him, an inspiration, or the mood that day on the set
will set him off- or maybe nothing will.
They don't give him the necessary means.
If producers came to Pialat's set for a week, or even an hour,
they'd see that even if some time is lost, there are exceptional moments
when things happen that you'd never see in other films.
You've said that after making so many films,
you still feel like you're making your first.
- I've felt that way for 10 years. - Please explain.
It's simple. It's the budget.
It's actually been 15 years since I made my first film in '68.
I once read that 15 years is the average duration
of a playwright's career, a field very similar to ours.
As a playwright you might work for 15 years,
and after that, you rest on your laurels.
In 15 years, we're supposed to have made a name for ourselves professionally.
We've supposedly said what we had to say.
And it's not just true in cinema. Napoleon's career lasted about the same.
That's one famous example, but there are tons of others.
Yet here I am, 15 years later, at exactly the same point.
Sure, I've learned a few tricks.
The budgets might be bigger, but not by much.
It's like I'm making my first film.
It must be me in large part, because most of my colleagues,
if that's the appropriate term -
Some make out well, though some others don't.
I'm not talking about talent. Talent can't be defined.
Still, it's hard to swallow,
because it can't be entirely my fault.
It's the whole historical and social context in this country.
It's just the way it is.
But it's unbearable.
You quickly realize that if you're worth it, you need money to make films.
You could make low-budget films,
but that means shooting in 8mm, and that's not really feasible.
So you need money.
Not a lot, but more than for a first film.
It's incredible that someone like me - perhaps I'm not the one to say this -
but it's incredible that I'm on the fringe of French cinema.
That's the last straw,
since French cinema is already on the fringe, to put it nicely,
and being on the fringe of the fringe
is depressing.
It saps my strength.
- He was almost out of the frame. - Good.
- He went to get his cigarette. - He lit it over there.
I thought he was out of the frame.
His cigarette isn't in the frame, but his back is, which is kinda nice.