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The idea
- 'When I first met producer Jean-François Lepetit, the idea of making a film based on UNE
VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE - An old Mistress - had been on my mind for a long time. However, each
time we met, I gave him scripts for other films. Until ANATOMY OF HELL, which I have always
considered as the end of a necessary cycle I had to finish before moving on to new pastures.
And yet, as Jean-François says himself, without that film, I would never been able to make UNE
VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE. There is a certain distance between them.'
- 'I have always said that if I had been born in a different century, I would have been Jules Barbey
d’Aurevilly, the author of the book I adapted to the screen. In his works, you have to look for the
quintessence and hidden meanings which censure imposed, and forced him to tread a delicate
path.'
- 'Anémone, a famous French actress, introduced me to the book. She would have liked to play
the role of Vellini. I enjoyed the dandyism, a last shout from the aristocracy. Just like the Marquise
de Flers, I am absolutely '18th century'. The 18th century was more elegant and open-minded
than the 19th, when the middle classes came into power, bringing narrow-mindedness and rigor-
ously strict moral principles. The film contrasts these morals with the power of sentiments that
transcend conventions. I also loved all these highly androgynous characters. Ryno is a terrible
womaniser, a sort of Valmont (DANGEROUS LIAISONS), but he is also, like many dandies,
deeply feminine. I’ve often dreamt about Michelangelo and the 'Portrait of a Young Man' by Lor-
enzo Lotto (which is also in the film), about these men of dazzling beauty, a certain feminine
beauty, yet without being effeminate.'
- 'The story could only take place in an aristocratic environment. When struggling to survive,
feeding a family and finding a roof for shelter, there is no time for the leisure of romance. Not en-
ough time to experience the pureness. Sentiment can only be expressed in a certain level of com-
fort where it is not tainted by the harsh realities of life. The way many great authors of that era
expressed strong feeling in such idealistic settings has always fascinated me. Aristocracy simply
lends itself to the refinery of sentiments.'
- 'Ten years ago, I underlined the important parts of the novel and dictated the basis of the sce-
nario in four days. I did not want to adapt it; I wanted to make it mine. I took incredible liberties with
the storyline. The script had obviously been ripening in my mind over the years, and I modified it
again.'
The general public
- This is my most accessible film for the general public, and yet I did not betray myself. On the
contrary to my usual films, this one does not break any taboos. I had taken that style as far as it
would stretch; it was time to come back to the essentials in life, pleasure, romance and passion.
But romance is dark, which was another reason for wanting to make this film; for the romanticism,
the burning passion, the terrible suffering, but without perverting the sentiments. The heart of the
story portrays an ideal that topples into disaster as soon as it is reached.'
- 'All my previous films were judged nefarious or scandalous, but they did not represent the real
me. I think this film really corresponds to my personality. I’m free at last. It represents the me that
does not rise up against the world and its taboos. When I’m at peace, I’m actually terribly roman-
tic.'
- 'The Vicomte de Prony says that if ever Ryno de Marigny becomes a Minister, he would do his
utmost to make himself unpopular. That’s what I’ve always done. Like all artists, I laid my foun-
dations in opposition. And it’s a tough position, because when you realise just how much people
can hate you for a film, a simple film, it’s pretty frightening. I’m not a terrorist, I don’t hurt anyone,
all my actors like me and I’ve never betrayed them.'
Cinema & paintings
- Fiction is about recognising oneself behind the mask. We all live the same life, experience the
same feelings. This is why fiction is so essential to us, as it is in Art, because it serves that pre-
cise purpose. Making a film means creating prototypes for the spectators sitting in the dark who
will identify completely with them. This time, I chose to make a romantic adaptation.'
- 'Films are not realism. The true sense comes over in a painting when the artist does not bother
with reality. Reality is everywhere, on TV and in newspapers. But Art does not have to be realistic.
Films bring this over differently. Neorealism is a style, but not the realism that only makes pretty
little films. That’s the difference between a filmmaker and a maestro. The maestros have their own
light, they do not need to know which lamp will throw light where, because their light shines from
inside.'
- 'I think of myself as a painter. I have always invented my own colours and chosen the pigments
myself. And I was not going to start using acrylics just because I’d decided to paint a fresco!'
- 'Paintings have often influenced the image and the tonality of my films, like ROMANCE for ex-
ample. To make that film, I turned to the Italians of Florence and Bergame, just like Lorenzo Lotto.
I also adore many northern painters such as Holbein and Dürer, who also painted beautiful young,
masculine men, but with lips and beautiful eyes like girls. I love this paradox.'
The characters
- 'What I really enjoy, is using literature as everyday language. The dialogues in this film are long
and full of deep meanings, but only the emotion counts. I made complex sentences which were
not meant to be recited, but expressed like unravelling thought. Actors have to be extremely con-
centrated to control these thoughts. They have to constantly convert the text into thought. But
without us hearing the commas and full stops! This was, as in my other films, one of the aspects
that required attention.'
Asia Argento
- 'Imet Asia ten years ago in Toronto. Despite her very young age, I could already imagine her in
the role of La Vellini. She’s a character all of her own. And she was magnificent. Although it was
quite a job tracking her down, once I found her again, she was as loyal as ever, even when
shooting was delayed for a year because of my accident.'
Fu’ad Aït Aattou
- 'I was having lunch with my assistant and my production designer. At the end of the meal, Fu’ad
came over to see me. I immediately knew he would be Ryno, if he could act. For the first time, I
had found that dazzling beauty, feminine without being effeminate, that I’d always hoped to find. It was love at first sight; what I’d always dreamed of.'
“ - 'His first attempts were not successful. Despite his beauty, he was not putting enough into it.
Beautiful people cannot be forgiven! Exceptionally, I asked him to come back to try again, and this
time he was incredible. It happened to be his birthday that day, 2nd November, which was also
Barbey d’Aurevilly’s birthday!'
- 'For his character, I wanted a clearness of the heart. I did not want anything like Merteuil
(DANGEROUS LIAISONS). This story is about love and passion where the characters are pure.
Real life is like Merteuil! With Fu’ad, as with all the other actors that I have come across, I feel I’m
working with what I call “new born oxygen”. They have the pureness and energy of freshly dis-
covered crystals. They were dedicated to the film. They wear my colours.'
Roxane Mesquida
- 'With Roxane it was also love at first sight. Following FAT GIRL! and SEX IS COMEDY, this is
the third time we have worked together. I love her and I wish her staggering beauty and acting
talents were more recognised. Roxane stood up to those who tried to make her say I’d manipula-
ted and destroyed her. Her loyalty deeply moves me. She declares she truly became an actress
during the love scene in FAT GIRL!, which was a act of bravery for such a young woman, and
she came out of it radiant.'
Claude Sarraute
- 'I first saw Claude in a French chat show. In my mind, the Marquise de Flers (Hermangarde’s
mother), was like Louise de Vilmorin (French author 1902-1969) with her juvenile old lady with the
twinkling eyes aspect. I gave her five pages to learn. She knew it off by heart. We are close
friends today. I adore this distinguished intellectual who can, like me, say stupefying things with
such freedom of thought without the slightest concern about what others might think. There is
definitely something aristocratic about her.'
Yolande Moreau
- 'I first noticed Yolande’s exceptional intelligence during one of the Cesar ceremonies (French
Academy Awards). She has class and is sincerely generous. She immediately accepted the role.
She is magnificent in it and comes over so differently from the Yolande we know... in one line, she had to say “Comme la mer monte” (the sea is rising); first of all, she thought is was a veiled reference to her own film, which has the same title, but in fact, the sentence came straight out of Barbey d’Aurevilly’s book,which I’d copied into the script!'
Michael Lonsdale
'I wanted English humour and elegance for the Vicomte de Prony’s character, which Michael
Lonsdale has in a nutshell. I love the way that Michael sometimes uses words with incredible
triviality with that high-pitched voice, full of irony and mischief.'
- 'The film gave me the chance to work once again with Anne Parillaud, Lio, Amira Casar, Caro-
line Ducey and Isabelle Renault, who were kind enough to accept. Jean-Philippe Tessé (an in-
fluencial French film magazine journalist) plays the role of the Comte de Mareuil. I spotted him
while he was talking to his editor in the street one day. I chose him just like that, instinctively, the
way I always do with actors.'
Shooting
- 'Although I made no compromises, I know I would have made a different film if I had not had that
stroke. I direct physically and I thought that it would be impossible on this film. But I was wrong.
When making a film, you go towards the impossible, and the impossible happened once again!
Film making is such a different state of mind, in which everything is possible, which is why I love it
so much.'
- 'Jean-François Lepetit did not make any compromises either. He is an extraordinary producer.
No one else would have accepted to take on such a heavy film with such a handicapped director.
The insurance companies refused to cover me.'
'Shooting started exactly a year, day for day, after my accident. We started with the outdoor shots
at Lalatte Fort, near Fréhel’ point, and on Bréhat Island, which was the most difficult logistically.'
- 'The whole film took me eight months, which is pretty quick for a film of this scale. I always shoot
very quickly and the quality of the actors helps me. I take long shots, which is rather risky, be-
cause if ever one of the actors looses concentration, we have to start all over again. On the other
hand, when we obtain magnificent things, we already have 5 to 6 minutes in the box. I may be
mad, or perhaps have a very traditional style, but I’m extremely strict in my work.'
- 'UNE VIEILLE MAÎTRESSE is my dearest film. After all, it has cost as much as all the other ten
put together! The only site where I could find the settings I wanted without going hundreds of miles
away was on Bréhat Island – my island! Shooting was complicated; horses had to be taken over
on barges, and a little train was needed to transport the film crew. I found Vellini’s house on the
coast there, at the end of Paon lighthouse pier. The moor is just behind the house I own on the
island.'
- 'For the costumes, as for the rest, I do not want to be a prisoner of realism, even if it is a period
film. For Asia’s character, I imagined a femme fatale from the fifties with Rita Hayworth style re-
vealing necklines instead of those that really existed in the days of Barbey d’Aurevilly. So I fol-
lowed my fantasies. In my mind, the most beautiful Spanish woman of all times was the platinum
blond (and German) Marlene Dietrich in THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN. We set off in the same direc-
tion.'
- 'In addition to the actors’ work, all the jewellery, tiepins, costumes and lacework are authentic.
They add to the films climate. In spite of my lameness, I made it to the flee market to find the ac-
cessories I needed.'
- 'My approach to the film set is also instinctive. For example, for the church scene, I decided to
fulfil my dream and use Saint-Augustin for the door and Saint-Vincent for the great golden Christ
inside. From the script, no one understood what we were shooting at Saint-Augustin and Saint-
Vincent! But in the finished film, it has created a sort of ideal church in my eyes.'
- 'In the same way, at the National Archives, I indicated Ryno’s stairway here, the bedroom there,
and Tortoni’s arcades elsewhere. I had decided to turn this magnificent site into a sort of cinema
city where we could shoot everything. The old gold shades and patina on the panelling was still
intact making it a wonderful site. Everything was shot here; apart from the scenes shot at Lalatte
Fort and the Hôtel de Beauvais, which had a half-circle facade I thought was vital. And I was
impatient to get it! For La Vellini’s appartment, I simply went to the Schlumberger family’s town
house in Rue Séguier, where my son’s grandmother lives.'
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