Translated interview
AdĂšle Haenel: Figurehead of the new French Film
by Daniel Kalt, in: Die Presse, 13th of December 2019
Additions or clarifications for translating purposes are denoted as [T: âŠ]
AdĂšle Haenel talks about her new film, gender roles and a new cinema by women, which oddly doesnât give much space to men. [T: đ]
AdĂšle Haenel came to Vienna for the Viennale [T: annual Film Festival, here: 24th of October to 6th of November 2019], playing the lead role in the opening film âPortrait of a Lady on Fireâ. Itâs one of those hot almost summer-like autumn days, prior to the photo shoot Haenel is sitting in the scorching heat on the terrace in front of the studio and greets a purring cat, which is passing by, in German. Haenel is the daughter of an Austrian translator, and grew up in [T: Montreuil, in the MĂ©tropole du Grand] Paris. According to her, she spoke the [T: German] language as a child, but forgot about it later on, âas is often the caseâ. Only for her role in Chris Krausâ film âThe Bloom of Yesterdayâ, where she plays alongside Lars Eidinger, did she relearn German. [T: Now] in Vienna, the actress, who is one of the most celebrated in contemporary French cinema, is a bit tired after a long promotional tour for her film, which [T: all] began in Cannes. The uproar, which AdĂšle Haenel will cause a couple of weeks later, when she accuses the French director Christophe Ruggia of sexual harassment that took place during the shoot of her first Film âLes Diables â she was still half a child then [T: !?] â preceded Vienna and is therefore not mentioned here. Because of her film projects and her statements as a prominent creative artist it seems obvious to ask whether she considers herself a feminist, to which Haenel responds in a heartbeat: âYes, absolutely. And in capital letters, go ahead and write down FEMINIST.â
AdĂšle Haenel plays young HĂ©loĂŻse in her new film, which is now shown in cinemas across Austria, and is directed by CĂ©line Sciamma (the two women were a couple for some time, it is their second joint production). After the death of her sister, [T: HĂ©loĂŻse] was brought back from the convent to her familyâs home on an island in Brittany. The story takes place in the late 18th century, HĂ©loĂŻse is supposed to be married off to Milan. But first, itâs necessary to send a portrait to her future husband, which should please him. HĂ©loĂŻse refuses the gaze of the painter â the âmale gazeâ â, who was commissioned to paint her. So, her mother resorts to a trick and hires another artist [T: called] Marianne: She should spend a couple of days with HĂ©loĂŻse as her companion, without revealing her [T: secret] mission. Through gazing at her furtively and catching glimpses of details â lips, an ear, the position of hands â, will she piece together a portrait of HĂ©loĂŻse. But tension builds between the two young women, which leads to a short-lived and passionate affair.
Interviewer: Your new film takes place in the late 18th century â how did you prepare for the role?
AdĂšle Haenel: This wasnât my first period film, âLâApollinideâ [T: House of Tolerance, 2011] for example is also from the same era, just before the French Revolution. Besides, I have mainly tried to create the character of HĂ©loĂŻse around a certain concept, a certain image. The historic perspective wasnât key for me to prepare for the role. Playing in costume was mostly to place this [T: film] in a certain time. But it wasnât my top priority to lend credence to my character by putting it in a historical context.
I: What is the main theme for you: love, art, liberty, the liberty of art?
AH: The film is mainly about love and particularly about what love can be. It is about desire, the pleasure of intellectual exchange and a blossoming friendship. And then there is also the aspect of art and artistic expression, which leads to an extraordinary relationship between the two main characters. Another important point was also to show love thatâs different to what you usually see in films: It is not love at first sight, no âcoup de foudreâ [T: repeats the same phrase in French], but emotions that are developing slowly and in which you immerse yourself, because they are connected with deep admiration. The film also explores in-depth the central theme of the âfemale gazeâ as counterpoint to the dominating male gaze, which has been prevalent in cultural products for a long time.
I: Does it make a difference for you to be âdirectedâ by a female director, as the term âdirectorâ implies in English?
AH: Iâd like to state here that Iâm an extremely political person. That is why it is important to me to describe the relationship between the actress and director [T: the female form of director is used here] accordingly: It is not a vertical relationship for me, where Iâm directed by an opposite, but an equal exchange. We developed this film together, conceptualising love in a way where one character does not dominate the other. I also have a responsibility to carry as an actress, especially in a film like this, which is constructed around the gaze and the person who is looking [T: both genders are included here]. My character is not a passive muse, we tried to break this idea. In fact, it is not the story of an artist [T: male form is used here], who enters a room and sees a woman who inspires him, but something completely different.
I: Would you say that Héloïse is at first motivated by anger about the situation?
AH: You could talk about anger, but this means to break down the bigger issue of resistance to an individual level. Itâs not mainly about the anger of this character, but itâs about how she as a woman reacts to her specific situation. Society often denies women the right to live as we want to or our own projects. Thatâs why I think itâs better to talk about resistance against the entirety of the patriarchal system.
I: How did you express this in the way you acted?
AH: In the beginning HĂ©loĂŻseâs gestures and facial expressions are quite restricted, very much contained. The love story then takes up more space over time, likewise my acting is becoming more generous. That also makes sense from a political point of view:  At first thereâs the question how to resist the ruling order: Either you sacrifice yourself, because youâre caught up in the system. Or alternatively, as I chose to do for HĂ©loĂŻse, through absence and withdrawal. This means, I negate my existence and Iâm only present as detached figure â as object, so that no one comes close to me as subject. My absence is therefore a way to resist.
I: Was this the first time youâve structured a role like this?
AH: Yes, although I always ask myself profound questions when preparing for a role. Thatâs the main theme for me, how to create feelings and emotions that leave behind the screen.
I: Do you have a desired impact in mind with your craft?
AH: I would like to spark off something like a mimetic reaction among the audience, which goes beyond the feelings and emotions in the film. [T: đ„] Letâs call it a vibration, which resonates in real life and which I would like to set off. Thatâs all the more important, because it allows for new storytelling. In âPortrait of a Lady on Fireâ we make fun of the patriarchy. A conscious decision was made to almost entirely exclude men from the picture. We donât convey a political message openly, but instead are very concrete by not showing something.
I: Do you consider yourself a feminist?
AH: Yes, absolutely. And in capital letters, go ahead and write down FEMINIST. And you, are you a feminist? I see the reluctance to openly support feminism among men rather than women. There are of course women who are sometimes reluctant to support feminist demands. But this is the result of a specific system, in which women are oppressed. There was and still is an expectation for us to subordinate ourselves, or even become extinct. The time for women to speak is always less than for men, irrespective of the context. And this is despite the stereotype of women talking more in general: Gloria Steinem quite rightly says that itâs not about the actual time that women are speaking, but about the silence that is expected of them.
All pictures by Elsa Okazaki















