Nathalie Baye Interview

by Nick Walker

In 'Une Liaison Pornographique', a man and a woman form an intense bond after the most slender and anonymous of beginnings. Nathalie Baye discusses her latest role with 6degrees and explains why love doesn't have to last forever

6degrees - The story seems very daring, funny and moving. What attracted you to the film?

Nathalie Baye - I was attracted by the originality of the story; it's a really beautiful love story. I was attracted by the quality of two beautiful characters and the quality of the dialogue - we didn't change a word. I do theatre too and sometimes in film the dialogue is poor. But in this one it was very well written. I didn't know anything about my character. I didn't know her name or what she was doing. At the end of the shoot I had the impression I knew her so well.

6degrees - The story is a reverse of the usual narrative order of seduction, love and sex. Did you like the fact that the traditional format had been twisted?

NB - Yes. For that reason it was attractive. At the beginning the characters are not shy; there's something quite cold and clinical about them. Bit when love comes into it they become shy and anxious and I found that interesting.

6degrees - Had you seen Frederic Fonteyne's earlier work?

NB - Yes, but I didn't know him at all. I read the script and hoped I was going to like the director and enjoy his films. I saw his earlier films and enjoyed them! After I saw the films I said yes to the job very quickly. He's a wonderful man; very sensitive and open to suggestions. I think he's going to be an important director. The whole crew was fantastic, in fact.

6degrees - He's worked with Philippe Blasband [writer] and Patrick Quinet [producer] before. It seems like quite a close-knit team so were you made to feel a part of that on the film?

NB - Yes. It's funny because about 60 per cent of the crew is from Belgium and know each other because they went to the same cinema school. But it's a European collaboration: me from France, plus a Spanish actor and funding from Switzerland and Luxembourg.

6degrees - The main characters seem quite ordinary, not strange or sexually perverse. Did that make your approach to the sexual encounters more balanced?

NB - Yes. It was bizarre. I travelled a lot with this film - Israel, India, Canada - and everywhere people said they were moved by the characters. People identified with them and they have to be normal for this reason.

6degrees - The film was quite mysterious. Did you find as the film went on you knew more about your character?

NB - At the beginning I thought I'd build a past for her. Then suddenly I didn't care. The day before shooting I was scared because I knew nothing about her! But by the first day of shooting, thanks to the strength of the situation and the quality of dialogue, it was fine.

6degrees - Are you a bit like the character?

NB - When an actor isn't able to say a line it's because something's wrong but for this film I didn't have to change a word.

6degrees - The character was interesting because on the one hand she was quite go-getting and on the other quite childish.

NB - Sure. When love is coming she's full of contradictions. She has a lot of confidence and at the same time she's shy and in the only love scene she has to hide under the sheets because she doesn't want him to see her face. People are full of contradictions and often I asked the screenwriter how he knew women so well! The male character is a real man and at the same time he cries. It's beautiful.

6degrees - Why is that beautiful?

NB - Because men are trained not to cry. When my paternal grandmother died I was about 12 and saw my father cry. It made him seem like a real person.

6degrees - A lot of sexual taboos have changed. Do you think this film could have been made ten or 20 years ago?

NB - I don't know. In this film a woman is able to talk about her fantasy. Usually fantasies were for men to talk about and it's still a difficult thing for women to discuss.

6degrees - Catherine Breillat had a lot of problems with 'Romance' in this country. She had a hard time.

NB - Yes, but she's always provocative. I haven't seen the film.

6degrees - Was this occasionally a humorous film to work on?

NB - You wouldn't believe how often we got the giggles on set! Even in the first scene when she's a little nervous and talks to hide her shyness it's very funny. The love scene is also funny.

6degrees - Another theme in the film is that people who are professionally very eloquent have a hard time expressing their feelings for each other. Was that something you wanted to explore?

NB - I'm sure it happens a lot. We have to be strong all the time and have confidence, yet at the same time you can't be like this all the time. It's very delicate. At one time my character said even if her love for the man was unrequited, she was going to tell him he was the love of her life. It's very sad. What they have is like a beautiful souvenir. You don't have to love someone all your life - you can fall passionately in love with someone just for a week. You see people who've been together for years and regard each other as strangers.

6degrees - What's next?

NB - A comedy with a very famous French actor called Fabrice Luchini ('Rien Sur Robert').

From http://www.6degrees.co.uk/en/2/200006ftnathaliebayeinterview.html.