Behind the Scenes With My Favorite Actors: Juliette Binoche in Leos Carax's Mauvais Sang (Bad Blood)

"He looked at me with the eyes of an inventor, with the eyes of a researcher, like I was an invaluable discovery, as if I had the solution to something."

Operation Screenshot (Films of the 2000s): Michael Haneke's Cache (2005)

Where's The DVD? (Abel Ferrara's Mary)

Even though it is one of the most acclaimed films Abel Ferrara has ever released, the Venice Film Festival Prize winning MARY remains missing in action in America.
With an amazing cast including Juliette Binoche, Stefania Rocco and Forest Whitaker, the film has been called probably Abel's best work since NEW ROSE HOTEL or possibly even THE ADDICTION.
Ferrara is one of my favorite filmmakers and I have been really glad to see his latest films getting so much attention, which makes the absence of MARY on dvd all the more frustrating.

I heard a rumor that IFC films picked this up late last year for limited distribution but I haven't heard anything else about it since. MARY supposedly marked a real return to form for the great Ferrara, after the flawed 'R XMAS, and his career resurgence appears to be going strong with his new GO GO TALES drawing a lot of attention. Ferrara's films always seem to divide people but there are very few American filmmakers who affect me more than Abel and the clips I have seen of MARY make me think it is one of his major works.
I am close to breaking down and ordering an import of the film although I have read that it has some annoying forced English subtitles. If anyone reading might have any further information on an American release I would appreciate it.

My Favorite Closing Shots: Louis Malle's A Very Private Affair and Damage

Juliette Binoche and The Unbearable Lightness Of Being

It has been twenty years since Philip Kaufman wrapped up production on his incredibly poetic and moving film THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. Adapted from the near un-shootable novel by Milan Kundera and starring Daniel Day Lewis, Lena Olin and a young Juliette Binoche, Kaufman's work remains one of my favorite films from the eighties and I film that I never tire of re-visiting.
This lovely film played for exactly one week in Evansville, Indiana the summer after my Freshman year in high school and I missed it. Evansville was just a short distance from where I lived but I couldn't get out to the theater that week. It was probably the provocative stills of Lena Olin that made me initially want to see the film but when I finally caught it on video that next year it was Juliette Binoche that captivated me like few actresses had before or since.

Juliette was just 24 when she shot THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING and it was the first time that most American audiences would have gotten a look at her. One of the most powerful actors of all time with a face that could break even the most jaded heart, Binoche's role as Tereza remains one of her greatest and most often overlooked.

Binoche is often associated with a certain coldness, mostly because of her astonishing performance in Kieslowski's BLUE, but as Tereza she is so warm, vulnerable and incredibly wide-eyed. There are very few performances in screen history that portray self discovery better than Juliette in this role. The journey Tereza goes through in the film is exhilarating and has been unforgettable to me in the 18 years since this film first entered my life.

Jean-Claude Carriere's remarkable script is still as fresh and literate as it was back when this film was first released and the Sven Nykvist shot film remains one of the most beautiful looking films to come out of the eighties.
The film has had a troubling history on DVD and it is currently out of print once again. The hard to get Criterion disc is the best and includes a great commentary with Kaufman and Olin. The more recent MGM release also contained a good documentary on the fascinating history of the film but the print wasn't quite as good as the Criterion.
The beautiful soundtrack featuring the music of Leos Janacek is ironically still in print as is Kundera's wonderful original novel. Here are some rare lobby cards featuring Binoche that I scored off ebay years ago. Nearly 20 years after I saw this very special actress, Juliette Binoche remains for me the best in the world and THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING is among my all time favorite films.

Juliette In Real Life

Recently I saw the film DAN IN REAL LIFE at an afternoon showing and I found it to be a rather delightful if not overwhelmingly great film. It certainly isn't the near masterpiece Peter Hedges first film, PIECES OF APRIL, was but it is among the more entertaining and nicely done films of the year.
The main thing that has stuck with me about DAN IN REAL LIFE is the ferociously youthful and vibrant performance of Juliette Binoche. Now Binoche has been a favorite of mine since the late eighties but seeing her in this film reminded me that she remains one of the most necessary and brilliant actors working in modern cinema. In this age where more and more of our greatest actors are subjecting themselves to one damaging surgical procedure after another, Juliette Binoche in her mid forties stands as a fierce tribute and reminder that youth and beauty don't have to disappear in the movies after the age of thirty. Had I been alone in the theater watching Binoche in this role I might have screamed 'Thank you' to the screen.
So, Juliette has been on my mind a lot lately. I have been re watching many of my favorite films of hers, looking through an old scrapbook I kept on her and have just being thankful that one of our great actors refuses to cater to the rather ridiculous expectations many film fans seem to have these days.
I am out of town for a bit so posts might be a bit erratic but at the very least later this week expect several Binoche posts, including a long look at her work in Leos Carax's MAUVAIS SANG and a poll focusing on her pre ENGLISH PATIENT work. Don't take that has a swipe against her work in the past decade though. From working in films from such mavericks like Abel Ferrara and Michael Haneke to a trailblazing French Playboy pictorial, Juliette Binoche might just be in the most fascinating and confrontational section of an already uncompromising career. I very much doubt this is going to be an artist who is going to go gentle into that good night.
I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming posts as much as I will writing them...vote in the poll and celebrate all things Binoche. She deserves it.