You have attended question and answer sessions after your film's screenings for the press and for the general public. Based on the questions received, what were the audience's impressions of your new film Boarding Gate?
I think Hungarian filmgoers got the feel for the idea behind the film. This was more obvious from questions received from journalists, whereas the real audiences reacted more passively.
Have you developed closer links to Hungarian films or to the country as a whole in recent years? You seem to return more and more frequently...
I would be happy to come more frequently, even though I do not have close links with Hungarian filmmakers, other than my friendship with Béla Tarr.
You said the reason why you made a thriller instead of an auteur film was financing problems. What does this mean in France?
Because of the situation of French film productions, the situation is not very good for those filmmakers who do not primarily want to think in terms of revenue. But this is not strictly a French problem. The script for Boarding Gate made the situation more difficult for us in this respect. The majority of the film is not set in France.... As a result, we lost any chance for state support. At the same time, it could not be classified simply as an international production because its theme and structure were too unusual.
What is behind your connection with the Far East, which appears quite markedly in your films?
I first travelled to Asia in the mid-eighties and I immediately realised something that would be impossible to see in Europe, especially in France. This region's influence is currently immense, at least in economic and cultural terms. Whatever is happening on the other continents at this moment, it originates from Asia or is focused on Asia. And Hong Kong plays an especially large role in this, because the city generated the western expansion of Chinese culture. Not to mention its economic transformation.
I assume you have a clear opinion about the political aspects of these trends.
This matter must be examined from two points of view. On the one hand, one must take into consideration how people in China experience the development and changes of the country, which is immense. I am also impressed by the way they handle the evident meetings of Chinese and western cultures - for instance in architecture. On the other hand, we must examine how India and China have inescapably become financial centres while also determining the history of our age. The question of Tibet is very sensitive from many aspects and I would rather not take a position regarding current events. But I think it is important to understand in connection with China that, as a result of changes in the past 10-15 years, citizens enjoy much greater freedom on a personal level than they did before. China is still a dictatorship but it is...becoming less rigid.
Going back to your films, another recurring theme of yours is that a certain female type seems to be very important in your scripts. A woman who is unique and problematic at the same time and perhaps what makes her unique is her problems or her uniqueness is the cause of her problems.
What I am attached to is not an actual character. Both in Boarding Gate and my previous film, Clean, I was inspired by the main actress. It is another issue that the personalities of Asia Argento and Maggie Cheung have certain similarities. But the main motivation for me while making the film was their radiation. It is true that I want to work with them again in the future.
Do you usually write a character for an actor or do you allow the real and the imaginary characters come closer only later, during the shooting of the film?
In both of the aforementioned films, I wrote the script for these actresses but I believe these were both special situations. I imagined the action taking place at the intersection of three different cultures - and hopefully viewers will sense this. But since Boarding Gate, I have already finished another film, which is rooted clearly in French culture. It is called Summer Hours and stars Juliette Binoche.
Author: Zsolt Koren / Photos: Máté Nándorfi
