Translated interview
Interview with Adèle Haenel about ‘The Unknown Girl’
der-andere-film.ch, 2016
// Additions or clarifications for translating purposes are denoted as [T: …]. //
Interviewer: How did you perceive the Dardenne brothers prior to filming ‘The Unknown Girl’ with them?
Adèle Haenel: They are inextricably linked with the history and imagery of contemporary films. I hadn’t seen all of their films before meeting them - which I have done since then! - but I knew a couple of them, ‘The Promise’ and ‘Two Days, One Night’ among others. I did auteur films from the beginning. Considering the importance that the Dardenne have for auteur films, I was of course quite excited, when they asked me to work with them. I didn’t think this would happen to me one day.
I: What was your reaction regarding the screenplay?
AH: I was amazed by the simplicity and depth of the story. The work of the brothers is very precise. They pursue their path until the end and don’t bother with embellishments or any [T: unnecessary] layers. This precision and rigour were already evident in the screenplay.
I: How would you describe your character?
AH: She is not an extraordinary heroine and I like that. We don’t really know much about her private life. I think the film tells the story of how Jenny finds her way back to life and ultimately to herself through encountering other people [T: Portrait vibes, also see here]. Jenny is the kind of person who listens and never shows an air of superiority, no matter who she deals with.
I: How did the Dardenne direct you to embody this heroine?
AH: If you get along with a director, then you don’t have to talk too much. I was on the same wavelength as the brothers. The Dardenne don’t bother too much with psychology: For them it’s mainly about the body, about listening and what the characters do. I had to pay attention to things that you could dismiss as details, but that’s not the case: How do I put on my medical glove, how do I inject someone. I was so busy with the ‘doing’ that I didn’t have time to dwell on Jenny’s feelings. You had to avoid interpreting the role or emphasising your intentions. That would have been wrong.
I: As always with the Dardenne, the social environment is very important in ‘The Unknown Girl’.
AH: I like it when cinema is dealing with the present. The social status and living conditions of the characters are fundamental parts of their lives. These determine [T: the characters’] development in life, their trust in themselves and others, their health. In contemporary cinema, there are big gaps when it comes to certain social classes. It is extremely important that certain directors, with the Dardenne front and centre, deal with these questions.
I: The Dardenne like to rehearse extensively with their actors/actresses. How did you experience this period of preparation and the shooting?
AH: Their reputation of driving the actors/actresses to exhaustion by endlessly repeating one shot is a myth. For them, it’s never about performance. I always had the impression that all went very fast. The month of preparation before shooting is quite important. All actors/actresses are gathering then, so that those with only a few scenes immediately feel integrated when it comes to shooting.
I: What else is happening?
AH: During rehearsal the brothers like to work a lot on the movements of the actors/actresses, on the situations that characters have to deal with, on the camera movements etc. In short, directing essentially starts here. If they encounter a problem, then they can set it aside to find a solution, and don’t have to deal with this obstacle during the shooting. This month of work really freed me from my fears, even though not all the pressure was taken off me.
I: To play a doctor, you had to have certain technical skills.
AH: I had a medical coach for the whole time of preparation: Martine, a real doctor. She taught me how to do certain movements, and told me how to behave towards patients, although there is no magic formula in that area.
I: What was your takeaway from this adventure?
AH: The Dardenne nurtured my development on a ‘counter-intuitive’ level. They recognised a side of me, which was beyond my rage and anger. The latter are also part of my personality, but they are not everything.
I: You will be presenting ‘The Unknown Girl’ as the lead actress at the Cannes Festival.
AH: The Cannes Festival brings attention to a certain kind of cinema. For these films it is quite important to be shown there. But I’m not most proud of myself. I’m first and foremost proud of the film. If it were not running in Cannes, I wouldn’t be less proud.
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📷 [1], [2-5], [6]
