A guest unveils themselves by answering our nosy questions. Today, Arnaud Desplechin presents his new film “Filmlovers!” in a special screening in Cannes. It is a highly personal film about his love affair with cinema and his own way of thinking. Between two fictional -autobiographical sections, the filmmaker interviews strangers about cinema; this time, we had fun turning the questions over to him.
Have you ever cried in front of a film?
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Yes, I cry a lot, and it can even be embarrassing for the friends I’m with.
A film that makes you cry every time?
Million Dollar Baby, I cry as soon as the credits roll.
Where do you sit in a movie theater?
3rd or 5th row, far left, so I feel like I’ve got a corner to myself.
Are you superstitious?
Terribly. Tell me any superstition and you can be sure I’ll abide by. My favorite one, which I learned from Patrice Chéreau, is that when the script falls, you mustn’t pick it up, you must put your feet on it, otherwise “the spirit flies away”. Everyone knows that on a shoot, as soon as a script falls on the floor, I jump up to get my feet on it.
The film you’ve seen the most?
I’m thinking of two Scorsese films that I didn’t like when they came out, The Departed and Shutter Island. Since I couldn’t stand not liking a Scorsese film, I rewatched them once every two weeks until I came to like them. There’s also Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, which lasts 9 hours and which I’ve shown a lot in film-clubs. I must have seen it maybe 12 times…
What does cinema mean to you?
It’s what keeps me in touch with the world and reminds me that I’m awake.
A film that changes you?
Like the gentleman in my film: “I went to see À nos amours, and it took me off guard.”
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