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《藍白紅三部曲》巨匠奇斯洛夫斯基

逝世十周年遺作劇本深情面世

《情獄》

Hell

8月10日 情陷巴黎

從天堂降落人間 由人間墜下地獄

女人的愛恨 從來義無反顧

故事大綱:

三個同住巴黎但不相往來的姊妹分別面對情傷。美艷的蘇菲(艾曼妞琵雅飾演)懷疑丈夫有外遇，明查暗訪找到真相卻令她更加迷失；小妹妹安妮(瑪麗姬蘭飾演)戀上年紀比她大一截的教授，明知沒有好結果仍義無反顧，只因想尋回失去的父愛；莎蓮(嘉蓮維雅飾演)忙於照顧四肢癱瘓的母親，感情卻空白一片，直至身邊出現神祕的美男子。但神女有心，襄王卻另有所求，並揭示了三姊妹的童年創傷……

關於《情獄》:

導演奇斯洛夫基導演遺下三部曲劇本"天堂·地獄·煉獄"。《無人地帶》導演泰諾維最初為三部曲中"煉獄"的劇本所吸引，故事中的戰地攝影師的經歷貼近導演的自身經歷。數年後，泰諾維重讀三部曲，"地獄"讀起來卻更為動人此時婚後的泰諾維更能體會到故事中三女角對愛對自我的肯定與認同，此永恆的命題更能吸引導演的目光。泰諾維認為:「我們每天都可能活在地獄，地獄不用走到第三世界去體驗，活在戰火中人民可能比身處巴黎的人更快樂。」導演決定坐言起行將"地獄"由文字變成影像，即今日的《情獄》。

今次泰諾維用影像向大師奇斯洛夫斯基致敬，角色處理別出心裁。奇斯洛夫斯基擅於刻劃人與人之間的複雜關係，泰諾維的主角卻各懷鬼胎，且配合本片主題，展示出一個欠缺愛與寬恕的地獄世界。泰諾維假設《情獄》的觀眾為成熟的一群，「我不想加上任何既定的答案，我希望通過影象帶領觀眾自行尋找答案。故事中的每個姊妹都代表了一種顏色﹕蘇菲是紅色，代表熱情、愛情以及妒忌﹔安妮是綠色，代表純真、活力﹔莎蓮是藍色，代表哀傷、等待。」

奇斯洛夫斯基與皮斯維茲合作編寫靈感源自但丁《神曲》的「天堂、地獄、煉獄」三部曲，本打算交由其他導演執導。大師離世後，有心人繼續經營他的遺志。首部曲《天堂》早於零二年曝光，第二部曲《地獄》由叫好叫座的《無人地帶》導演泰諾維操刀，拍成《情獄》，加上粒粒巨星，自然萬眾期待。

解構《情獄》-與導演丹尼斯泰諾維對話

問: 大約在1996年，奇斯洛夫斯基去世前不久，與皮斯維茲寫下了"天堂•地獄•煉獄" 三部曲。甚麼原因令你選擇了三部曲中最激情的一部-《情獄》？

答: 最初閱讀三部曲的劇本時，那時我還未拍攝《無人地帶》，我對"煉獄"最為著迷，因為"煉獄"

的主題最貼近我當時的生活。因為《無人地帶》的成功，無盡的宣傳使拍攝"煉獄"的計劃受到擱置，輾轉數年後，監製西杜米亞哥勒鼓勵我再次閱讀"地獄"的劇本，對他來說"地獄"是三部曲之中最有趣的。當我再次閱讀後，我整晚失眠，輾轉反側地想"地獄"，我不停問自已為什麼此刻的我會有如此深受感動。大概是因為這些年間，我成為了別人的丈夫及父親，對生活有了另一種體會。我被故事中三位女角攝住，於是將它拍成《情獄》，在這之前，我的電影一直專注拍攝戰事及衝突中男性。

問: 三姊妹、一位母親、一個家庭劇目，你是如何將四位互不相干的女性連在一起?

答:《情獄》由一個秘密開始，最令我著迷的是姊妹因為秘密而保持沉默。有一次，一個占星者對我說我曾失去一個兄弟姊妹，我當時以為他胡說八道，後來我問母親，她承認曾經小產。我知道這個秘密時已經34歲了，但仍然使我難過。故事中的四位女性因為秘密而疏離亦同時因為這個秘密重拾對話而再次親密起來。姊妹的成長其實反映了成年必須要面對自己，包括面對自己的問題與真實的一面。

問: 男性似乎在此電影中缺席，就算有也似乎在兩種生活中糾纏掙扎。

答: 我對男性沒有抱有太高的評價。兩性好像從不同的星球來的，我感到很奇怪兩性居然可以同時存在。在《情獄》中的父親，被描繪成一個壞父親。奇斯洛夫斯基沒有替角色加上太多注腳，但我見到的是一個男人為了保護一個孩子的成長而摃下了罪名，結果他因此入獄，賠上了自己的家庭及家人的生活。我覺得生命中這種孰好孰壞的抉擇非常引人入勝。

問: 片中的開首那段布穀鳥有甚麼寓意呢？

答: 布穀鳥築巢產卵，當其中一隻出世後，它把巢內的其他蛋推出去，大自然很殘酷嗎？是的，適者生存是人類奉為圭臬的定律。當父親出獄時，他發現雛鳥掉到地上及把它放回巢內，他以為做了好事但事實上他殺了另一個生命。這個故事是殘酷的，但甚麼是殘酷？甚麼是公平與不公、好與壞？片中的母親的決定又是否對呢？

問: 蘇菲及安妮認為捨棄是她們對自我的毀壞。

答: 愛是自私及帶有毀滅性的。很多女性因為缺乏愛或一段關係的結束而受傷。《情獄》表現了西歐地區近年倫理的崩壞。個人、利已主義最終會摧毀了自己。在戰地生活過後，我驚訝人們何以能製造一個活地獄，我們被物慾沖昏了頭腦，我們為了生活營營役役卻忽略了我們最需要的是愛。

問: 片中的三姊妹其實都在背負父親的罪名。

答: 是的，也有人說三姊妹的命運只是一連串巧合。只有打破沈默，重新交流，幾姊妹才能真正的活得自由，電影中並沒有正面回答任何人生的議題，你只會從電影的細節中有所體會。我們在一個"即食"的時代，人們希望找到一切問題的答案，可以控制一切及簡化一切。現在的人們享受即時的消費，一個男人可以為了另一個女人拋妻棄子，家庭倫理淪落，金錢就是唯一。我們對唯物的生活主義視而不見，卻又不能否認我們因此而不安沉鬱。幸運地，因為童年經歷戰火及後以難民身份受到庇護，我因此能看到更全面的世界。在《情獄》，我嘗試把複雜的問題簡化，帶出的主題並不悲觀，只是將生活的實況反映出來。

問:《情獄》佈滿了各種各樣的比喻或象徵，例如杯中的昆蟲等等。

答: 在奇斯洛夫斯基的《十誡》中亦有昆蟲的影象，這可以算是我對奇斯洛夫斯基導演的致敬。我希望觀眾可以透過影象找到屬於自己的答案，有些時候一些細節有助表現角色的性格，例如我在辦公室發現了一盆含羞草，我把它放進莎蓮的場景中，它正好配合到莎蓮害怕與人接觸及自我封閉的特性。又或我加入一些風扇的噪音，為的是要表現莎蓮與薩巴斯的關係打從一開始就不太對勁。生活本來就由無數細節組成的。

問: 為了打開話匣子薩巴斯與莎蓮說：「當我們錯殺良民時，那是我們不願意見到卻無可避免的損失。但當別人做了同樣的事，他們就是恐怖分子。」

答: 這裡加入了我對現時伊拉克戰事的看法，我們常常忘記凡事有兩面，不能每每只從自身出發，我不像薩巴斯，我不能20年保持緘默，我是有碗話碗有碟話碟的人。

關於導演-丹尼斯泰諾維

丹尼斯在技驚四座的《無人地帶》前拍攝了數部以戰事為題的紀錄片，《無人地帶》為導演贏來多個國際獎項，包括奧斯卡最佳外語片、金球像最佳外語片、康城影展最佳編劇、歐洲電影獎最佳編劇、金衛星的最佳外語片、法國影評人協會最佳外語片、洛杉磯影評人協會最佳外語片等等。《無人地帶》講述波斯尼亞與塞爾維亞的戰爭，沒有大型爆破場面只有士兵與士兵的對話卻能道出戰爭的荒謬。

《情獄》是丹尼斯的第二部長片，配以粒粒巨星，萬眾期待。

關於艾曼妞琵雅

1986年只有21歲的她以《Manon of the Spring》摘下影后殊榮，憑其天使的面孔魔鬼的身材，很快便在觀眾的心中留下深刻印象，其後艾曼妞拍下多部叫好叫座的電影，堪稱法國當今最具國際知名度的女明星。1996年參與《職業特工隊》讓她的演藝事業衝上高峰；最為港人熟悉的可以算是法蘭索瓦奧桑的《8美千嬌》，艾曼妞在其中的美豔女傭的演出可謂拍案叫絕。不過艾曼鈕琵雅的事業不僅限於電影，她也曾經擔任Lancome品牌的全球代言人，更是聯合國兒童組織的國際兒童福利親善大使，足跡遍佈非洲與亞洲落後地區，為兒童福利獻上心力。國際影評人形容琵雅在銀幕上散發一種羞澀的特質，而這種似乎欲拒還迎的魅力，讓媒體和觀眾深深著迷。

關於嘉蓮維雅

嘉蓮對莎蓮一角特別感興趣，因為她認同莎蓮為家庭 "犧牲"。嘉蓮認為:「莎蓮為了照顧其母親而否定了自己的生活，唯一陪伴她的是孤寂，但她並沒有因此而變得歇斯底里，雖然她生命並不完全但卻能處之泰然。」嘉蓮曾參與過《命中注定的角色》，此片在二零零四年蒙特里爾世界電影節中奪得最佳劇本獎。

關於瑪麗姬蘭

丹尼斯認為瑪麗有一種獨特的美麗，最適合詮釋安妮一角，瑪麗亦不負眾望演活了安妮的純真以及為愛而活的熱情，亦道出了安妮的脆弱，將戀人與父親形象交疊希望得到慰藉卻因而受苦及無助。瑪麗亦曾參與《後宮的規條》，故事講述一個蘇丹王妃的一生。

關於奇斯洛夫斯基

1941年6月27日出生於波蘭華沙，於共產主義橫行的年代成長。少年時曾瘋狂愛上戲劇，並打算考進電影學院以達成當劇場導演的夢想。經過三次投考，著名的洛茲（Lodz）電影學院終於取錄了他，但此時的奇斯洛夫斯基已經不再喜歡戲劇了。在電影院學習期間（1964-1968），剛好遇上1968年爆發的政治事件，令他感到個人力量的微小，自此決定不涉足政治，只以影像說話。

1970年至1978年，於華沙紀錄片廠當導演。當時紀錄片的地位很高，波蘭人都喜歡上戲院看紀錄片。而對身處謊言世界的奇斯洛夫斯基來說，紀錄片那尋找真象的本質亦特別吸引。這時期的作品包括《初戀》、《守夜者的觀點》等。

1975年，執導首部電視劇情片《人員》，1979年憑劇情長片《影迷》首次贏得國際?項（莫斯科國際電影節「最佳電影」?）。1987至88年間，他和律師好友皮斯維茲合作，構思以聖經十誡為主題拍攝十個電視短篇《十誡》。作品在歐洲各地播放後極受歡迎，長版本的《情誡》和《殺誡》更在各大影展中獲獎；以紀錄片起家的奇斯洛夫斯基，終以劇情片導演之名而鵲起。

1991年，奇斯洛夫斯基起用寂寂無名的艾蓮積及(Irene Jacob)拍出優美絕倫美的《兩生花》，成為九十年代初最為人津津樂道的藝術電影之一；而與他「秤不離砣」的配樂師Zbigniew Preisner所撰寫的配樂，亦立時躋身電影配樂的不朽經典。1994年，奇斯洛夫斯基完成了《藍白紅三部曲》，此三片是他執導以來資金最充裕、最廣為人知和最大眾化的作品。完成三部曲後，他曾宣稱不再拍片但旋即回心轉意；可惜於1996年3月，奇斯洛夫斯基便因心臟病發逝世，享年54歲，《紅》亦成了他的遺作。離世前，他正埋首創作的「天堂、地獄、煉獄」三部曲的劇本大綱，此意念最後由皮斯維茲代為完成，"地獄"並由丹尼斯泰諾維執導拍成《情獄》。

《情獄》HELL演職員表
A.S.A.P. Films呈獻
領銜主演：《8美千嬌》艾曼妞琵雅
《命中注定的角色》嘉蓮維雅
《後宮的規條》 瑪麗姬蘭
《聖誕快樂》格林美卡納
《謊言的顏色》積葵簡保連
《歌聲伴我心》積葵派連
丹尼斯泰諾維作品
劇本：奇斯洛夫斯基/皮斯維茲三部曲："天堂•地獄•煉獄"
主演：《青芥刑警》嘉露寶昆
《挑逗性謀殺》米奇馬諾路維
《攣工遊戲》尚洛哲科
編劇：《藍白紅三部曲》皮斯維茲
顧問：雅?斯薩卡力派-禾比斯卡
音樂：《他們的9.11》德斯高西維/丹尼斯泰諾維
攝影：《遇見百分百巧合愛情》羅倫戴蘭
剪接：《無人地帶》法蘭斯嘉卡維利
美術：《美麗緣未了》艾連保納杜
服裝：《他的弟弟》嘉露蓮迪維華絲
音響：《他們的9.11》迪克邦比/《血色月亮》路杜維艾斯哥利亞/
《換命快遞》西烈爾賀薩
選角：《美麗緣未了》皮亞積葵比歷曹
聯合監製：露珊娜斯韋妮/《無人地帶》馬烈安漢西爾/余治沙戴
監製：《無人地帶》西杜米亞哥勒/馬克巴斯卓
導演：《無人地帶》丹尼斯泰諾維
A.S.A.P. Films/SINTRA srl/MAN'S FILMS PRODUCTIONS/BITTERS END/FRANCE 2 CINEMA/D.O. PRODUCTION/RTL-TVI?合製作
CANAL +/TPS STAR/RAI CINEMA/CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA CINEMATOGRAPHIE/REGION ILE-DE-FRANCE/SOFICINEMA參與製作
EURIMAGES協製
發行:安樂影片有限公司

HELL

Production Notes

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Film: HELL

by Danis TANOVIC

Just prior to the shooting of my first feature film "No Man's Land" I read the three screenplays of Krzysztof Kieslowski's and Krzysztof Piesiewicz's trilogy "Heaven, Hell, Purgatory". I was attracted by "Purgatory", a subject about the contemporary war photographer - a theme that was close to me at that time. Several years later, while preparing my new film, and I went back to "Hell" and to "Purgatory". "Heaven" was already done. This time it was "Hell" that impressed me. Why? I think because I had since got married, had children… the intimate approach to the female characters in "Hell" seduced me. Until then, my subjects dealt with the male characters involved with wars. Now I was attracted by three young women, by a story that tackles important existential questions that we have to face, more or less permanently.

Hell can be part of our every day life. We do not need to go to Afghanistan to find hell. In the countries at war I met people who were happier there than they would have been in Paris. My desire was to appropriate these elements for myself and to make my own film.

I consider my audience as an adult one. I do not want to impose "ready to go" answers. I want to put my spectator in such an emotional state that will lead him to look for his own path, for his own answers. Small details can help, and that's what I often do, but no more than that. Each sister inspired in me a different colour. For Sophie it is red, like passion, like love, like jalousie. For Anne it is green, like innocence, like opening, like spring. For Celine it is blue, like sadness, like waiting, like melancholy.

SYNOPSIS

Film: "HELL"

By Danis Tanovic

Sophie, Celine and Anne are sisters. They live in Paris, but they rarely meet each other.

Sophie, the oldest sister, lives with Pierre, her unfaithful husband.

Anne, the youngest, is a student of literature and is embroiled in a passionate relationship with Frederic, her professor, a married man with children.

Celine, the middle one who is single, cares for their invalid mother. Sebastien, a mysterious young man appears in her life.

An incident that occurred in their childhood will bring them together. They will finally talk about the past. About the secret that kept them apart for all these years.

PRODUCTION NOTES

FILM "HELL" (L'ENFER) BY DANIS TANOVIC

At the end of 1999, while preparing his first feature film "No Man's Land" at Noe Productions in Paris, the producer Cedomir KOLAR gave Danis TANOVIC the three screenplays of "Heaven", "Hell" and "Purgatory", written by Krzysztof Piesiewicz from an idea by himself and the late Krzysztof Kieslowski. At that time Noe Productions, a Paris based independent production company, had secured the rights for the trilogy. The first part, "Heaven" was in preparation and Tom Tykwer was in pre-production. Danis read all three scripts, and was very much attracted to "Purgatory".

Several years later at the beginning of 2004, the rights for the two remaining parts of the trilogy became free again. The authors' Paris based agent, Mme Nicole Cann, also happened to be Danis' agent, and at the same time, Kolar, his former producer became his partner in their newly established production company A.S.A.P. Films in Paris. Danis read the screenplays and this time fell for "Hell". What have changed? "Purgatory" covered the actual conflicts, the war photographer, identity, and "Hell" was about family, women, their destinies. Danis left the war behind, moved to Paris, got married, and had two lovely young daughters. Basically the frame for "Hell" was set in. Even though immensely more tragic than Danis' very happy family life, the screenplay was closer to him than the "return" to the war as a subject.

As Kieslowski's idea was not to direct any of the three screenplays, but to write them for the young European directors, and as "Hell" was set in Paris and was supposed to be shot in French language, it was as a perfect screenplay for the director's second film and the first production for his newly created production entity. Once the rights were secured, everything moved quickly. Danis cam up with the perfect cast and started calling his ideal actresses. One by one, Emmanuelle Beart, Karin Viard, Marie Gillain all said yes. They were his first choices. Then came the actors - Guillaume Canet, Jacques Gamblin, Jacques Perrin. As in the most perfect of worlds, no one said no. Danis' crazy idea to approach one of the most beautiful actresses in the world, Carole Bouquet, to play a paralyzed 70 years old mother, looked like madness. But amazingly, Carole also quickly agreed. And then finally, Miki Manojlovic, a fluent French speaker and a giant among actors from the former Yugoslavia, agreed to complete the impressive ensemble.

The crew was also one of the best assembled French crews possible - Laurent DAILLND was Director of Photography, Aline BONETTO as Production Designer and Cariline DE VIVAISE as Costume Designer.

Financing the film took little more then three months. One after another, the former co-producers from "No Man's Land" came on board, this time joined by the Japanese distributor Bitters End. French television, public funds and Eurimages were also in the mix. And finally, Focus Features came on board as international sales agent. They had believed in the project from the first moment they read the screenplay.

Shooting commenced at the beginning of October in Paris after a joyful and efficient pre-production process. The multiple sets, problems linked to working in a city, dealing with major acting stars, were all overcome by the camaraderie and the extreme professionalism of all involved. Each of the lead actresses had "her" own period of shooting time and they only shot together as a group once - for a three day period. Each was the sole star for a period of time. After eight weeks of intense work, the production wrapped just a few days before Christmas.

Danis edited the film with his long time friend and collaborator, editor Francesa Calvelli in a couple of weeks. He also dedicated a lot of time to the creation of the opening credits - a major task both for him and producers, Kolar and Baschet which involved securing documentary footage from all over the world. And finally, Tanovic wrote the original score for the film with the Bosnian composer Dusko SEGVIC who flew in from Sarajevo.

Hell had its world premiere as a gala screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2005.

Interview with Danis Tanovic

- Shortly before he died in 1996, Krzysztof Kieslowski had made plans for a trilogy, "Paradise", "Hell" and "Purgatory", with his scriptwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz. What made you choose one part of this trilogy, probably the most impassioned one?

After a first reading, before the shooting of "No Man's Land", I was rather tempted to adapt "Purgatory" since its war theme affected me more directly at that particular time. And then the success of "No Man's Land" led me to undertake a promotion campaign all over the world for more than one year. On my return, I embarked another project, which had to be postponed because the main actress was pregnant. My producer, Cedomir Kolar, again encouraged me to return to the script of "Hell", the most interesting one in his view. After rereading it, I spent a sleepless night thinking about it, asking myself questions, wondering how I could possibly have failed four years ago to perceive all that was occurring to me today? In fact, in the meantime, I got married and became a father … The subject therefore appeared to me in a different light, I discovered new areas of interest. Above all, I was attracted by this intimate approach to the female characters. Until then, my films had focused on male characters involved in war and conflict.

- Desire, the lack of love, the family, absence, sibship, paternity, lies, suicide … "Hell" tackles a multitude of powerful and fundamental themes.

This story, in fact, touches upon the major existential questions with which we are more or less confronted permanently. Philosophical questions that Kieslowski and Piesiewicz have tackled with simplicity, based on three ordinary stories. Hell can be part of our everyday life. There is no need to go to Afghanistan to find hell. I have met people in that country at war who are much happier than some people in Paris! I felt like capturing all these aspects to make my own film.

- Three sisters, a mother, a family drama … How would you summarise all that links yet separates these four women at the same time?

Their drama derives from all that remains unsaid between them. This form of silence in its relationship with the memory of the body interests me enormously. One day, an astrologer who was examining my birth chart, asked me, "You have lost a brother or a sister, how did you react to this tragedy?" I replied that I have never had a brother or a sister. Feeling disturbed, I phoned my mother who confessed that she had lost a child. I discovered this untold secret when I was 34 years old, and it upset me. These four women will become closer to each other by restarting an interrupted dialogue. Being an adult implies confronting oneself, one's own questions and one's own truth.

- Until that point, they had adjusted as well as can be expected to the break in family ties.

I read in a book a thought I found rather appealing: "It is rare to see members of the same family living under the same roof". These four women are different. The mother is hard and cold. Celine tends of be the "Jesus" of the family; she bears all the pain by trying to save what can still be saved. Sophie, despite her beauty and social success, is a woman who is completely lost, she is the embodiment of suffering. Anne is the most typical of the young women of her generation, rebelling against the world; she indulges in her desires to the fullest, without any concern for the harm that this attitude might cause.

- The men seem to be absent, each one is tangled up in a double life.

I don't have a very high opinion of men. Probably because I am one myself! Men and women live on two different planets, and I even find it strange that it is possible for us to co-exist! In the film, the father is, in the end, the only decent one, after having been presented as a bad father. Kieslowski gave no explanation about this character, but we perceive a man who does not want to denounce a child in order to prevent his life from being ruined. He accepts to bear the guilt and is consequently sent to prison, loses his family and commits suicide. By wanting to do the right thing, this man ends up by destroying himself and destroying the life of his family. I am extremely interested in this notion of good and evil.

- Hence this metaphor with images of the birth of a cuckoo at the beginning of the film.

The cuckoo finds shelter in an already existing nest where it lays its egg. When the little bird is born, it pushes the other eggs out of the nest. Is nature cruel? It is, in fact, human beings who invented this notion. On his release from prison, the father finds the baby cuckoo on the ground and puts it back in the nest. He thinks he is doing a good deed but in fact he is killing the last fledgling. This story is cruel, but what is cruelty? What is fair or unfair, good or evil? Is it the mother that is right, or not?

- This questioning of the truth is a recurring theme in your work as a film-maker.

One day, while shooting under intense bombing on the frontline, I had to run and seek refuge in a friend's home. I found him there, quietly standing in front of his easel painting a picture of Sarajevo in the snow. I was really angry with him because I just couldn't understand his attitude. "What do you expect me to do?" he asked. "I'm a painter, so I paint!". His reaction set me thinking, and it eventually inspired the script for "Portraits of Artists at War" centred around four characters. The first one is a painter, who says, like my friend, "During a war, the role of an artist is to preserve culture." The second, a photographer, answers, "There is no art after Sarajevo where death reigns as master." And he shows photos of mangled bodies. The third, a sculptor who has joined the army, returns to his studio every evening to sculpt because in his view, "The soldier destroys, but the artist creates". The fourth character, also a soldier, replies "Pick up your rifle again and defend your town. If we survive, then we shall see about art!' Each one of these characters tells his truth, and each one may be right. The same applies to the characters in "Hell".

- The film is constructed around corresponding situations. Pierre (J. Gamblin) is unfaithful to his wife, and his mistress will leave him. Frederic (J. Perrin) is unfaithful to his wife too, but he will desert his mistress when she becomes pregnant with his baby. Other scenes echo each other. Both Pierre and the father (M. Monojlovic) will lose their minds when their wives prevent them from approaching their children.

Yes, but when this situation is reproduced 20 years later, tragedy is avoided. It is a sign of hope in this script; the new generation will perhaps not repeat the same mistakes. Yes, there may be a touch of optimism in this "Hell"!

- Sophie (E. Beart) and Anne (M. Gillain) consider their abandonment as a destruction of themselves.

Love is selfish and destructive. So many pretty women suffer tragedies because of a lack of love or because of a love which comes to an end! The film also shows that Western European society has lost the notion of the family. Individual egoism will end up destroying us. After having experienced years of war, I am shocked to see to what extent people experience and create hell on earth, even in an environment where everything should contribute to their happiness. We are carried away with unbridled materialism, which in the end ruins our life. We dash around accumulating possessions of secondary importance when what we really lack is love.

- Are there more acts of love in times of war?

There is an enormous amount of love in wartime. Love is my mother who faced snipers to fetch twenty litres of water so that her family could drink and wash, love is when you are hungry and share the only piece of bread available. In the film, such a family no longer exists. If they were at war with one another, they would solve their problems. Conflict is in itself a form of relationship, and it can lead to a solution. But in this case, the lack of communication, the unspoken words, destroys all relationships and provokes repetition.

- The character of the mother (Carole Bouquet) is likened to Medea. By forbidding them to see their father, this mother "kills" her three children.

This Medea too is seen through a kaleidoscope. The mother does not kill her children physically, yet she destroys them and she destroys her family. As Anne says in her presentation, "today tragedy is no longer possible". This text, like the monologue of Jacques Perrin delivered at the Sorbonne, comes from a lecture given by my drama teacher in Sarajevo. All the films by Kieslowski contain this questioning of destiny and coincidences.

- This story is not simply told as a middle-class drama about the infidelities of couples. By examining their inner conflicts, you give a tragic dimension to your characters.

I do not come from a middle-class family so I see things differently. "The purpose of tragedy is to question the nature of man", says Anne in her presentation on Medea. Greek society knew about tragedy because the Greeks believed in several gods and felt they were involved in their destiny. There was a confrontation between the mortal and the divine. Today, in a society that has deserted God, in a material world in which God is dead, tragedy is no longer possible. What is left is drama. And that is already a lot because although drama may be tragic, it is not however a tragedy.

- At the beginning of the story, don't these three women bear the guilt of their father as their fate?

Yes, yet at the same time other people will say that this is just a coincidence. By breaking their silence, the sisters find each other again and can then live their lives more freely. I don't think there is a reply to the question about the existence of coincidences or destiny. Today, people want an explanation for everything, they want to know, control and simplify everything. It is the "instant generation", a generation of the instant that insists on having brief and immediate replies. My father used to wear his father's watch, who in turn had received it from his own father. Now, people consume, throw away and buy constantly. A man will leave the wife who has borne his children to go off with another woman. The notion of the family has exploded. Only money matters. It has become an empty society. We refuse to admit that we do not like this way of life, and yet we are depressed, unhappy and plagued by false problems. All this is our responsibility alone. I have been very lucky in my life. After a happy childhood, I experienced difficult times during the war in Bosnia, but I was with my family. And then I arrived here as a refugee and I was able to see the other side of the mirror. In this film, I have tried to talk in a simple way about complicated things. My films are not pessimistic or negative but they show difficult things that can seem harsh to us. I admire Kieslowski greatly because he described himself as a craftsman of the cinema. I am not an artist, I do not give answers. Let's ask the questions to begin with, and then we can look for the answers together.

- You scatter your film with signs and metaphors, such as the insect saved from being drowned in a glass, the frame of Marie Gillain where she stands on a hopscotch game, between heaven and hell!

There was a similar image of an insect in The Decalogue, and this shot is one of the tributes paid to Kieslowski in my film. I look upon spectators as adults, I do not impose ready-made answers. I try to place them in an emotional state so that they can find the path to their own answers. I sometimes help with small details; an object can visually represent the inner state of a character or a situation. For example, two days before the shooting, I discovered in the office of the Casting Director a plant with leaves that retract whenever they are touched lightly. I included it in a scene with Celine because she is a woman who closes herself whenever she is approached or touched. Similarly, for the scene of the cafe where Sebastien reads a poem to Celine, I added the noise of a fan with a jammed mechanism. Every time it turns, it makes a laboured sound. This sound, which is noticed only unconsciously, reinforces the idea that something is not quite right between them. Life is made up of tiny details. My father used to tell me, "Man thinks he is stumbling over a mountain but he is only tripping over a pebble".

- When approaching Celine, Sebastien tells her, "When we kill innocent civilians, it is collateral damage. But when they do the same thing, they are terrorists."

In the original script, in order to bring about their encounter, Sebastian says to her, "This terrorist attack is crazy". I changed the text in my own way and inevitably expressed my opinion on the war in Iraq, on the world of today. We often forget to look at both sides of the coin. I am not capable, like Sebastien, of keeping quiet for 20 years, I tend to say exactly what I think.

- Sebastien also quotes a text by Mesa Selimovic, one of the greatest Bosnian writers, "I got lost while searching". This sentence could be applied to all the characters in the film.

And to all of us too. The more I learn, the less I know … Life is too short to learn everything that should be known. I am particularly fond of this poem by Mesa Selimovic, and the "Fortress" is a book that is always on my bedside-table. The original script suggested selecting an extract from a text by Brodsky without indicating which one. By appropriating this story, I preferred Selimovic, who speaks to me more intimately. I thought that Celine, the young woman who carries in her a certain sense of poetry, would also be moved. It is thanks to this poem that she falls in love with this man.

- Unexpected hints of humour frequently occur during moments of tension. For example, the story about the chicken that survived 18 months with its head cut, or the amusing way the SNCF controller hands over his love letters!

It is my way of coping with the harshness of life, one can always laugh! A Jewish friend told me that in the ghetto of Warsaw, people still managed to retain their sense of humour. In the original script, the scene in which Celine comes to see her sick mother, nothing much happens, they just sit together. In this somewhat Bergman-style scene, I thought it would be amusing for Celine to read to her mother those incredible stories about cannibalism or the headless chicken. After so many years visiting her mother without being able to communicate with her, Celine must have run out of ideas, so why not read the Guinness Book of Records! It is a way of setting a certain distance in rather difficult situations. I do not want to torture spectators. I prefer to destabilise them by challenging them and urging them to get to the end of the story.

- Kieslowski would certainly have appreciated your film, but Bergman or Antonioni would also recognise themselves in it.

These film directors belong to my cinema culture. I feel close to Kielowski, his Slavic soul is part of my family, but I did not wish to make a film "in the manner of". When reading a script, I try to find the essence of each scene and what it can contribute to the subject as a whole. I then dream about my film. I work while lying down on my sofa, as if at a session with a psychoanalyst. Danis, the patient, relates his story to Tanovic, the psychologist. Visions appear to me with such precision that I can then shoot and edit them very quickly. "Hell" was edited in ten days.

- The colours and decor add to the strangeness of the film. One enters labyrinthine corridors, doors and windows are ajar. And this strange atmosphere is underscored by music that you have co-signed.

As a musician, I believe a film is closer to a musical composition than to literature. I frequently make actors rehearse to the musical leitmotivs of their scenes. Certain scenes have to be shot in a studio. With Aline Bonetto, we reconstructed, in an identical fashion, a floor of the "Hotel" hotel in Saint Germain des Pres, where we had used wide angles to film an astonishing spiral staircase that reminds me of the female sex organ. The architecture of this place contributes to plunging Emmanuelle Beart into the state of distress suffered by the character she plays.

- Each sister inspired you to use a dominating colour.

For Sophie, I used the red of passion, love, jealousy, of her sensual and sometimes violent nature, as in the scene with the weeping fig plant or the one in the kitchen where she "rapes" her husband. For Celine, it is the blue of sadness, waiting, melancholy, and her peaceful resignation. For Anne, the youngest sister, it is the green of innocence, of blooming, and perhaps renewal. These colours are not displayed in an obvious manner but are perfectly interpreted in different nuances by Laurent Daillant, the chief cameraman. He was in total symbiosis with the actresses, and this strengthened even further the feeling of confidence that prevailed over the set. I cannot work in a climate of conflict. It is very important for the actors to feel at ease, especially when venturing into such intense emotions.

- How did you put together such an extraordinary cast?

It was not a choice dictated by the box office. I wanted to surround myself with actors and actresses whose talent and personality I appreciated.

Emmanuelle BEART gives of herself 150%. Her involvement with a character is impressive. For this role, she vividly portrays pain and profound sadness, her expression seems to be veiled in tears. One feels like comforting her but at the same time she can be frightening.

Karin VIARD is exactly the actress I was looking for to interpret the solitary woman who looks after her aged mother, and who longs so much to be taken into the arms of a man, to be caressed and looked at. Karin has a unique charm and a range of surprising emotions. In life, she is the complete opposite of Celine, a strong, talkative and funny woman.

Marie GILLAIN has a rare beauty. She successfully portrays the candour and innocence of her character, and the freshness of young girls who cause themselves emotional pain by loving in the wrong way.

Carole BOUQUET is a courageous actress. She was willing to look old to interpret this secondary role. Moreover, it is a particularly difficult role because she had to reveal intense emotions through minimalist acting. Carole is moving in the violent scene with her husband. And when she withdraws into total silence in her wheelchair, her eyes mirror an incredible strength and determination.

Jacques PERRIN I would love to be like him when I have been around for a little longer! A great man, a gentleman with a natural seductiveness. There are still childlike traces on his face, a gentleness, a charm and a protective feeling that makes the attraction he inspires in Ann completely plausible.

Jacques GAMBLIN was recommended to me by Emmanuelle Beart. It is important for an actress to want to work with a partner who plays the role of her husband. Jacques is adorable. At the beginning, as we did not know each other, we kept at a distance, but we soon got on well. Jacques invariably finds the right tone.

Guillaume CANET I was attracted to his pleasant nature, free of complexes, at ease with himself. Guillaume brilliantly faced the two challenges of his role. He had to play the role of an older man and to give moving emotions and a tough attitude to his interpretation of a homosexual. I was determined to avoid those cliches of a sophisticated and precious homosexual. Guillaume was able to find just the right approach to play his role. He is an excellent "young actor" and his best roles are already waiting for him.

Jean ROCHEFORT What a great man, what an actor and what humour! It is almost infuriating for a film director to work with such an actor because you have practically no instructions to give him; he is faultless from the very first shot. We took a liking to each other when we both served on the Jury in Cannes. Jean Rochefort is the only man I know who can wear a white suit without looking like a Mafioso, whereas if I wore one, I would be arrested immediately!

Miki MANOJLOVIC is one of the best actors from ex-Yugoslavia. I used to admire him even when I was a child. Miki has an incredible way of occupying space. He is one of those actors, like Pacino, who have an immense power of attraction. You can't stop looking at them, even when they are eating breakfast without saying a single word!

- After the successful passage through hell, what will be your vision of Heaven?

I don't know … If hell is three women, three delightful sisters, then what about heaven? In fact, I have already found heaven on earth. I have a wonderful family and I have my dream job. What more could I possibly ask for?

Interviewed by Gaillac-Morgue

Emmanuelle Beart

(Sophie)

Feelings of guilt are the roots shared by these three sisters. Sophie, the eldest, is probably the one who feels the most responsible for the drama that hit the family unit. As a child, she had refused to open the bedroom door of the three sisters when her father knocked. She had turned on the music loud to drown the sound of the drama and protect her two sisters who, like herself, were traumatised by their father's violent altercation with their mother. Later, Sophie must have told herself that things might not have worked out the way they did if she had intervened.

For these children, whose father committed suicide, there is a notion of total abandonment and rejection. They are not at peace with their mother either, and have become strangers to each other. In this collapsed family, they have all tried to rebuild themselves by disregarding their past. But it does not work. They have armed themselves in a war against themselves… And they are completely disarmed.

Today, she is a woman who is deceived by her husband who seems to be reconciled to their marriage while leading a double life with another woman. Gradually and instinctively, Sophie lifts the curtain and discovers the lies. The repercussion of this betrayal is particularly violent for Sophie because she comes up against the feeling of having been deserted already experienced during her childhood. She is in such a state of despair that she has lost all desire to live, she no longer gets up in the morning, she does not look after herself, and she can no longer take care of her children. All this is extremely human, it is physical and she feels paralysed. And there is also the fear of hurting her children, the fear of reproducing the old scenario. Paradoxically enough, in such moments when we can barely stand up, it is our children who save us. Everyone knows this. And it is Sophie's children who will give her a new lease of life and who will participate in her rebirth. All this may not necessarily be in the film, but it was certainly in my mind.

To reach down to the very depths of the guilt felt by Sophie, it was not a question of exhibiting a physical destruction but to render this state of suffering, which erases all forms of desire in a face, in an expression. This is much more devastating. Take, for example, the scene in which Sophie watches a bee in the process of drowning in a glass. I have an extremely vivid memory of that moment, lying on the sofa, of wanting to express this notion of dangerous absence. The bee decided to save itself and found the strength to climb up a straw, while the human being watching it had no will to fight.

In her state of disarray, she becomes provocative, almost to the point of being indecent. After a shower, for instance, she presses her wet body against her husband who is asleep. It is terribly disturbing! The more she provokes Pierre, the more she is humiliated. Twenty times, she hits against the door of "It's over", thrown at her by Pierre, who shuts her out as if pulling down metal shutters between them. But she needs to return over and over again.

Sophie is a character that I can understand, I can be on the same wavelength. She does not resemble me, she does not lead my life, but she is one of those endearing women. Because Sophie is in fact like any ordinary man or woman who, after waiting all night long, asks the partner who has finally returned, "Where were you, who were you with?" There is nothing worse than trying to imagine this. She wants to know all about this other person, her rival. "What does she have that I don't? What is her face like, her body, her smell?" I understand the strangeness of this woman when she goes as far as to approach Pierre's mistress to smell her. It is so very true. What nerve to film this scene! Danis knows perfectly well what a woman feels at such a moment.

By choosing Jacques Gamblin to play the role of Pierre, the man who betrays, it was possible to avoid the stereotype image of the seductive male. The strange blend of male and female in this handsome and good actor adds a touch of fragility to the character, and stops us from considering him as a bastard. Life is not so simple. It is not because Sophie is married to a bastard that her life is painful but because her own history is terrible, her childhood, her relationship with her femininity, her relationship with men.

I have rarely met a film director like Danis Tanovic, who is capable of giving his actors and actresses so much room for imagination. He would say to me, "I'm not a woman, you know better than me". Yet under his virile appearance, Danis conceals a profound feminine and childlike sensitivity, he has a fine sense of discernment, with all its nuances, discords and variations. Danis is very organic, and so am I. I said to myself, "I think he is as much an animal as I am". He is full of wonder at the work of his actors while at the same time being curious of what one feels like saying through one's character. I liked his way of constantly asking me, "Is it all right? Do you think you can go as far as that?" and I would answer, "I don't know but I am ready."

As we had separate shooting phases, Danis had the intelligence to make each actress think she was "the" woman of the film. Before each shooting session, he would instil in us a totally new desire, as if the filming was only just starting. We had the delicious and unique sensation of starting a new film every time.

Karin Viard

(Celine)

I had the opportunity to meet Danis Tanovic at the Cannes Film Festival, where we were both members of the jury. This young man has every talent. Not only does he have a divine talent as a musician but he also has an acute instinct for poetry and literature, and he makes films with great style, that is to say, magnificently, forcefully and with simplicity. And added to all this are his elegance and his generosity in refraining from imposing his apprehensions and anxiety. He leaves others the freedom of being what they are. I loved his "No Man's Land" which I saw over and over again, and I wanted to respond to his desire when he offered me the script of "Hell". He let me decide which role to play among the three sisters, and I chose that of Celine. She appealed to me very much.

I was immediately attracted to the tragic dimension of this character. I understand the "sacrificed" very well! The news columns are full of stories about daughters or sons with no right to their own existence beyond that of their parents. There is a mythological dimension to their sacrifice. I thought it would be fascinating to delve into that area, to become close to someone who has put his or her life 'on hold'. Celine was so far away from me that at first I had some difficulty in finding the right tone. At the same time, the work of approaching the character was exhilarating. Filming with Danis Tanovic is like diving into icy water. The water is cold, admittedly, but it is so pleasant afterwards, you feel warm. And you feel so very much alive, it sets your blood racing!

Celine runs away from her own life, all she does is to deny herself in order to look after her mother. To compensate … Celine is dying of solitude, one can presume that she has never been touched by a man, but she leads this life without being sour or bitter. She gets used to the fact that there are a number of things she will never have. I liked the idea of not turning her into a kind of nun but, rather, into a woman bearing the mystery of not existing. Her meeting with Sebastien wakes her up from a long lethargy. To reach out to her, Sebastien selects a poem by Mesa Selimovic. "In life, in patience, my heart watches, my heart fades away … The shadow follows the one I used to be … I got lost while searching. I dream of life and live in a dream. I conceal my heart, I accuse my heart." At that moment, Sebastien speaks to her in such an intimate manner that she can allow herself this love affair.

Danis made us act this intimate scene as early as the second day of shooting. With Guillaume Canet, we were not too sure of our bearings, we were still groping a little. But Danis deliberately took advantage of our lack of confidence, because this insecurity was exactly in keeping with the situation of our characters at that particular moment.

Danis always defused the tension that prevailed during the more difficult scenes with humour, allowing us to indulge in fits of laughter between the shooting sessions. This method is wonderful. Every time I started again as if new, and all my imagination and liberty could flow freely once more.

The relationship between Celine and her mother is based on an interaction between ambiguous and ambivalent feelings. Their relationship is centred on a kind of madness. And yet neither of them can escape from this monstrous captivity that binds them together. Celine, who prefers to give up her own life in order to look after her mother, is perhaps the only sister out of the three who should not be looked upon as a Medea. I also think Celine wants to be the guardian of her father's image. Letting go of her mother would be like letting the father die forever. She is both the father and the mother, she is the couple, the family, and she is the one who must remain.

And as her meeting with Sebastian occurs at the appropriate moment, Celine changes. When she asks her sister Sophie, "Have you never thought that a curse hovers over you like something that prevents you from moving forward?" Celine becomes aware that she must now confront this curse, she is its guarantor. She has the poison, it is true, but she also knows that she has the antidote. From this viewpoint, the film conveys a degree of optimism because the three sisters are moving in a positive direction.

For Danis Tanovic, a minimum of words gives meaning to what must be said. The extraordinary vitality of "No Man's Land" can also be found in "Hell". Danis Tanovic resembles his films, inside him he has something tragic, broken, and at the same time, he is very much alive, he is full of energy and fun.

Marie Gillain

(Anne)

I was impressed by having in my hands a script inspired by a project of Kieslowski, a film-maker I deeply admire. The other pleasant surprise was that this project would be accomplished by Danis Tanovic because his film "No Man's Land" had moved me by its tone, which was harsh, radical and ironic. I was curious to see how these worlds would come together, how Tanovic, who had treated the absurdity of war so boldly and intensely, would plunge into the intimacy of love. My first encounter with Tanovic was not really "Kieslowskian". I saw before me some kind of a Bosnian bear with eyes that were darker than black riveted on me like a kalishnikovs! Perfectly understandable since I had just given birth to a baby and looked like a small whale washed up in a cafe in Saint Germain des Pres. We drank two enormous beers, and he started to tell me about Belgium and about woodcutters, because Danis cut wood when he arrived there, and I had spent my childhood in that country. In fact, we first got to know each other before discussing Kieslowski! And we learned to trust each other.

The character of Anne attracted me because of her passionate spirit and despair. As soon as she is in the presence of a man she loves, her blood races through her veins. And as soon as he leaves her, she languishes and dies. She is permanently in a feverish state, with a determination that is almost obsessive. Her love for Frederic, her teacher, is also her way of transferring the image of her father. This love is all the more painful in that she looks upon her father as a monster who has deserted her. Anne is therefore lost between two loves, and projects all her childhood fears onto this man presently in her life. She fights in vain to understand why he has left her but it is precisely because he has deserted her that she continues to love him.

Anne may appear to be an egoist in her reactions to the suffering of others and in the way she behaves sometimes. She will betray her only friend because of her love for this man and she will destroy her family for the sake of recognition. But I think her need to be loved and recognised is so strong and painful that she cannot face it or understand it. She loves this man but she also loves her family and the place she occupies within it. When Frederic dies, she feels as if she has been orphaned twice.

To me, Anne is like a little soldier trying to save his skin. She has experienced the terrible absence of a father. Celine stays with her mother, Sophie in the place where the trauma occurred, while Anne moves away to avoid sinking, but she sinks anyway.

In her relationship with Frederic, there is also a genuine intellectual complicity and an admiration for the intelligence of this man. In the presentation she does on Medea, the choice of subject is not innocent. She talks intrinsically when she says, "Euripides shows us that if the pressure suffered by women is maintained, an explosion becomes inevitable and, as in the case of Medea, the children end up in pieces." And then she adds, "But tragedy is no longer possible nowadays." She emphasises the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is caused by a combination of human and divine interventions.

It is true that life is made up of choices and feelings that are sometimes beyond us, and without intending to make us feel guilty of our acts, I find the idea of a divine dimension to our life rather comforting.

For me, the shooting of this film was a real gift from the cinema and an important encounter with a film director. I experienced all the feelings of making a film for the first time. The sense of exhilaration, the joy of waking up in the morning for a filming session, the alchemy of a group that produces an incredible energy to move forward … and the immense and childish pleasure of being directed by Danis because, obviously, it is thanks to him that we were able to smile during all those weeks.

Carole Bouquet

(The mother)

When I first met Danis Tanovic, I felt an emotion similar to that I had experienced when I got to know Lucie Aubrac. These two personalities, who are marked by their fight, give off a powerful physical presence at the same time as an incredible gentleness and kindness, which is rather unsettling. During a recent visit to Sarajevo, where I was the godmother of the Festival, Danis showed me round his city, and this is how I was able to understand what he had experienced. There is not a single place that does not remind him of the death of one his friends. He showed me all the spots where he had hidden himself and where he had risked his life, like the bridge he ran across twice a day under the fire of snipers. He must have been about twenty years old at that time but all this is still very much in his mind, even in Paris. However, he rarely talks about these events. It is also because he has carried around this terrible reality that his film is so mature. And then, of course, there is also his mastery and talent.

I had read the original script of Kielowski. It was more of a synopsis centred on a woman, her husband who returns from prison, and the three sisters; everything else was left to the imagination. The characters had not been developed at all. Danis Tanovic undertook the considerable task of writing a script, and in doing so, completely took over the subject. I followed the evolution of his different versions through which he succeeded in achieving an exemplary construction, perfected even further during the editing phase.

Through this story he tells by using images and metaphors and without resorting to a chronology, we penetrate the very depths of each complex character without the need to provide psychological explanations. Danis Tanovic succeeds in moving us in an overwhelming way while avoiding emotional outpourings.

I have known cases of family violence in which one sees totally archaic relationships, and I can affirm that everything is pertinent in this film. This story provokes all kinds of questions. Danis did not want us to judge any of the characters. In fact, there are no answers. We do not know exactly what happened but we are faced with the consequences. What Danis shows us is the suffering of each character, it is visible and palpable. And this suffering is the truth for each one.

Anne mentions Medea in connection with her mother. She is convinced that she is settling scores that have nothing to do with the story itself. It is her very own truth and not "the" truth. Such is life! We know all about the relations between a mother and daughter.

Furthermore, the personality of Medea fascinates me. I can imagine her suffering which breaks the heart but she is a monster nevertheless. Danis Tanovic does not seek to revisit this character even if his film avoids mundane details to focus on the tragedy. Because these myths continue to influence us in the way we perceive the world, and there is much to learn by becoming familiar with them. The horror has been told and the violence described, the worst is possible. They give us more effective safeguards than a lesson on morals. Danis Tanovic has the talent of incorporating diversions into mythology and philosophy, in the heart of his story's movement, to create an atmosphere of suspense and help the story advance.

The presentation on "destiny and coincidence" delivered by Jacques Perrin is magnificent. All the characters in the film are faced with an impossible love, as we all are one day. It is not by chance that the film is called "Hell"!

Fortunately, the shooting took place in an atmosphere of joy and laughter. Good humour was certainly required in order to bear the four violent days of my scene with Miki Manojlovic! The filming was a wonderful adventure. Working with Danis is a pleasure at all times. He enjoys himself like a child on the set. He is there, he feels good, and he films!

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