Francois Ozon Discusses His ‘Submit #MeToo Comedy’ ‘The Crime Is Mine’

After “Peter van Kant,” French director François Ozon goes many shades lighter to revisit gender and energy dynamics in “The Crime Is Mine,” a lush ensemble comedy set in Nineteen Thirties Paris.

Loosely impressed by the 1934 play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil, the movie tells the story of Madeleine, a reasonably, younger and penniless actress, who’s accused of murdering a well-known producer. Helped by her finest good friend Pauline, a jobless lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense and turns into a star, in addition to a feminist icon.

“The Crime Is Mine,” produced by Mandarin Cinema, brings collectively a sprawling forged, led by a pair of up-and-coming actors, Nadia Tereszkiewicz (“Ceaselessly Younger”) and Rebecca Marder (“Simone”), alongside Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, André Dussolier, Dany Boon and Félix Lefebvre. The film has been offered by Playtime in lots of key markets.

Ozon mentioned his new movie with Selection following its world premiere on the opening evening of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris earlier this week.

Your movie is sort of a fairy story, a cinderella story, isn’t it?

I had the thought to make this movie at a time when every thing was so miserable in the course of the lockdown. In fact every thing remains to be going badly with the warfare in Ukraine, the recession, world warming… However at that second I simply had the will to return to comedy, to make one thing mild whereas tackling issues that concern us immediately, which means the facility dynamics and the standing of girls. Alongside the traces of “8 Ladies” and “Potiche,” two different motion pictures I made that had been additionally about girls. In “8 Ladies” it was in regards to the renouncing of the patriarchy, and in “Potiche,” it’s in regards to the rise of the matriarchy, charting a lady’s rise in politics. It was tied to the presidential marketing campaign of Ségolène Royal in France on the time. “The Crime Is Mine” is in the end in regards to the triumph of sorority. Clearly it echoes what’s been occurring in the previous few years within the western world with a brand new wave of feminism.

This theme of energy dynamics within the arts was additionally on the core of your earlier film “Peter van Kant.”

It’s one thing that issues me as a result of when you’re a director, you might be ready of energy, so it makes you concentrate on your responsabilities. Lots of people within the movie business are questioning their very own stances, methods of working. And it appeared that in an effort to sort out all these subjects with some freshness, I wanted to distance myself barely, which is why it was key to set this story within the Nineteen Thirties. It turns on the market had been issues occurring in France throughout that period with a string of murders dedicated by girls. The film even mentions the true story of Violette Nozière, who was the topic of a movie by Claude Chabrol starring Isabelle Huppert, and there was additionally the Papin sisters, who impressed Jean Genet for his play “Les bonnes.” What’s compelling is to take a look at these feminine criminals with the historic prism that we now have immediately and tie them with the situation of girls on the time.

The dialogues sound so modern that I assumed there was some anachronism in your movie.

It’s in no way anachronic. Other than a couple of expressions, what’s mentioned within the movie may have been mentioned again then. I feel the phrase “sorority” didn’t exist. However there was nonetheless the suffragettes as a result of girls didn’t have the precise to vote in France within the Nineteen Thirties, they solely obtained it in 1945. The patriarchy was triumphing however many ladies fought it to result in change.

It’s very fulfilling – and uncommon – to see a French film that ends nicely.

Sure, there’s one thing joyful; it ends with a play within the custom of Jean Renoir. It’s additionally a playful reference to “The Final Metro” by François Truffaut, as we go from actuality to theater. Since there’s a “mise en abyme” with an actress taking part in an actress, the movie needed to finish with a play.

Isabelle Huppert’s character (Odette Chaumette) made me consider Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder’s “Sundown Boulevard.”

The true reference for Isabelle Huppert’s character is Sarah Bernhardt, a really well-known French actress of that period, an actress who starred in silent movies, who was largely a stage actress. With Pascaline Chavanne, the costume designer, we had enjoyable highlighting the distinction between the 2 younger ladies (Tereszkiewicz and Marder), who’re very trendy and gown very Nineteen Thirties model, and Huppert’s character, Odette Chaumette, who remains to be caught in the beginning of the century. She attire with outfits from the 1910s! 

Would you say your movie is sort of a love letter to cinema?

It pays tribute to the wittiness of American screwball comedies from the Nineteen Thirties. I had in thoughts motion pictures by Ernst Lubitsch and Frank Capra, which had been fast-paced with numerous dialogues. I like the brisk tempo of those American comedies from the Nineteen Thirties; it was for me the golden age of classical comedies. It seems that many of those comedies on the time had been going down in Paris. As a result of Paris was thought-about as a metropolis the place social mores had been lighter. Producers believed that American audiences would settle for extra simply these tales about treason and infidelity in the event that they had been going down in France and in Paris. This has not modified with time as immediately we now have “Emily in Paris”!

But it surely’s so lavishing shot, like an idealized view of Paris, particularly these scenes with the Parisian rooftops.

It was vital for me to have a practical reconstruction of Paris from the Nineteen Thirties. However on the similar time, we additionally created a stylized Paris as a result of this Paris from the Nineteen Thirties now not exists so we needed to work with archives. And we additionally had in thoughts the Paris of the Nineteen Thirties considered by the People, as within the movie “Victor Victoria” by Blake Edwards, by which it’s a little bit of an idealized Paris.

This movie appears to be like costly. Would you say it’s your largest budgeted movie to date?

I’ve by no means performed blockbusters, so it’s fairly budgeted. But it surely was vital that we had this lush high quality, the decors and costumes as a result of this can be a movie meant to be actually fulfilling. However in the end this movie depends on the actors.

The ensemble forged is so fantastic, particularly the younger feminine duo, Rebecca Marder and Nadia Tereszkiewicz ,who’re truly in Unifrance’s 10 Abilities to Look ahead to 2023.

Sure, and once I selected them I had not but seen the flicks that they had performed. I did an extended casting to search out the 2 finest actresses who may kind this particular bond with each other. As a result of the movie wanted this chemistry between these two ladies. And as quickly as I noticed Nadia and Rebecca I knew that it was going to work. I like the thought to make a movie with two actresses who weren’t well-known and encompass them with well-known French actors. To replicate their on-screen scenario, by which they’re surrounded by white males over 50 who attempt to seduce them, and so they pull it off extraordinarily nicely because of their intelligence and resourcefulness.

It’s so nice to see Dany Boon in one among your movies! He’s finest recognized for extra mainstream comedies.

I like to combine up actors who’re from totally different background  and I’m not snooty towards industrial motion pictures. For “The Crime Is Mine,” I wanted some very, excellent actors as a result of there may be quite a lot of dialogue, it’s tightly paced and it’s a comedy. I used to be delighted to work with Dany for the primary time. He’s an excellent actor. And since all people is aware of his Northern French accent, will probably be notably humorous for the French audiences to listen to him with a Marseilles accent.

How was it to reunite with Isabelle Huppert in any case these years?

Isabelle is one among my favourite actresses. We had performed “8 Ladies” collectively greater than 20 years in the past and what I like about Isabelle is that she has quite a lot of humor, about herself, about her profession. She joyfully grabbed this function and I feel she had quite a lot of enjoyable with it!

Did you let her improvise in any respect?

The textual content was crucial on “The Crime Is Mine” as a result of we had to make use of the standard French vocabulary of the Nineteen Thirties, however the textual content bolstered the actors, particularly for Isabelle’s character. Within the play that impressed my movie (by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil), Chaumette was a person. I turned it into a lady however it amused me to maintain the traces of the person. They sound a bit vulgar in Isabelle’s mouth however on the time she is so naturally female that it creates one thing distinctive and humorous.

Are you already working in your subsequent movie? You’re probably the most prolific director we now have in France.

I’m not engaged on something proper now apart from selling this movie. I’ve been making only one movie per 12 months for the final 20 years, and I understand it’s an actual likelihood for me to have this chance to work with a lot freedom and pleasure. In my view, France stays one of the best place for a director to maintain management over his inventive work.