Juliette Binoche: “I didn’t want to be a star”

In anticipation of an interview for Psychologies magazine, I look at her, trying to answer the question: why her? Why Juliette Binoche is now the first actress in France? And how did she, one of the few European stars who conquered Hollywood, manage, despite the relentless attention of the press, to keep her private life inaccessible all these years?

No one knows how she lives, how she brings up children, what kind of relationship she has with her friend and father of her daughter, actor Benoit Magimel. Fearlessly wide open in her emotions on the screen and on stage, ready to literally twist her soul in each new role, Juliette is emphatically restrained in life. Haneke also answers questions related to the film as if he is working out a contract clause. Polite, laconic, formal. During the entire press conference, the only time that seemed to spark interest in her eyes was when I conceded to a colleague from another magazine my turn to ask her a question. “I have never seen journalists do this,” Juliette was surprised.

Binoche, as they said in the old days, is a typical “emancipe”. Impetuous, sharp, impetuous. Juliette is wearing a tailcoat, a short haircut, a horsewoman costume. It feels hidden masculine rage and masculine certainty. Binoche began with a challenge, with a scandal, with the “Lovers of the Pont Neuf”, where she, as a one-eyed tramp artist, fearlessly flew on water skis on the icy Seine. During filming, she almost crashed to death on a stone embankment. With this film, her fame as the first actress in France began, and a long and exhausting romance with director Leo Carax became one of the main life tests. Relations with him were so tense, and the gap was so painful that when Juliette received the European Film Academy Award for Best Actress in Berlin, the curators of the ceremony had to rack their brains: the director and actress categorically did not want to meet either on stage or backstage.

Many years have passed since that evening. There will be many more premieres, novels, festival awards in her life. There will be the birth of children – Raphael, who is now 11, and daughter Hannah, 5 years old. There will be her Oscar for The English Patient. It will become La Binoche – the highest degree of recognition in France, when neither sonorous epithets nor detailed explanations are required. A recognized standard of extraordinary fate and career. Recently, according to the results of BBC polls, she was included in the list of 10 most beautiful women in the world. Moreover, they combine the beauty of the external and spiritual. I asked her what she thought about this after the press conference, when the journalists left and we were left alone in the Martinez salon.

Briefly and clearly

What is your biggest disappointment?

Perhaps when I realized that my parents would never live together.

What would you like to change about yourself?

I am constantly changing.

What thing are you most attached to?

I love my scarf – it keeps me warm.

What do you like the most about your body?

That you can’t think about it.

Don’t like it?

When I start thinking about him.

For whom or for what would you sacrifice your life?

Of course, for the sake of my children.

What don’t you want for them?

Dependencies. In any form.

When things are literally out of hand, do you have any means to get things right?

Yes! This is a vegetable broth from my nutritionist Madame Gesta.

How would you rather die?

Happy. (Laughs.)

If reincarnation existed, in what guise would you like to return?

I don’t think I’ll want to go for the “second round”…

Juliette Binoche: Well, that’s nice. But when you imagine that now you will have to live up to this title all your life, longing involuntarily covers you: don’t put it on, don’t eat it, you can’t go anywhere without a make-up … Is this life? It is much more important for me to be myself. However, the list of the “most-most” is updated every year, which means that rotation is inevitable.

Psychologies: Are you afraid to fall out of it someday?

J.B.: Not a second! Women’s beauty is vulnerable, defenseless, depends on many circumstances. And there is a human essence that does not change from birth and belongs only to you. I am convinced that we remain the same as we were at the age of five. Although life does everything to make us worse. Both externally and internally.

Have you become worse or better?

J.B.: It is difficult for me to imagine a person who could answer this question unambiguously. I can say about myself that over the years, and especially with the birth of children, I have become softer, more tolerant. Previously, she was, perhaps, too self-confident, stubborn, straightforward. But in my defense, I can say that I always tried to be honest. I sincerely tried to do everything right. But it didn’t always work out.

What worked in your life and what didn’t?

J.B.: Got a career. And not because I’m such a career lady. I never wanted to be a star. Nobody believes, but it’s true! I just had the tenacity not to compromise and do only what I see fit. In general, I was lucky, although, probably, one should not discount some of my abilities for acting. They came in handy too. What else happened? Children. Of course, children! Although here my merits are minimal. I have long come to the conclusion: either you are lucky with children, or not.

Do you have any parenting methods of your own?

J.B.: I can’t say that I somehow especially bring up my children. I try to spend all my free time with them. It’s true! And I don’t forget for a second that a child lives in each of us and we need to listen to him, take care of him, give him the opportunity to live, breathe, enjoy life. To understand this child, you need to feel tenderness – tenderness for yourself. You need to learn to accept your weaknesses and shortcomings – and then it will be easier for you to experience the same in relation to your own children and to other people.

We rarely think about it…

J.B.: And very sorry. After all, the tenderness that I am talking about is the feeling that you are part of a vast world, it is the desire to live and “sound” in unison with those around you. A simple example: you get into a car, take a deep breath and decide that right now you will just let other drivers pass. Just skip it, because they may well have their own rhythm, speed, some kind of ridiculous superiority complexes. Then you begin to perceive everything differently, and the result, believe me, appears immediately: you suddenly notice that everything is going well and even the police are smiling at you!

In one of the interviews, you admitted that you are truly happy only on stage or on the set, when you can become someone else, forget yourself. Do you want to forget yourself, your daily life?

J.B.: I am not one of those who believe that happiness is unpredictable and must fall on you from somewhere in heaven. Happiness is still a kind of work, and in this sense, our psychophysics is the main working tool. For me, being an actress is a chance to experience some other experience, not the one that you can get from your ordinary life. By playing, I gain freedom… inside the prison. Inside my little private human life.

You often had to play women with a strong character, able to overcome difficult, even tragic circumstances. And what gives you the strength to deal with life’s difficulties?

J.B.: First of all, I believe that everything changes in life, black stripes are not forever. I don’t like the word “always” at all – it’s kind of fake. But, fortunately, in reality, nothing lasts forever, bad too. It seems to me that if you live constantly in this confidence, then in the subconscious, such defense mechanisms will automatically turn on that will help overcome any sadness. For example, I have my tried and tested way of getting rid of stress: you need to learn how to “materialize” unpleasant thoughts. You put them in a soap bubble and watch it slowly disappear into the blue sky. Helps a lot. And I also know from my own experience that anger must be transformed into something. Never force him inside, never let him choke you. It is useful to transfer your emotions to paper – keep a diary, write letters, which then do not have to be sent at all. Try to articulate how you feel. It is very helpful to explain to another: “Don’t hurt me because…” or “I’m angry because…” Don’t be afraid to shout. The pain goes away with a cry. But inside of us there should always be a person who controls our actions.

Do you know a way to escape loneliness?

J.B.: Painting! And it all started when, as a child, my mother bought me a wonderful series of books on the history of art – large format with wonderful illustrations. From the age of ten I began to copy them, then I drew a lot, tried to paint in oils. When it came time to choose, I no longer knew what I wanted more – to become an actress or to paint. I asked for advice from an artist, a friend of my mother, and she gave me a poster of her exhibition with the inscription: “Why choose? See what life gives you and do what pleases you.” It can be said that I still live with this advice.

Judging by the roles that you choose, you always make the main decisions in climactic life situations yourself.

J.B.: Women make decisions when men do not or do not want to do it for them. This is exactly what I do, but only in those cases when something needs to be done, and everyone around is just empty talk.

Private bussiness

• 1964 Born March 9th.
• 1985 “Date” by A. Teshine – the film that opened Binoche.
• 1991 “Lovers of the New Bridge” by L. Carax.
• 1993 Prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Cesar Award for his role in the film “Three Colors: Blue” by K. Kieślowski.
• 1994 Birth of son Raphael. Binoche Art Exhibition
• 1995 Contract with the Lancome brand.
• 1997 Oscar for his role in E. Minghella’s The English Patient.
• 2000 Birth of daughter Hannah (named after Binoche’s character in The English Patient). Departure from France to play on Broadway.
• 2002 Recognized as the highest paid actress in the history of French cinema.
• 2003 Introduces the clothing and accessories brand Gentryportofino.
• 2005 Cannes premiere of The Hidden by Michael Haneke.
• 2006 Simultaneously works on seven film projects.