Isabelle Huppert in “Journey to Japan”: «I’m impressed by kindness»

THEsabelle Huppert shows up with a cup of cream ice cream. This is already news: perhaps she too – deep down – is one of us, and not the unattainable alien we have always imagined? An extraterrestrial who at 70 looks 15 years younger (and wears a size 34). She made 152 films without making a single mistake, interspersing them with theatrical performances by cult directors such as Bob Wilson and Tiago Rodrigues. Which won, repeating, all the top film awards. Yet someone who, if she wants, knows how to make herself invisible: her appointment with Robert De Niro in the lobby of a New York hotel remained famous: only after an hour – and a fair amount of nervousness due to the wait – did they realize they were sitting close together …

Isabelle Huppert in Trip to Japan

In France they define it “the Huppert mysteries” but Élise Girard, director of Trip to Japan (in cinemas from 11 January), denies: «He is a very warm person with a great sense of humour. There is nothing about her that can intimidate you. Her daughter, Lolita Chammah, introduced her to me: having met her informally, my way of seeing her – obviously – is different from what people usually have.” But then Girard admits that he waited a whole year before daring to propose to her the screenplay, a story of mourning, rebirth and reopening to love…

The plot? Sidonie (homage to Colette, Sidonie was her real first name) is a successful writer in full creative block since the death of her husband, who – after a thousand hesitations – gives in to the insistence of her Japanese publisher (the actor Tsuyoshi Ihara, testimonial of the brand Yohji Yamamoto) and accepts the invitation for a promotional tour. The occasion is the reprint of his first novel and, together, they will tour the Land of the Rising Sun: Kyoto, Nara, the museum-island of Naoshima.

What was the driving force that pushed you to embrace the project?
I was struck by the portrait of this woman who arrives from France as if frozen, with something dull, and seems to come to life only when – surprisingly – the ghost of her husband appears to her in the hotel room, much livelier than her. The metaphor is quite clear: if he is so alive in his thoughts, it means that there is still extreme attachment and, therefore, impossibility of rebuilding an existence. And the contrast between her, completely emotionally blocked, and her constantly moving for presentations through the Shinkansen (the railway network of very fast “bullet trains”, ed.) is equally metaphorical.

But do you believe in ghosts?
I swear I would! Alas, I am too rational. For me death is silence. Funny: another of my latest films (it has yet to be released), has spirits at its center, not to mention the books that are trendy today. Perhaps the theme of ghosts is so present because it represents an attempt to relate to losses in a world unstoppably struck by tragedies. The supernatural side, in truth, belongs to the director.

In what sense?
One of the screenwriters, Sophie Fillières, a great friend of hers, passed away at the end of July. She was 58 years old… Élise still feels her presence strongly.

What struck you about Japanese culture?
I have known the country since 1982, when I shot some scenes there The Truite by Joseph Losey, but the kindness impresses me with every return: we French are more rude. Then I don’t know if it’s really an internalized quality, maybe everyone isn’t really that kind (he says it with a flicker of a smile in his eyes, he doesn’t allow himself to get any further upset).

Their characteristic is indecipherability. A bit like his…
He says? I would not know…

The film has hilarious moments: Sidonie doesn’t know the local customs, she repeatedly bows inappropriately, doesn’t let the publisher carry her shoulder bag, and snatches it from his hand…
The misunderstandings are the starting point for the gags, but the matter has a profound meaning: he does not intend to give up the intimate and secret part of himself. The contents of a bag reveal a lot about the owner. But he is a man of character, despite her delicacy: you can tell by how fast he walks, forcing her to follow him almost running. And he often surprises her, like in the bar scene: he leaves her stunned with the amount of glasses of whiskey downed.

How much of yourself did you put into the character? The director assures that, when you see Sidonie sleeping in Naoshima, that is really her who is sleeping…
Yes, I don’t worry about the identification rate anyway, it’s not my method. And in any case in this case there would have been no need at all: the dialogues are written to perfection, profound without being cerebral.

Any lessons to learn from the protagonist?
As far as I’m concerned, the ability to travel light. She is always impeccable (we discussed at length the looks that were consistent with her personality), but she manages to keep everything in a trolley.

The interviews to which the writer is subjected will remind her of her experiences.
Well yes. Whether you are an actress, novelist or director, the pattern is the same: you have to think about what you say and try to be as honest as possible, even if you sometimes lie. (winks)

Speaking of directors: wouldn’t you like to go behind the camera?
No no no, not at all. I’m already lucky to be able to express myself so much as an actress, I don’t feel frustrated at all.

In fact, she doesn’t lack work. How do you always maintain the same freshness, the same energy?
Energy has nothing to do with it, I’m very lazy! It’s just that acting comes easy to me and I enjoy it (of course, eating ice cream is preferable…): I don’t see why I should stop and change.

Out of boredom, perhaps.
No, every film is as if it were the first! Experience or knowledge is of relative importance because cinema is the media that captures the present moment and you play it there. This is why I don’t like rehearsals and, if some director demands them, I pretend to rehearse… (and smiles before leaving) Ps: the ice cream sadly melted, remaining untouched.

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