L’Enfer

Paru le La Lettre AFC n°148 Autres formats

[English] [français]

I’m not going to tell you the story of the film, or even the synopsis, because I am thoroughly convinced that it is important to know nothing about the film if you are to really enjoy it. It tells the desperate story of three sisters and it is the second episode of a trilogy based on an idea by Krzysztof Kieslowski, for which the screenplay was written by Krzysztof Piesiewicz. The first episode was directed by Tom Tykwer. It is difficult for me to dissociate this film from its director, Danis Tanovic.

I first heard about this project when I had nearly finished filming Man to Man (Régis Wargnier) in June 2004. Cédomir Kolar, the producer, wanted to introduce me to Danis Tanovic, with the intention of shooting this utopic project just four months later. I wasn’t convinced and yet, as I completed the grading on Man to Man, in the evening I began shooting L’Enfer. Piesiewicz’ scenario was definitely intriguing and the way Danis had brought it up to date made me want to make this film.

My first meeting with the director was like “love at first sight” ! I had seen his first film, No Man’s Land, and I was familiar with the impressive list of awards it received, so in the space of just two minutes, I wanted him to choose me to make his film and it was nothing to do with “footlights”... just a director who talked to me about images, trust, wanting, the need to have a director of photography... and a room booked in Sarajevo hospital, in case he broke my legs. I felt a real desire for complicity in his imposing and impressive character. Danis was looking for a team to back him up... like all directors, but his proposal seemed more like an exchange. And that’s exactly what happened during filming : his trust was disarming. Three weeks into shooting, my team began say, “It’s OK Laurent, relax now... everything will be alright...” I could scarcely believe it. He showed a depth of sincerity and fearlessness when it came to taking risks that one only usually finds in people who have experienced life and yet he’s so young ! That’s how I would sum up Danis... not forgetting his good humour on the sets, his mates in Sarajevo ("The Orange Brothers"), the set photographer and the “making of” cameraman. They were also there to bring us back down to earth... not forgetting the rush sessions with the Apple Mac sitting like a musical score on the grand piano, with the director discovering his images whilst playing what was to become the film’s music... So this is how one can be just thirty years old and already win an Oscar !

Now let’s talk a bit more about the images or more generally, the artistic directing of the film. Tanovic had chosen to work with Aline Bonetto as the production designer. We had done the usual preparation, but I noticed how each visit to the décor was constructive with Aline ; from a somewhat hazy approach, I felt the canvas gradually taking shape, as if Danis revelled in this "No man’s land" (I know that’s rather too obvious) where everything is suspended, nothing is certain and then all of a sudden, things become clearer, wishes become apparent because we’re all working together and each one of us knows our place... I often wondered if sometimes Danis feigned ignorance so that Aline and myself would discover for ourselves what he had in mind from the start. Since the film tells the story of three sisters, he wanted us to work on colour : one colour for each sister : red, green and blue, but not too obviously so that it was a discreet homage to KK and not too ostentatious. A hint in the production design, a hint in the wardrobes (Caroline de Vivaise) and a hint in the lighting. Danis told me that he had restrained himself totally on his previous film because the subject was too serious. “I shot a war film as if it was an art-house film, so I want to film this art-house film like a real image film. That’s a tempting proposal for a director of photography ! A sort of score (the musical image yet again) existed, but it left plenty of room for improvisation, or even to displays of virtuosity ; everyone had their moment (I have memories of an indoor scene at twilight...). My assistant (Océane Lavergne) enjoyed several, in fact ! A constantly moving camera with a 2.35 frame (Super 35), the understanding of Mathieu Caudroy for the Steadicam and once again Jean-Marie Lavalou who found us a way of filming an impossible shot on a staircase. Danis shared his desires with us, keeping his promises on the set without imposing safety margins for his editing or his directing. He allowed me to use a photographic style which, without searching for “effect” is never insignificant.

Rather than explaining all the technicalities of the film’s images, I would prefer to tell you two anecdotes from the shooting. The first one : a sensitive scene between two actresses in a house at dusk. I began my “pre-light” while Danis was playing the piano... This is one of the key scenes in the film. Marie Gillain comes into the semi-darkness of a house and stands facing her friend in front of a window. It was dusk and no lights were lit. In front of my camera, there were two silhouettes against a grey background... We rehearsed, the shot was a long one and I felt that during shooting, the two actresses were going to throw themselves into each other’s arms and that we wouldn’t be able to see any more, and yet I felt this was right... Nevertheless, I asked my gaffer (Pascal Pajaud) to set up a weak fluo reflected on a poly, just to have an extra-soft face. We started filming and all of a sudden I heard ”CUT !!! Laurent what have you done, the rehearsal was perfect, switch that thing off !”, and he went on to explain that during the rehearsal, he had discovered that if the girls were virtually invisible, the scene took on a deeper meaning : the balance between what is said and what is revealed ; the unbearable would come later in the shot and the reverse shot he had just added, when their eyes finally became visible. Thank you Laurent, Action !

The second anecdote came about on the last day of shooting when we were on a hotel set rebuilt by Aline, in a circular corridor. Emmanuelle Béart, my grip (Gil Fontbone) and myself were all having trouble understanding the set-up. The assistant director (Olivier Jaquet), realising this, called Danis over to tell him we hadn’t a clue... But all three of us told him to keep his mouth shut. We didn’t want to know any more, we felt that Danis had left us in this mess so that we could all find exactly what should be done when we actually filmed the scene. I can’t talk about the film’s images without mentioning Isabelle Julien’s magnificent work at Éclair Numérique, besides the colours and shades she succeeded in enhancing the creative licence that Danis had left us. I dare to hope that Krzysztof Kieslowski would have liked this film.”

(Translated from French by Moira Tulloch)

Technique

Film stock : Kodak 5246 and 5229
Camera equipment : Technovision, Arri 535 B and Aaton 35, Cooke S4 series
Laboratories : Eclair
Digital and photochemical grading : Isabelle Julien.