Family girl
‘I NEVER THOUGHT THAT I'D WORK WITH ANYONE ELSE BUT MY FATHER'
Kaleem Aftab catches up with cultural French aristocrat Charlotte Gainsbourg to talk about movies, music, and motherhood
harlotte (iainsbourg is alluring. Tall and lithe
with dark long hair dropping past her visage
she‘s far from a classic beauty. What she does have is a sense of mystery. and it‘s this quality that ltalian filmmaker Emanuelle Crialese makes use of in The Golden Door. (iainsbourg is the only non— ltalian on a boat heading to Ellis Island and the promised land of America at the beginning of the 20th century. Lucy is on a mission to marry someone on the boat before they arrive on the other side of the pond. It was a part that Gainsbourg desperately wanted to play. She reveals. ‘I met Emanuelle after just having seen Respiro. l was under that film‘s charm and completely convinced that he was someone really interesting. He was really convincing with his passion for the story. He has pictures of real people on the boat and on Ellis Island with him. The tests on lillis Island were something I really didn't know about. My dad being a Russian immigrant in France has always tnade me fascinated with immigrant stories.‘
(iainsbourg‘s film acting choices of late have been as fabulous as they have been varied. Reputable filmmakers on the rise. Alejandro Gonzalez [narritu and Dominic Moll. deployed her indefinable talents well in 2/ Grams and Lemming respectively and Michel (iondry painted her as the girl next door in The .S'eienee of Sleep. She can soon be seen in Todd Haynes' highly anticipated Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There.
The 35-year-old has always struggled to escape
38 THE LIST 21 Jun—5 Jul 2007
from the shadow of her parents. Serge (iainsbourg and Jane Birkin. One such struggle was the production of her album. 5:55. last year. The art pop album was a cathartic exercise that has. she says. been a long time coming. ‘I did an album with my father 2() years ago and I‘ve been thinking about doing another record for the past It) years. At first I never thought that I‘d work with anyone else but my father. Gradually [just wanted to find the right people to work with. Once I met with [French electro bandl Air. but it was still difficult to go into the studio and record everything.‘
Her parents were known. perhaps unfairly. for their unsteady drink-fuelled union. In complete contrast she seems to have the picture perfect marriage with actor Yvan Attal (Miinieh. The Car Keys) with whom she has two kids. Gainsbourg. who spent four months filming The Golden Door on location in Argentina and Italy. says. ‘It was very difficult not to see my family. I never had to do this before even for a month. it was horrible. I took a decision after this film to never do this again. i won‘t sacrifice my fatnin for film.‘ And with that she begins to fumble. not for a fistful of Gitanes. but for her tnobilc. while politely intoning her farewells. The video promo for her debut single ‘Lemon lncest‘. in which the l4-year-old Charlotte frolicked provocativer with her father. suddenly seems a very long time ago indeed.
The Golden Door is on selected release from Fri 29 Jun.
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THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
=3: The Golden Door Dreamy and surreal tale of Europe to US immigration in the early part of the 20th century starring Charlotte Gainsbourg. See interview. left and Also Released. page 41. Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 29 Jun.
=3: Jan Svankmaler A dizzying selection of films from the innovative Czech animator, including his versions of Faust. Alice, Little Otik, plus his newest work Lunacy. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh from Wed 27 Jun.
5% Black Gold Fascinating documentary which reveals who‘s really creaming your daily cup of coffee. GFT, Glasgow, Tue 26~ Thu 28 Jun.
3'5: London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival On Tour The best new LGBT films come knocking again. Filippino coming of age drama The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros and French judicial drama Beyond Hatred are of particular interest this year. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh from Wed 20 Jun.
5?: Dans Paris Quirky French romantic comedy starring heartthrobs Romain The Beat That My Heart Skipped Duris and Louis Regular Lovers Garrel. GFT. Glasgow, Thu 27 Jun and selected release.
>2 Jindabyne Supremely mature Australian Raymond Carver adaptation about murder, fishing and reparations. Fi/mhouse. Edinburgh from Fri 29 Jun.
=i< John Cage Very welcome season of rarely screened film works relating to the great avant garde musician. Curated to coincide with exhibition at lnverleith House in Edinburgh. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, from Thu 27 Jun.
is The Oshlma Box Set Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima‘s two most famous films, The Realm of the Senses and Empire of Passion, are restored and remastered in this lovely new collection. See DVD Round-up, page 42. Out Mon 2 July (Nouveaux Pictures).