Light up the Void  

The enfant terrible of cinema, the provocateur, the man who brings scandal. And yet… Behind its exhibitionist bravado, behind the somewhat gimmicky 3D, behind the unsimulated sex scenes, Love is above all a magnificent love story, melancholic and sincere, in which Gaspar Noé bares his heart. We met him during his visit to the last Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.

Love is a long-term project; you've been working on it for over 10 years, haven't you ?

"I wrote it six months before shooting Irreversible, as a backup project I wanted to perhaps launch while waiting for Enter the Void to be made. I approached Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci, who agreed in principle, then declined after reading the script, but it did allow me to find the money to make a film with them, which became Irreversible. Once Irreversible was released, it took me a very long time to find the financing, shoot, and post-produce Enter the Void, which was my main obsession at the time, but I kept Love as a backup project that I had nevertheless grown attached to and that I also wanted to make. The truth is, then, that the three films were more or less conceived around the same time, even if their development was spread out over time." Gaspar Noé

And what parallels do you see between these three concurrent films ?

"Oh yes, there are some. The question of motherhood, for example. In several ways, Vincent Cassel's character also resembles Karl Glusman's in Love and the one played by Nathaniel Brown in Enter the Void : three guys with short hair, wearing jackets like in Taxi Driver…" GN

Three versions of yourself ?

"Yes, absolutely. Bigger and better looking, though (laughs)" GN

When so much time passes between the inception of a project and its completion, are you ever disappointed with the final result ?

"No, what happens is that the reality around you changes and changes the nature of the film. Today, for example, I can no longer separate Love from Aomi (Muyock) or Karl. For me, they are an integral part of the film, especially since we see them in close-up, in all their details. Similarly, with Irreversible, I can no longer imagine it without Monica and Vincent; it would be a different film. So, I'm happy with it. I'm fortunate to be a bit of a perfectionist, which posed a problem for technicians who are less so than me—but perfectionism is a quality—but it also means that I don't let go of the film until I'm sure of every single cut and every single effect." GN

It's still surprising that you thought of Bellucci and Cassel for Love …

"It wasn't the original idea to offer them the roles; I was planning to do it with a couple of unknown actors, but by chance, he became interested in the project, and so, thanks to their names, the money came in. But it's fortunate they withdrew because it allowed us to make Irreversible, and I don't know what my life would have been like if I had started by making Love with the two of them. It certainly would have been a little less sexual. Besides, at the time, the film was called Danger. And since my life was also different back then, it might also have been a little less melancholic." GN

Given the couple's fame and the eras they represent, we might have also wanted to compare it to Eyes Wide Shut …

"Ah yes, that's true. But Eyes Wide Shut is a fantasy world, not a film about romantic passion. Among films that truly address it, I'm thinking of Bad Timing by Nicolas Roeg, which tells the story of how it goes to your head, how you become blind when you're addicted to someone. More recently, there was also Blue Is the Warmest Color, which dealt with the same subject, even if it was between two women." GN

The representation of sexuality has always been problematic…

"…no, it isn't for filmmakers or producers. It's problematic on a social, commercial level, in terms of distribution. And in terms of audience reception, I don't know why, but eroticism has somewhat disappeared from our visual landscape since the 80s and 90s. Society was much sexier and more sexual back then than it is today. Today, what prevails are fashion magazines, a clean, self-conscious image, a bit slutty or overly muscular. But there has been a drying up of eroticism in Western culture. I used to enjoy seeing photos and posters for erotic films when I was 15. Today, there aren't any anymore." GN

A new puritanism, perhaps ?

"Yes, but one that isn't decided by the state. It's more as if it's been decided unconsciously on a large scale. We're entering an increasingly consumerist society where even sexual desire is dissociated from affection. Any kid can find pornographic images on their iPhone, but we no longer see carnal, tactile images that represent romantic passion, with all the dangers of addiction that this implies. It's strange that this subject has become taboo not out of obligation but unconsciously." GN

A taboo that's also infiltrating the artistic sphere, in your opinion ?

"Today, I feel like the only images where we see lovers, passion, are found in museums. Some photographers, like Nan Goldin, photograph couples making love, and when we see that, we think it's wonderful because it's so normal. Love is essential; it's a life force. The rest is manufactured. We live in a hyper-consumer society where sex becomes a selling point, provided it's completely tame, sanitized, and devoid of animality. But it's not black and white. Men and women are red. Inside, it's just blood, muscle, and bone. And it seems like we're trying to make the human species spiritual and make it feel guilty about its animal side. But there is nothing more normal or joyful than making love with someone you are madly in love with." GN

Listening to you, I was thinking about the work of Larry Clark, which almost dehumanizes sexuality…

"I think Clark's vision of sexuality is closer to Pasolini's, which is also often linked to prostitution or the desperate desire for social integration, to love being bought and sold in one way or another. But he doesn't describe romantic passion. There is indeed a consumerist form of sex, even in everyday life. I have plenty of sex-addicted friends, but I didn't want to make that my subject; I wanted to talk about a boy and a girl who precisely don't want that and who want a passionate love story in a world like the one we know, and who make promises to each other that they can't keep." GN

Would you say this is your most sincere film ?

"In any case, it's the one that most closely resembles life as I've lived it or am living it. I'm not recounting a murder or a rape I didn't witness, I'm not talking about an afterlife I don't know and don't believe in. These are more common things. GN

Murphy and Electra are young. Why was that important to you ?

"Because I thought that it's around 20 that you can really start your first real love story. When you're in high school, you discover sexuality, but not necessarily love. The first person you sleep with isn't necessarily the one you'll have a long-term relationship with. First, there's a discovery of your body, and then a discovery of the emotional, romantic state." GN

Obviously, a love story is bound to be melodramatic. What's your relationship to this genre ?

"I enjoy crying at the movies. I enjoy making others cry, and I enjoy being made to cry. The film is melodramatic because from the beginning, we know that the love story we're about to see is outdated, obsolete, and we sense that, in the main character's mind, it meant much more to him than the one he's currently experiencing. It's as if he's fallen two emotional floors. Everyone can identify with it in one way or another. Who hasn't been broken by misunderstandings, or by someone spreading lies? The problem, essentially, is jealousy and all the mechanisms it triggers. Even the least jealous people, at some point, can't help but be jealous. But yes, I've seen a lot of melodramas. You see, for me, even Haneke's Amour is a melodrama. And then I love all the Douglas Sirk films, Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass, Scorsese's The Age of Innocence… I love those kinds of films with stories of impossible love. I think the closer the stories are to our own lives, the more touching they are." GN

For some, wanting to make the viewer cry is more manipulative, even indecent, than showing sex.

"I see no indecency in either. When you're in love, you get an erection, you get excited, you experience pleasure, and you cry when you lose or fear losing the object of your desire. Personally, I like having all those sensations in the film." GN

Love is a film of profound melancholy, and I feel that this is primarily achieved through the directing, the widescreen format, the music, and the voice-over ?

"I think it comes from the personalities of the people I filmed, from the narrative structure, and from the camera's stillness. But also largely thanks to the music. Without the music, I think the film would be more ordinary, less conventional. It adds a sense of familiarity because it makes it feel like a movie, a big-budget 3D widescreen spectacle like the Americans make, but the melodies are rather melancholic and create a feeling of sadness in the viewer more easily than the scene alone could. And as for the widescreen format, I've made all my films that way because I find it's a bit closer to the format of retinal perception for someone with two eyes. If you close one eye, it looks more like 1:33, but with stereoscopic vision, when you add the two 1:33s together, it looks more like scope." GN

Would it be wrong to say that you have a rather fetishistic relationship with cinema ?

"I have a passionate relationship with cinema, yes! It's my obsession, and it even takes on a shamanic aspect; it's almost like a drug. But it's a drug I was addicted to before I started having romantic relationships with girls! It's filled a lot of my life, ever since I was 10. But it's true that after I turned 17, and started film school, it became more divided between romantic relationships and relationships with cinema. To each their own! I'm an atheist; religious aesthetics don't speak to me, but writings about cinema or the films themselves speak to me much more." GN

How did you find and choose your actors ?

"A friend who works as a bouncer at a nightclub recommended him. He lives in Los Angeles where he's an actor, so we Skyped, hit it off, and I paid for his plane ticket so I could meet him in Paris. I spotted Aomi at a party; I thought she was incredibly charismatic, so I contacted her. At first, she said no, she probably wouldn't do the film, but then she changed her mind at the last second because she'd met the other guys who were potential Murphys and she didn't feel it, but she found Karl very different from the others. And Clara (Christine), I saw her dancing at a nightclub. I thought she danced so well that I took her number and called her back the next day. I did some tests and, contrary to all expectations, for a girl who had never been filmed before, she was incredibly comfortable and good at improvising. Initially, she was a more timid character, but I changed her to a more dominant version to better suit her." GN

One last question: for you, the most beautiful love story is…?

"Oh, there are so many. Mamma Roma is a lovely love story. There's also a Japanese animated film, Grave of the Fireflies; the story between the brother and sister is very beautiful." GN

Interview conducted by Helen Faradji at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, October 9, 2015

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