Press Conference: “Frontier of Dawn”

For the press conference about his film The Frontier of Dawn, screened today in Competition, French director Philippe Garrel was accompanied by actors Louis Garrel, Laura Smet, and Clémentine Poidatz, cinematographer William Lubtchansky, and producer Edouard Weil.

Philippe Garrel, on the choice of black-and-white: “If the film had been in color, it would have been more difficult to make the apparitions believable. I copied Jean Cocteau, and because Cocteau filmed in black-and-white, it seemed like the obvious choice to me. Henri Langlois once advised me never to abandon black-and-white, and I think black-and-white cinema will never disappear. The exciting thing about using black-and-white is that once you see the finished film, you compare it to black-and-white motion-picture history, not that of color movies.”

Laura Smet, on the character she plays: “Carole is a magnificent character, very sensitive, a young woman who, when slightly lost, encounters love. In relation to Clémentine’s character, who is magnificent and perfect, Carole has an unreal aura. That’s why she reappears. This is the first time I’ve wept while reading a screenplay. It’s very poetic. It’s a very intense story about the fusion of two different people into one. It could almost be a silent film.”

Louis Garrel, on what it was like to work with his father: “Naturally, when we’re shooting, I forget that he’s my father. I don’t construct the character; I’m more like the envoy or the missionary of the director, whether it is my father or someone else. I draw inspiration from him, I cannibalize him. I do mini-portraits.”

Philippe Garrel, on the supernatural: “The apparitions were crafted on the set, but we couldn’t do it in a single take: the apparition mechanism required several rehearsals, as well as a lot of concentration from the actors and the crew. Many of the surrealists were atheists, and treated the supernatural as a source of reverie or romance. I think that’s a good way to approach the theme. But nothing is more disturbing than the supernatural in cinema.”

Philippe Garrel, on the film’s romantic dimension: “The film is vaguely inspired by a Théophile Gautier short story, “Spirit.” In the story, an unknown woman makes an apparition in a mirror. She asks the person looking at her to join her in death, to live with her in eternity. It’s a romantic myth. The first title of the film was “Le Ciel des Anges” (“Heaven of the Angels”), an expression I found in one of Aragon’s books. Later, “La Frontière de l’Aube” (“Frontier of Dawn”) struck me as slightly more disturbing. In the film, there is this idea of the devil, because the suicide represents the devil.”

Philippe Garrel on cultural policy: “Today, in France, 0.4 % of the national budget is spent on culture. During the 1980s, the figure was closer to 1%; it was actually about 0.8%. Today, that has been halved, and that explains everything. Whereas, at the same time, all of the professions related to culture are thriving, and children are being taught art… It’s totally contradictory. If the government wants to save money, fine, but then it should also cut the payroll in the police departments.”