LE TRIANGLE D'OR © Les Films de Pierre
Le Triangle d’or: a gilded prison, according to Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz
In her first feature film, Le Triangle d’or, presented in the Special Screenings section, Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz immerses us in the prison-like world of a mansion owned by a Saudi prince, where Souria, the mistress of the house, lives alongside her new employee, Laura, who, to earn her living, is forced to cater to her every whim. Despite everything, a fragile bond begins to form between the two women. Interview with the director.
How did you come up with the idea for this film?
I myself worked as a maid for a wealthy Saudi woman on Avenue Foch in Paris. Based on that experience, we did a lot of research. All the situations are based on events that were recounted to us — either by Saudi women we spoke with on the phone or by people who work for the extremely wealthy, luxury concierge services, nannies, and personal assistants, etc. Based on my own experience, there were whole staffs. For the film, I wanted to narrow it down and have it be a closed-world.
“When you are a woman, it’s never quite right — you’re either too much or not enough.”
In your earlier films, specifically in your short film Les Reines du Mambo (Mambo Queens), you also explore female pairings. What attracts you to that theme?
The characters of Souria and Laura represent two polar opposites, two different ways of approaching femininity. Laura is all about power and physicality, almost to the point of rejecting femininity. In contrast, Souria exudes a hyper-femininity. When you are a woman, it’s never quite right: you’re either too much or not enough.
What is your own definition of femininity?
I grew up in a very masculine environment in the suburbs of Paris, where I rejected anything that could be seen as stereotypically feminine, then I went to the opposite extreme by embracing the conventions of hyperfemininity. Writing this film was also like experiencing, but in reverse, the emergence of a kind of feminist consciousness. Suddenly, I realized that my identity as a woman had an impact on my life.
How did you go about casting your actors?
We had Malou [Khebizi] do a screen test, and she was fantastic. She’s a former gymnast. She also has a great sense of humor, a very upbeat personality, and a way of portraying social oppression without overstating it. She had a profound understanding of the issues Laura was facing.
For the character of Souria, in fact Soundos Mosbah had already auditioned for the role back then, for Les Mains sales (Dirty Hands) [a short film of which Le Triangle d’or is the long version, editor’s note]. At that time, she may not yet have had the authority, the kind that comes with class contempt, to play the role of Madame. Then, during the screentest for Le Triangle d’or, she walked back into the room and totally blew us away. She was wearing makeup, had borrowed some clothes — she seriously wanted to portray this character.
Do class conflict and the attitude toward work also feed into your films?
Yes, because I grew up poor. I worked various jobs for nearly twenty years: hostess, cashier, sales clerk, and waitress. I’ve always wondered about what money really represents and the way it’s used. When I worked there, what struck me was that people could leave a €200 tip. €200 was more than two days’ pay for me. On one hand, you’re glad to receive it, but at the same time, it feels extremely violent. There’s something indecent about it.
The film virtually never leaves this house, which is filmed as if it were a kind of maze. How did you come up with the directorial approach?
My cinematographer and I were determined not to get distracted by the setting or the luxury. To achieve this, we focused on the characters, how they interacted, and how they moved around. Video surveillance became a key element of the staging quite early on. We needed to create a system where the camera was like the eyes of the house, all-seeing.
What was the atmosphere like on set?
It was a very smooth process. I felt like I had surrounded myself with people with whom I was able to truly collaborate. This was my first feature film, so it was incredibly helpful at times to be able to say, “I’m not sure about this.” I found that both enjoyable and productive.
What was your relationship like with the set, which is like a character in its own right?
Normally, a home is a place where you feel at ease. Here, it feels like a prison. When I worked for extremely wealthy people, I noticed that the interiors were often clinically neutral. In this mansion, the servants’ quarters are in the basement and have bars on the windows. That kind of wealth makes all people and everyone it exploits invisible. Food waste, material waste, and the exploitation of bodies.
