What drew you to Bonnaire and Luchini?
I had known Sandrine Bonnaire ever since MONSIEUR HIRE (“Mr Hire”), and was waiting for just the right opportunity to work with her again. As soon as this script was done, she was the obvious choice. She accepted the role immediately. Anna is a different range, more ambiguous, more raw as well. It’s an opportunity to discover her in another way. With Fabrice Luchini, it was a different story. I had only known him as a spectator. Alain Sarde and Christine Gozlan suggested his name and I thought it was a wonderful idea. This role is rather new for him, deeper, more exposed… In this film, he is not fundamentally different from what he is in real life, but he reveals a sort of humanity, of fragility, and quite unexpected feelings. As far as I am concerned, we have never seen either Sandrine or Fabrice quite like this before. When Sandrine, in the role of Anna, says such raw things, with such incredible confidence, and that sort of almost angelic calm, it is very strong. She becomes distu
