A4 Films Presents

LOOK AT ME

A film by Agnès Jaoui

2004 Cannes Film Festival - Official Selection

A Sony Pictures Classics Release

Visit the Sony Pictures Classics Internet site at:

http:/www.sonyclassics.com

Synopsis

This is the story of Lolita Cassard, a 20-year-old who is angry at the whole world because she doesn’t look like the girls in the magazines, nor like her step-mother, and who would so love to be beautiful, at least in the eyes of her father or even have him look at her at all. But it’s also the story of a man, Etienne Cassard, who doesn’t look at the other people very much because he spends so much time looking at himself, he can feel himself getting older, he too knows what it’s like to be unloved, and because he’s had to fight to get where he is. It’s the sorry of a writer, Pierre Miller, who doesn’t believe in it anymore, and who doesn’t believe he’ll ever become successful until the moment when he does and when he meets Etienne Cassard. It’s the story of a singing teacher, Sylvia Miller, who believes in her husband and in his talent, but who doubts her own and that of her pupil Lolita, until the moment when she realizes she’s the daughter of Etienne Cassard, that author she so admires. It’s the story of human beings who know perfectly what they would do in someone else’s place but don’t do very well in their own.

An Interview with Agnés Jaoui & Jean-Pierre Bacri Agnés Jaoui, LOOK AT ME is your second feature as a director. What was it like for you tackling your second film? A.J.: My first experience made me pay more attention to certain things. But cinema is that bizarre art where you prepare thousands of things for months, but where suddenly, it’s the moment that counts, knowing how to capture things at the right moment, sometimes filming the actors without them knowing. As with THE TASTE OF OTHERS, I’d prepared a shooting script beforehand, but that didn’t stop Stéphane Fontaine, my director of photography, from suggesting things to me. We took the time to discuss things, and I had enough confidence to welcome that flexibility. As an actress, I’ve worked on small-budget films where one has the “luxury” of being more spontaneous which sometimes leads to some wonderful things. I didn’t want to deprive myself of that. Jean-Pierre Bacri, have you seen a change in the way Agnés Jaoui directs, in contrast to THE TASTE OF OTHERS? J.P.B.: I’ve seen somebody who knows much more what she wanted, someone more self-sufficient. What was the starting point for the script? A.J.: A father/daughter relationship, and also having a father with a girlfriend her age. That’s something I’ve experienced, that I’ve seen and that we’ve wanted to deal with for a long time in the theater. And we also wanted to talk about power, even if we’d already begun exploring this theme a little in KITCHEN WITH APARTMENT. But power from the point of view of those who tolerate it, not from the bully’s point of view. Not a day goes by when I’m not astonished to see how people accept how others speak to them, treat them, squash them and mock them, when if they rebelled against it they wouldn’t be risking being sent to prison or finding themselves up against a firing squad. I’m not talking about resistance during wartime. I’m stunned by this lack of resistance. In thinking about it, I realized that obviously, if one hasn’t succeeded in saying “no” to one’s father, there is little chance that one would be able to say “no” to one’s boss, one’s manager or to an equal either. In the end, the two themes work together quite well. The singing and the music seem to be quite important in the film. A.J.: I’ve been performing music since the age of 17. I love it and one of my dreams has been to share that love. I started feeling passionately about music the first time I went to an academy for singers. Music is so beautiful when it’s live. I began in the theatre when I was 15 and I quickly saw that there was an extraordinarily violent injustice in terms of one’s physique. When I was 16, I already felt old because Sophie Marceau who had just done LA BOUM was a star at 13. There was a completely crazy, monstrous, illogical connection with time. You could be a star at 17, and then nothing at 22… It was ridiculous. In music, it’s kind of the opposite. You can’t begin working your voice until you’re 16

or 17 and the more you work, the better your voice, until you’re 60. But I have just learned that even at the Opera school, they don’t take girls who are too fat. But it’s not your shape that’s important; it’s your work. That independence of the voice is a kind of “up yours” to the tyranny of the image… A.J.: Yes, exactly. Well, I for one found it enormously appeasing. I began singing because I was wasting away in theatre classes, and I felt I wasn’t anything. At least with music, I was learning something. But I don’t think I would have had the rigors you need to become a professional singer. Its sport - you can’t drink or smoke. I’ve always sung privately and as an amateur but, for the last three years, I’ve been working with the vocal ensemble that is in the film. Last summer, we did some small concerts here and there and I wanted them to be in the film. One of the biggest challenges in the film was trying to recreate the emotion one feels when one listens to live music. There was a lot of discussion with Jean-Pierre Duret, the sound engineer, and Daniel Deshays who did the recordings. I didn’t want too clean a sound and definitely didn’t want to clean up the imperfections because we are, for the most part, amateurs and it’s these imperfections that move me. We decided it had to be live sound as much as possible. Everyone really sang, apart from Marilou Berry. But she did a lot of preparation with Mahé Goufan and Bernadette Val, who has been my teacher for 20 years. I met her at the Amandiers in Nanterre with Patrice Chéreau, where she had come to teach us to sing. It was epic! There is a great deal of fluidity in LOOK AT ME. Do you think your love for singing has influenced your directing? A.J.: I’d like to think so in any case! The difficulty was having to select the pieces of music before the shoot, because most of them were part of the filming. I made up a CD and I’d read the script with the music on. But it’s not the same; I had to use my imagination. I knew from the start where I wanted the music, but in the first edit there was much too much. I love music so much that I lose my objectivity. But little by little, I took it out. But I knew which music would go where. I also knew that I shouldn’t put too much different music because an uninformed ear would have been worn out. You need time to recognize a tune. But at the same time, you shouldn’t always be hearing the same thing. It’s a question of the right dose, which I found hard to realize. These are tunes that I know by heart, that I love from deep inside. The beautiful thing about classical music is that you never get tired of it. “Cosi Fan Tutte” for example has been used a great deal - it’s an extremely cinematographic tune. I wanted to call the film that. In fact, in Italy, the film will be called “Cosi Fan Tutti” - “Everyone Does It.” It truly is the excuse for bad behavior. J.P.B.: At one time, we also wanted to call the film “The Right Reasons.” One always has a good reason for compromising, justifying oneself by talking about necessity. Someone bulled by their boss will tell you they have a family to feed and they must work and they have to accept it. Lolita gives the excuse that

Etienne is her father. Vincent accepts being Etienne’s flunkey because Etienne did him a favor 25 years before. Everyone always has a good reason for being a vassal. But at the same time, there are many people who say no way and leave their job, even if they do have a family to feed. It’s a question of dignity and character. A.J.: Most people need bosses, kings, gods or fathers, people who tell them what they should and shouldn’t do. J.P.B.: Power is something vacant. It’s a place taken by people who are interested in it. Like the place of vassals in the past. A king doesn’t exist without the court around them. Otherwise they are a king exposed. A.J.: Bosses are also there for us to hate, and to blame. All that rather than being adult and assuming one’s responsibilities - it’s true but it’s hard. In his own way, Sébastien, Lolita’s boyfriend, represents this form of resistance… J.P.B.: Yes, Sébastien is the most free character, in terms of these power relationships that link these individuals. Why did you choose to site LOOK AT ME in the world of publishing? J.P.B.: It’s a simple reason - we were looking for a place where power could be exercised, but avoiding the one we know best. So we shifted the cinema milieu into the world of publishing, but Etienne could have been a great architect or some high-powered boss, it doesn’t really make any difference. We know people’s relationships function the same everywhere. There is always a little bit of power to take somewhere, and people always behave the same way. Lolita is twenty. Is this the first time you have dealt with such a young character? A.J.: We were getting fed up with people always asking us why there are never young people in our films. And as we wanted to deal with the father/daughter relationship, it worked out quite well. It also allowed us to tackle more head-on power of the image and different ways of behaving than in our previous films. Lolita is at an age where one is looking for one’s self. And all the more so because she’s not a size 10. It’s violent at any age but more so at 20. The tyranny of beauty is totally permitted today. We are not allowed to be racist - and quite right too - but being racist about body shape doesn’t seem to bother anyone. You just have to look at all those images devoted to the cult of youth and beauty - well, a certain kind of beauty that is more and more limited. There is only one model left and inevitably that limits the possibilities of identification and creates more unhappiness. Everything we compare ourselves to makes unhappiness but there, it’s worse than anything else. There are anorexic girls, girls who are dying - this is serious. Even the more intelligent ones become crazy and stupid when they talk about weight and physique. I know hardly anyone who is normal on this subject.

On the masculine side, there is the model incarnated by Robert Mitchum, the virile cowboy from the Westerns that Sébastien watches on television while waiting for Lolita… A.J.: Another possible title for the film was “Girls’ Tears And Boys’ Anger.” Lolita carries the weight of beauty on her shoulders - she ought to correspond to a well-gauged physical model. Boys are more relaxed about that side of things but they owe it to themselves to be virile. J.B.P.: It’s no less traumatic! The burden is just as heavy to bear. The scene at the end where Lolita sings is a kind of crisis point. Suddenly everybody manages to be together…. A.J.: Yes, apart from the father! It’s stronger than anything - he can’t dedicate himself to anyone other than himself. After those panoramic shots of the harmonious faces of the audience, absorbed in the show, we end up on Etienne’s absent and annoyed face. Etienne can’t even give that tiny bit of attention to his daughter. When we were writing, we had some problems with this character. We had several different models in our heads and there were some who were so odious…but the other danger was making him too nice, all the more so considering we knew it was Jean-Pierre who was going to play the part. We were very afraid that the audience might think he was a great guy, while really he’s someone appalling. So we had to find the right balance.

In that final scene, there is the belief that when people are absorbed by their art, when they are in their place, they are inevitably beautiful… A.J.: Yes, when they are at their job. That’s what I wanted to film. In fact, another possible title was “In Their Place.” All the characters in the film are looking for their place, just a small one. Mainly Lolita. The television show to which Pierre is invited is the absolute negation of that right place. The people aren’t invited on to it for what they do… A.J.: Many people starting off in that job say they will never go on that sort of show, until they are invited on and they are flattered. If you talk about success today, you cannot confront that kind of scene. One could claim that Etienne

would have his daughter’s grace when she sings, if you filmed him busy writing and not being sadistic towards others… I’m afraid that this character is difficult to save! Well perhaps, when he cries and says that nobody has ever loved him. One imagines he’s certainly lacked love and recognition himself. There is a clue… J.P.B.: …and the human element. My character is egocentric. He is only concerned with himself and he’s quite right to do so because nobody contradicts him! It’s not even that he doesn’t have a political conscience and if one has the material or physical means, it’s easy to be egocentric. Does knowing you are going to perform change the way you direct? A.J.: No, it’s being a screenwriter that counts more for me. I have trouble not giving parts that are the author’s words to myself. I think that’s because I’m not confident enough. I would be afraid that someone else wouldn’t be able to play what I want to say in the film in the way I want it said. J.P.B.: Agnés always plays the characters that we like as the writer. Whereas I don’t. It’s about time that changed! A.J.: No, why? You play them so well. Jean-Pierre Bacri, how do you assume the role of a character that is “difficult to save”? J.P.B.: You try to save him all the same, but it was difficult sometimes because Agnés asked me to do things I didn’t like. For example, she said to me: “the whole time this woman is speaking, you mustn’t look at her.” I often had to force myself to be so disrespectful. She had to call me to order because I don’t know how to do selfishness to that extent. A.J.: I had to tell him: “Don’t listen. Turn away. You’re fooling around with a friend and what this girl is telling you is no business of yours whatsoever. Ultimately, it’s irritating you. Cut her off, you’re too nice.” J.P.B.: Yes, sometimes I was a bit too nice! A.J.: I’m thinking of the scene where Karine is crying and I thought that you could have been nastier…. J.P.B.: Yes but as she’d just left him, he’s weaker and he makes a spectacle of this weakness. He wants to be cute. A.J.: That’s true, it’s a classic bully’s move - suddenly show you’re an angel, a victim.

J.P.B.: They are angels [for] just the [amount of] time it takes for reconciliation. That’s the way they get us. It’s funny to play because I know it so well. It made me laugh. But as an actor, I always say to myself: “Put everything human you have in your character.” Agnés Jaoui, with this second film, do you feel you are directing the actors differently? A.J.: I rehearsed with all the actors, even more than with THE TASTE OF OTHERS, even for the smallest parts. This preparatory work is essential; it stops the actor from freezing up. I don’t think I’ve changed my way of directing but what’s new is working with young actors, who haven’t worked before. Of course you don’t direct them the same way. The difference between them and more hardened actors is that they don’t know how far they can go, what exactly they can give. How did you decide on the casting? A.J.: We knew that I would play Sylvia and that Jean-Pierre would play Etienne. And we’d also written for Serge Riaboukine, who I’d met on Christophe Blanc’s AN OUTGOING WOMAN. After that, of course the first role to fill was Lolita’s. We started more than a year in advance, with Brigitte Moidon, my casting director. The amazing thing was that there are no ‘fat’ girls in drama schools. Well, there’s one in a thousand! And in general, they are the “I accept it, this is me, I feel good about myself” kind – like Molière’s Toinette – which didn’t correspond to the character. At the start, did you consider picking someone off the street? A.J.: Yes, we tried once or twice. We also looked at singers. But it was a complicated, very crafted role. Of course, you can pinch things, and rewrite, but given the way we work, I thought it would be complicated. Soon after, Brigitte showed me a tape, saying: “I’m not telling you who it is, watch and then tell me.” It was Marilou Berry and I liked her instantly. She had a side to her that was unhappy with herself and at that same time, her face told you to go fuck yourself. She corresponded to Lolita’s character. When Brigitte told me she was Josiane Balasko’s daughter, I hesitated for a moment: taking on the daughter of an actor who already has more chance than someone else…But I decided I wasn’t going to give myself a hard time about it! Did the fact that Marilou Berry is herself the child of a celebrity help her take on the role? A.J.: You’ll have to ask her. I’ve never spoken to her about that. Marilou just told me how people would step on her toes to say hello to her mother, and that some people changed their attitude when they knew she was the daughter. That, she has experienced. But, I don’t know if it helped her perform.

And Virginie Desarnauts who plays Karine, Etienne’s girlfriend? A.J.: Funnily enough, she was the hardest character to cast. There was a plethora of girls with her figure, but the kindness was missing. For the tests, I had them do the scene where Karine is crying and when she tries on the clothes when she’s with Lolita. At the start, you want to slap Karine because she moans about having put on 12 grams. But once she realizes she’s there for Lolita and she encourages her to try on the little top, she’s someone sincere and kind. And that was the thing that so many actresses couldn’t play – they didn’t have the kindliness. Virginie did. And Laurent Grevill, who plays your partner? A.J.: That wasn’t a nice easy role. It needed someone with virility and strength, someone you didn’t think was the weak guy who would get taken for a ride then change sides. If you saw that from the start, it wouldn’t be interesting. Laurent was with me at Nanterre, and I’ve wanted to work with him for a long time. When we did the tests, we hadn’t worked together for 14 years. We found we were suddenly quite taken by the emotion of working together again, like an old couple who meet once more. You gave the role of Pierre’s editor to Michèle Moretti… A.J.: She’s an actress I’ve admired for a very long time. I saw her in Téchiné’s THE WILD REEDS and I adored her. We offered her the role very quickly. I think she’s funny yet moving. And Keine Bouhiza, who plays Sébastien? He’s done shorts, but this is his first feature. He’s a guy I’ve known for a long time, and he worked in production before taking acting classes. When I wrote Sébastien’s role with Jean-Pierre, we were thinking of Buster Keaton in THE CAMERAMAN, a hero despite himself. Keine has that dimension. He instinctively looked at Marilou with a great deal of tenderness. The tests they did together were very sweet. Did you ask yourself a lot of questions about how to direct Lolita, how to view her and her complexes? A.J.: Yes and no. I think Lolita is beautiful and normal, truly. I just thought of really simply things. I wanted Marilou to wear black because most young people I know hide behind their clothes. I didn’t want to try and make her look more attractive, but I did really want her to be beautiful at the moment when she sings, and I talked about it to the director of photography and the makeup artist. I like changing physiques. Marilou has a Modigliani face, very crafted, very interested and expressive. And she takes light extremely well.

Why did you choose to work with the director of photography Stéphane Fontaine? A.J.: I knew that there would be many night and interior shots and I’d been looking for a certain theme in cinema, something not too lit and with depth, which leaves things up to the imagination, things that aren’t always exposed. I really liked Laurent Dailland’s work on THE TASTE OF OTHERS, but I wanted a different atmosphere, a different color. I met various cinematographers and I think it was Noémie Lvovsky and Francois Gédigier, the editor, who told me about Stéphane Fontaine who was assistant to Eric Gauthier, someone whose work I like. From our first meeting, I felt we were speaking the same cinematographic language, that when I spoke to him about the color of the OPENING NIGHT curtain for example, we were talking about the same red. The way you see the characters seems to have become more flexible. Their faults are no longer as stigmatized… J.P.B.: Well that’s good – it means progress! We know that we are rather partial to massacring our characters, sometimes explaining their faults through a megaphone. From time to time, we feel like giving people what for, saying to them “Have at least one personal thought before you die, don’t just repeat all the dictums you’ve learned since you were little. Invent an opinion for yourself. Look, question things.” But now we’re trying to shrug off that tendency to teach lessons. We’re trying to like our characters more, to defend them all as much as possible, from inside. Everything always comes from the human element, even tyranny. Our philosophy has changed. We have understood that tolerance and firmness are not incompatible. Finding justifications in a character doesn’t stop one firmly expressing one’s point of view. A.J.: Yes, we wanted to be less Manichean, even if I still like demonstrations, films with a point of view. When I haven’t got something to show, I don’t know how to go. But it’s true that we tended to underline things a bit too much, to really ram it home. There was a recurrent character in our films: Jean-Pierre’s wife in THE TASTE OF OTHERS, Martine in KITCHEN WITH APARTMENT, Sabine Azéma in SAME OLD SONG…Here, we decided we were going to stop using that recurring woman who conforms, squashed by received ideas, who doesn’t doubt anything, and who repeats all the bullshit she hears. When you write, do you each have your preferred characters? J.P.B.: No, we write everything together. There is a permanent discussion from the blank page to the final version. We advance gradually, honing our thoughts. Often, one of us has the initiative for an idea or a theme and the other polishes it with their eye, their distance from it. And the other one comes back when it’s their turn… Agnés Jaoui, were you already thinking about directing while you were writing? A.J.: Yes, more than the first time. For example, I thought the scene in the church would be beautiful to film. I could already see that Romanesque church. But I

didn’t think about it all that much. What are most important to me are the characters. Directing must be for their benefit. To give you an example, I learned with THE TASTE OF OTHERS that scenes in cars are particularly hard to shoot, but even so, that didn’t stop us writing three. If the scene has to take place in a car, then it will take place in a car. The direction adapts to it. J.P.B.: I think it’s good to not anticipate the stages, that the director, Agnés Jaoui takes our script and twists it in her own way. It’s a constraint that the art creates. If one does everything with the direction in mind, there’s a risk of getting into the little progression of writing eight months earlier, and being deprived suppositions and conjectures when that’s the thing that’s fun for a director. Well, I guess it is… Jean-Pierre Bacri, have you followed all the stages of the film after it was written? J.P.B.: No… A.J.: Yes of course. I ask his advice at every stage, especially during filming. J.P.B.: It’s true that I came along to the editing just to look half a dozen times, and I put in my bit when she asked me. How was the editing? A.J.: The script was too long but we couldn’t cut it. It was during editing that I did it. For the first time, the film is not the exact copy of the script, but in the end, I don’t miss any of the scenes that aren’t there any more. Even if it’s also the story of Pierre, Etienne, Sébastien and Karine, at a certain point, the film became naturally refocused on Sylvia and Lolita. It seems that LOOK AT ME is a darker film than THE TASTE OF OTHERS. In that film, it was the social and cultural barrier that separated the people. In LOOK AT ME, solitude seems intrinsic to human nature… A.J.: From the moment we began talking about power, there was a chance that we wouldn’t be very cheerful. People often say to us our films are about solitude and not listening. I think they are simply films about people and human relationships.

AGNES JAOUI FILMOGRAPHY

2004 LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE), Director, Actress LE RÔLE DE SA VIE, Actress 24 HOURS IN THE LIFE OF A WOMAN (24 HEURES DE LA VIE D’UNE FEMME) by Laurent Bouhnik, Actress

1999 THE TASTE OF OTHERS (LE GOÛT DES AUTRES), Director, Actress AN OUTGOING WOMAN (UNE FEMME D’EXTÉRIEUR), Actress

ON THE RUN, Actress LE COUSIN

1997 SAME OLD SONG (ON CONNAÎT LA CHANSON), Writer, Actress (César 1998 – Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay) LE DÉMÉNAGEMENT by Olivier Doran

1996 FAMILY RESEMBLANCES (UN AIR DE FAMILLE), Writer, Actress (Montréal 1996 – Jury Prize – Public Prize; César 1996 – Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress Nominee; Molière 1995)

1994 SMOKING NO SMOKING, Writer (César 1994)

1992 KITCHEN WITH APARTMENT (CUSINE ET DÉPENDANCES), Writer, Actress (Molière 1993)

1991 CANTI by Manuel Pradal, Actress 1987 HÔTEL DE FRANCE, Actress 1983 THE HAWK (LE FAUCON), Actress

JEAN-PIERRE BACRI FILMOGRAPHY 2004 LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE)

FEELINGS (LES SENTIMENTS) 2002 HOUSEKEEPER (UNE FEMME DE MÉNAGE) 1999 THE TASTE OF OTHERS (LE GOÛT DES AUTRES)

KENNEDY AND I (KENNEDY ET MOI) LE DÉMÉNAGEMENT

1997 DIDIER SAME OLD SONG (ON CONNAÎT LA CHANSON

PLACE VENDÔME 1996 FAMILY RESEMBLANCES (UN AIR DE FAMILLE) 1992 KITCHEN WITH APARTMENT (CUSINE ET DÉPENDANCES)

(Molière 1993) 1991 THE TRIBE (LA TRIBU) by Yves Boisset

THE MAN OF MY LIFE (L’HOMME DE MA VIE) 1989 LA BAULE-LES-PINS 1988 LES MEILLEURS COPAINS 1987 LES SAISONS DU PLAISIR

BONJOUR L’ANGOISSE 1986 ÉTATS D’ÂMES

DEATH ON A RAINY SUNDAY (MORT UN DIMANCHE DE PLUIE) L’ÉTÉ EN PENTE DOUCE

1985 HE DIED WITH HIS EYES OPEN (ON NE MEURT QUE DEUX FOIS) LA GALETTE DES ROIS 1984 THE SEVENTH TARGET (LE 7 CIBLE)

STAIRCASE C (ESCALIER C) SUBWAY

1983 THE BIG CARNIVAL (LE GRAND CARNAVAL) TANGO BETWEEN US (COUP DE FOUDRE) 1981 LE GRAND PARDON 1979 LA FEMME INTEGRALE

An Interview with Marilou Berry and Keine Bouhiza

How did you get together with Agnès Jaoui? K.B.: I was an assistant on THE TASTE OF OTHERS, and I'd played in two short films that people in the production had seen. We did some tests, and Agnès called me three months later. It gives you butterflies in your stomach to have to wait so long! It was a great honor for me to work with Agnès Jaoui. M.B.: It was the first time I've worked with such experienced actors, and it's really so much easier. When you do two years of acting school and you spend from midday until 2 pm trying to get a line right, with young actors who are also learning their trade, it makes an enormous difference when you find yourself opposite someone like Jean-Pierre Bacri and the scene flows naturally. You think to yourself that it's nice and fun to act, while you tend to forget that pleasure when you're in class. What were your reactions when you read the script? K.B.: I thought it was really well-written, funny, and moving. It's a film that deals with servility and power. Agnès and Jean-Pierre really know how to construct their characters with regard to the themes they want to deal with. Their writing is very subtle and intelligent, while remaining accessible to everyone, and with an accurate and very up-to-date tone. That explains their success. These are beautiful moments in life that could happen to all of us. M.B.: When you read the script, it's like facts; each thing leads to the next very logically. When you see the film, it takes on even more weight. Little things that you didn't quite make the connections with in the script are echoed and strengthen the presence of the subject. The moment when Sylvia sees Pierre's editor in the street and ends up deciding not to call her for example - I thought that scene wasn't bad when I read the script. But when you see it on the screen, with everything that has gone before and is still to happen, it takes on another dimension. That kind of situation happens all the time in real life.

Do you know why Sébastien falls in love with Lolita? K.B.: At the start, it's because she helps him when he was unwell, blind drunk in front of the nightclub. He was touched by her gesture. M.B.: When Lolita puts her jacket on Sébastien, it's a natural gesture that clearly shows what she's like, her kind of generosity. The boy is lying on the ground, and he's cold. Lolita puts her jacket on him but has forgotten about it when he calls. It's totally spontaneous. It's not a pretext for meeting a boy and chatting him up; Lolita realty has her mind elsewhere at that moment. She's in love with someone else who doesn't care about her. K.B.: Sébastien realizes Lolita is a nice girl, but that she has an all-consuming, difficult relationship with her father. His role is kind of the trigger in Lolita's head. He opens her eyes to her life. M.B.: Sébastien doesn't directly tell her to get some distance from her father, but he helps her to get things into perspective, and to understand that her father's reactions aren't as important as all that. Lolita has a hard time with people using her to get close to her father but at the same time, she plays the game. She's the one who suggests to Sébastien that her father could tend him money and find him a job. Yet she knows that it will hurt her, and sow doubt in her mind. At the start, Lolita wants to hide the fact Sébastien is a good guy who's not interested. LOOK AT ME also deals with how we construct an identity for ourselves... MB: Lolita is surrounded by people but she's a lonely person. She doesn't have many friends, and she's not out on the town every night. Contrary to Karine, I don't think she identifies herself with the norms dictated by our society. We find her at a turning point in her life, when her relationship with her father is crumbling. It's very conflictual, but that's what helps her clear the air. During the whole film, Lolita is very worried about her father. The slightest utterance from him obsesses her and taints her day. Little by little, she manages to cure herself of that and understand that her father is not her Life, and that the important thing is what she wants to do. We don't see it in the film but I think that Lolita is going towards that. K.B.: Sébastien also has a little identity problem to deal with. His name is Rachid, but it makes life easier if he calls himself Sébastien... Sébastien is a little like the rebel in the story, the only one who openly refuses a relationship of power and servility with Etienne Cassard... K.B.: Yes, he's a character who approaches others without making concessions, without trusting appearances. He refuses any kind of relationship of power or self-interest, preferring amicable and human relationships.

Why does he have so much more strength than the others to refuse to compromise? K.B.: No doubt because he comes from a modest immigrant background. He must have suffered because of it but he has strength from his roots, and no doubt a stable psychology. He wants to get on by himself. Most characters in the film live in great loneliness and they have difficulty talking to one another. Do you recognize yourselves in this view of human relationships? K.B.: Yes, it's often the case. You say things in a roundabout way, and never say them how you should. You never really say what you think in life. M.B.: When you're young, you tend to face conflicts more quickly, and you're less able to tolerate the things that get left unsaid than a couple who have lived together for ten or twenty years and who are used to each other You gradually get into the habit of not saying what's bothering you. How does Agnes Jaoui direct the actors? K.B: She gives the actors lots of freedom. She prefers things to be natural rather than using slightly phony directing effects. Agnès doesn't say much, but two or three words are enough to understand what she wants; very simple and concise things about the character. You learn a great deal with Agnès. It's enough to just listen and let it happen. M.B.: It's very concrete in terms of situations. She knows exactly what she wants, and she is precise in what she wants from the shots, without being stilted. The great thing is that she gives us the first take to suggest things. It's only after that she gives her directions. Agnès demands that you respect the text very precisely. But in any case, you want to respect such clear text. K.B.: The text is so well written that it directs you naturally. Are there some scenes that scared you more than others? K.B.: For me, it was the scene with the waiter in the café. Sébastien is no pushover, but he's not one to enter a conflict. I found it difficult to connect that with myself, to not slip out of character. For me, it wouldn't have happened like that! I wouldn't have dropped his gaze. Suddenly, Agnès directed me more. She knows what she wants. There were other moments that were hard to play, like the scene where Marilou and I kiss. We know each other a little but I'd never kissed a girl in front of 15 people and a camera before. Thankfully, when we came out of the scene feeling doubtful about it, all it needed was a little wink from Agnès' direction to be reassured. M.B.: I rarely worry about difficulties beforehand - it's when they happen that I understand them. But it's true I was a bit afraid of the scene when we kiss too, above all when I didn't know whom it was going to be. I said to myself, “Right, I'm going to kiss someone who I don't know yet."

K.B: It's true, you don't just kiss anyone, do you? Marilou, has your personal experience helped you play Lolita's character? M.B.: No, because I haven't experienced the same things as Lolita at all. I don't have the same relationship with my parents, with money, power and the media. But it helped me in terms of the way others see things. When you are the daughter of someone famous, you often hear "No, really? Is that your mother?" But the personal experience stops there - it's very anecdotal. Marilou, how did you deal with the singing scenes? M.B.: I was dubbed by Alexandra Rübner, who has a voice very similar to my own. But I still took singing lessons. Of course I couldn't gain two years of technique in six months but I still absolutely had to know certain things: how to breathe, how to hold myself, how to pronounce certain words, how to open my mouth... Alexandra dubbed me live, and that's what gives the impression it's me singing. We worked together to be well in synch, and to breathe at the same moment. What do you think about Pierre's choice to participate in the TV show? K.B.: You can understand Pierre. When you do a job like his, you have to. M.B.: No he doesn't! K.B: He wrote his book. After, perhaps he wasn't expecting all those questions about his private life. M.B.: Yes, but he's hiding it from himself. He knows well before the time that it will be like that. Just like he goes and drops his editor. But he doesn't want to admit it to himself, to allow himself time to shift the blame onto her. What do you think about Etienne Cassard? Do you think he can be cured of his selfishness? M.B.: I don't know if he could leave it behind because there are so many people helping him stay that way.. Mainly, his whipping boy, Vincent, who constantly backs up his position. And there's that whole literary showbiz world. Only his girlfriend can make him change. She frightened him by leaving him once before, telling him once and for all that she won't be sat on! And her daughter? Can she do nothing for Etienne? M.B.: Lolita has already tried, and in any case, she's got something else to do now. She has to live, to be herself. She no longer wants to make excuses for the way her father screws up his/her life. I really like the film because it shows people at a time when they have to make decisions: to go or not to go on a TV show, stay or leave, be honest or accept the compromise... these choices are not going to decide their whole lives, but they will reveal who they are. In that respect, Sylvia's character is great. It shows it's never too late to change. At the start, she

doesn't like Lolita; she's not interested in her at all, and only gets involved with her to get closer to her father. But after, she really likes Lolita for who she is, and understands that it's her father who's the shit. Whereas Pierre follows the same route but in the opposite direction. He can't stand Etienne at the beginning, and then suddenly he thinks he's great. Even the rabbit! Sylvia ends up chucking the whole thing in against everyone's advice. At that moment. she realizes that this life isn't her at all, that she's not like that. Sylvia is a model for Lolita... M.B.: Yes, because she's in a situation of control. She's in charge of a class and that represents a success and a result for Lolita. She doesn't ask herself why Sylvia didn't become a singer. Or in any case, not at the start. And Sylvia doesn't take the lead with Lolita. Finally, there always comes a day when someone finally speaks to you normally, and not like an idiot any more. Usually, you remember that person for your whole life. I think that Sylvia occupies that place in Lolita's life. She talks to her without kid gloves and not like Karine who is always afraid of hurting Lolita. This is a first feature for you both. How do you see the experience? K.B.: It was very important to do this film, to meet people like Marilou and to work with Agnès and Jean-Pierre. I felt enriched when I came out of this shoot - I met some great people. This shoot confirmed that I really wanted to be an actor. It was great performing Like that, being carried by a text. MB: It changes your life just perfectly, starting off in this trade with an Agnès Jaoui film.

MARILOU BERRY’S FILMOGRAPHY 2004 LA PREMIÉRE FOIS QUE J'AI EU 20 ANS

LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE) 1991 MY LIFE IS HELL (MA VIE EST UN ENFER)

KEINE BOUHIZA’S FILMOGRAPHY 2004 LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE) 2002 DE L'AUTRE COTÉ 2001 LE VIEU

AN INTERIEW WITH VIRGINIE DESARNAUTS & LAURENT GREVILL Virginie Desarnauts, this is your first movie role... V.D.: Yes, for the past five years I've worked on sitcoms. For me, this was a first introduction to the acting trade, from which I've realized that acting isn't just made up, so I've taken up classes in parallel. How did you come to work on the LOOK AT ME project? V.D.: Firstly, I met Brigitte Moidon, the casting director. Then I did some tests with Agnès Jaoui that took place over several months, which allowed me to polish up and appropriate the rote of Karine. The more time went on and the more I got into the rote, the more I 'felt' Karine... Laurent Grevill, you already knew Agnès Jaoui... L.G.: Agnès and I spent two years together at the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre but we hadn't seen one another again since school. It was a nice surprise when she contacted me for the film. She asked me to test, which is something I don't normally like doing - I'm too modest - but with her, it was different; I knew I could do the work. I wasn't afraid to make a mistake or do badly in front of her. What was your reaction on reading the script? L.G.: I thought it was like a mirror; you could see yourself through all these characters, these Parisians muddled up with all their worries and betrayals. Above all, it was so well written that you straightaway wanted to play that kind of role.

V.D.: I loved it. And already the title [note: French title translates as "Like an Image"] both intrigued and fascinated me. What is to live like an image? It made me think of the way I am - I can seem like a well-behaved young lady whereas in fact, I'm driven by passion. But aren't we all a bit like that? What do you think of the characters you play? L.G.: Pierre is clearly an anti-hero. But even if Pierre's image isn't always satisfying, it's human. Filming was so much fun that I forgot the tragic side of this story. And when you act, you're deep inside your character and therefore a bit blind to others. It's only in seeing the film that one understands how it all fits together. You could have also called this film "Like An Iceberg." You see a little part of each person but it's so complicated underneath; my character included. It was staring straight at me when I saw the film. It's the same for all the characters: a character that wants to do good ends up doing bad and vice-versa. It's also true that the men are a bit more cowardly than the women in this story. Apart from Sébastien, who is the only one with the courage to confront Cassard. That's the spirit of youth! V.D.: Karine is also brave. You don't suspect she has that strength, but in her own way, she shows Cassard for what he is. I admire her and I wonder about her too, because this woman doesn't seem to exist in other people's eyes, but in fact, she has an emotionally rich life, and a great deal of sensitivity. L.G.: That's what makes your character so moving. Somewhere, Karine is the most honest of them all. Even if everybody thinks she's an idiot, she holds her place and accepts she isn't like them. V.D.: For me, Karine isn't a victim of Cassard at all. L.G.: Cassard's only victim is Cassard himself. In the film, there are just characters who are victims of themselves. They are all caught up in their dreams. One wants to be a pin-up, another the greatest writer, the other a better singing teacher. These are everyday things. Karine isn't very diplomatic with Lolita... V.D.: Well she doesn't know how to be. Her need for recognition is such that she demonstrates her love through tactlessness; the emotions aren't black or white. What's certain is that Karine has understood perfectly how much Lolita was in danger in her relationship with her father. Do you think there is a cure for Cassard's selfishness? L.G.: I've never wondered and I don't care. The door is wide open. The only destinies we can imagine are those of the women. Karine comes in with resistance, Sylvia leaves - where, we don't know - but she leaves... to music. As for Lolita, she goes to find Sébastien who is waiting... to be found. The women

react more than the men in the film. They are the ones who make the decisions. That's what fascinates me about women... V.D.: I think Cassard is curable because I can't imagine a person could stay so rigid. In fact, he too is tacking love. In the end, Cassard is constantly asking people to set him limits. How did the filming go? L.G.: Agnès has taken on a dimension that I haven't seen before. When we were at Nanterre, she was really shy. Now, she's become an extremely lucid, receptive, rigorous and patient woman. When I saw her directing the whole film crew... well, it's not everyone who could do that. I knew her as an actress, and I met her again as an author, a director, and an actress. I viewed all that with a great deal of admiration. She wouldn't ever give an inch on the script. It was written like that so it would be acted like that. V.D.: It was great! It was new for me to work with a tightly knit crew. I was occasionally a little afraid, afraid of not being up to it, but I was very quickly reassured by Agnès and Jean-Pierre. I was encouraged and stimulated by the way Agnès is, the way she listens and views things. L.G.: The month of rehearsals was also good for Agnès who was discovering how to direct. We didn't see the start of filming coming. It was a luxury to work that way. We had time, there was no panic. All of that creates great fluidity. Does the fact that Agnès Jaoui comes from a theatrical background influence the way she directs actors? L.G.: Not in the way she directs actors, but in the way she writes, yes. There is a rigor that belongs to theatre scripts, a logic in which all the characters find their place. There are only so many ways to play a welt-written scene. I could see that rigor in the script for LOOK AT ME. I've never worked with a film dialogue in such a precise manner. But that doesn't stop spontaneity being also absolutely essential for such a story so focused on daily life. Agnès Jaoui cut quite a few scenes to end up with this version of the film. Did that change the way you view the story? L.G.: In fact yes, there are some little differences. The side of the story that deals with a bunch of friends is slightly eclipsed by the individual fate of each character. The part that deals with the women is as important as that of the men. But the way I saw the film when I read the script is totally restored. The logic and the trajectory of the characters are the same. It's just the duration that has been compressed. It goes along quickly, which is reinforced by the musical side of the film. What about the presence of the vocal ensemble during filming?

V.D.: The three days with the ensemble were very stimulating for me. The music in the background gave me energy and I think it was the same for everybody. The last scene shot in the church is very beautiful. It's the only real moment of communion between the characters... V.D.: Yes, because they are touched directly. That's the magic of music. L.G.: And it's because we're in a church and can't talk to one another! We're at the opposite extreme of the meat scene where everyone brings his or her ego along...

VIRGINIE DESARNAUTS’ FILMOGRAPHY 2004 LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE)

JEFFERSON IN PARIS

LAURENT GREVILL’S FILMOGRAPHY 2004 LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE)

INQUIÉTUDES VERY MERRY WIDOWS (MARIÉES MAIS PAS

TROP) 2001 THE GOOD THIEF (L’HOMME DE LA RIVIERA

A PRIVATE AFFAIR (UNE AFFAIRE PRIAE) 1997 LES FANTOMES DE TANGER 1996 FIRE IN PARADISE (LES FLAMMES DU PARADIS) 1994 JACK AND SARAH 1993 FORGET ME (OUBLIE-MOI)

I CAN'T SLEEP (J'Al PAS SOMMEIL) Selected for "Un certain regard," Cannes 1994

1992 THE MARRIA6E BOAT (LE BATEAU DE MARIAGE) RUPTURES Official Selection, Berlin Film Festival 1993 L’ÉCRIVAIN PUBLIC

1991 THE MORE I SEE YOU by Joseph AICHHOLZER 1990 THE YEAR OF AWAKENING (L'ANNÉE DE L'ÉVEIL) 1989 THE GOVERNOR'S PARTY (LE BAL DU GOUVERNEUR) 1988 CAMILLE CLAUDEL

César 1989 Best French Film 1987 HÔTEL DE FRANCE

GRÉGOIRE OESTERMANN’S FILMOGRAPHY

2004 LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE) LE PROMENEUR DU CHAMP DE MARS

1999 L’HISTOIRE ANCIENNE 1996 LUCIE AUBRAC 1991 LE ROMAN 1986 MY CASE (MON CAS) 1985 COMME LES DOIGTS DE LA MAIN

SERGE RIABOUKINE’S FILMOGRAPHY 2004 LA PREMIÉRE FOIS QUE J'AI EU 20 ANS

LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE) CRIMSON RIVERS 2: ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE (RIVIÉRES POURPRES 2 - LES ANGES DE L’APOCALYPSE) TROIS CHEVAUX

2003 THE TIME OF THE WOLF (LE TEMPS DU LOUP)

QUAND TU DESCENDRAS OU CIEL 2002 HOURS IN THE LIFE OF A WOMAN (24

HEURES DE LA VIE D’UNE FEMME) SHOOTING STARS (3 ZÉROS) OLGA'S CHIGNON (LE CHIGNON D’OLGA) WOMEN OR CHILDREN FIRST (LES FEMMES OU LES ENFANTS D'ABORD) SAFE CONDUCT (LAISSEZ-PASSER)

2001 GREGOIRE MOULIN VS. HUMANITY (GRÉGOIRE MOULIN CONTRE L'HUMANITÉ) THE TOWERING MONTPARNASSE INFERNO (LA TOUR MONTPARNASSE INFERNALE) LIGNE 208

2000 ANTILLES SUR SEINE THE SANDMEN THE ACTORS (LES ACTEURS) AN OUTGOING WOMAN (UNE FEMME D’ÉXTERIEUR) CRIME SCENES (SCÈNES DE CRIME) PRETTY DEVILS (VOYOUS VOYELLES)

1998 SACH’S DISEASE (LA MALADIE DE SACHS) SKIN OF MAN, HEART OF BEAST (PEAU D’HOMME COEUR DE BÊTE) LES GRANDES BOUCHES

1998 MIDNIGHT EXAM (L’EXAMEN DE MINUIT)

A SOLDIER’S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES WHITE LIES (…COMME ELLE RESPIRE)

1997 MARTHE WESTERN

1996 NEWS FROM THE GOOD LORD (DES NOUVELLES DU BON DIEU) 1995 L’ANNÉE JULIETTE A LA CAMPAGNE 1994 BONSOIR 1993 JACQUES THE FATALIST (JACQUES LE FATALIST) LEON’S HUSBAND (LE MARI DE LÉON)

WILD TARGET (CIBLE ÉMOUVANTE) 1990 RENDEZ-VOUS AU TAS DE SABLE 1989 WINTER’S CHILD (L’ENFANT DE L’HIVER) 1987 BUISSON ARDENT 1984 LONG LIVE LIFE (VIVA LA VIE) 1982 THE NARK (LA BALANCE)

MICHÈLE MORETTI’S FILMOGRAPHY 2004 LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE) 2003 SALTIMBANK APRÈS VOUS SEVEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE (SEPT ANS BE MARIAGE)

WHO KILLED BAMBI? (QUI A TUÉ BAMBI ?) 2001 THE OTHER WORLD (L'AUTRE MONDE) 1999 SUPERLOVE

TROIS PONTS SUR LA RIVIÈRE 1998 WHITE LIES (…COMME ELLE RESPIRE) 1997 AUTRE CHOSE A FOUTRE OU'AIMER by Carole GIACOBBI 1994 THE WILD REEDS (LES ROSEAUX SALVAGES) 1993 MY FAVORITE SEASON 1992 SEE YOU TOMORROW (A DEMAIN) 1991 I DON'T KISS (J'EMBRASSE PAS) 1986 LE GOÛTER CHEZ NIELS 1985 MARRIAGE OF THE CENTURY (LE MARIAGE DU SIÈCLE) 1983 TOUT LE MONDE PEUT SE TROMPER by Joan COUTURIER 1982 BOULEVARD DES ASSASSINS

ELLE VOIT DES NAINS PARTOUT LE QUART D'HEURE AMÉRICAIN

1978 L'EXERCICE DU POUVOIR 1975 FRENCH PROVINCIAL (SOUVENIR O'EN FRANCE) CE QUE CHERCHE JACQUES 1974 LES INTRIGUES DE SYLVIA KOUSKI

1973 A SLIGHTLY PREGNANT MAN (L'ÉVÉNEMENT LE PLUS IMPORTANT)

1971 OUT 1 by Jacques RIVETTE 1970 PAULINE IS LEAVING (PAULINA S'EN VA) 1969 L'AMOUR FOU

LE JOUET CRIMINEL 1968 SEVEN DAYS SOMEWHERE ELSE (7 JOURS AILLEURS)

THE IDOLS (LES IDOLES)

THE SINGERS Some ten singers make up the “Canto Allegre” vocal ensemble from a range of Parisian singing academies and brought together by Bernadette Val, the teacher they share. They give amateur performances as an ensemble, in duos, trios, quartets, and quintets, from the Baroque to the 20th century, specializing in the 18th century, and on Handel and Mozart in particular.

CAST

Lolita Marilou BERRY Sylvia Agnès JAOUI Etienne Jean-Pierre BACRI Pierre Laurent GREVILL Karine Virginie DESARNAUTS Sébastien Keine BOUHIZA Vincent Grégoire OESTERMANN Félix Serge RIABOUKINE Edith Michèle MORETTI Taxi driver Jean-Pierre LAZZERINI Bouncer Jacques BOKO Onlooker 1 Yves VERHOEVEN Onlooker 2 Samir GUESMI Guy who is seen everywhere Bob ZAREMBA Conservatoire pianist Roberta KIEHL Conservatoire singer Joan-Baptiste BLANC Louna Emma BEZIAUD Mathieu Julian BAUMGARTNER Mathieu's friend in the café Zelie BERGER Doctor Dimitri RATAUD Pretty singer Camille DEREUX Pianist at Pierre and Sylvia's Henri BOYER Nicolas Gillaume HUET Painter Olivia LANCELOT Waitress in Etienne's restaurant Elodie CLAIRIN The publisher Olivier CLAVERIE Waiter in the village cafe Bernard BLANCAN Young man who looks at Sylvia Sébastien ANDRIEU Young girl who Mathieu kisses Marie SARRASIN Guardian Antonia CORNIL-NAVARRO Waiter in Edith/Sylvia's restaurant Philippe TRAN New teacher Erick DESMARESTZ New teacher’s assistant Didier BRICE Francois Galland Olivier DORAN The woman in the ad Catherine MORIN Usher Alain DEBRUYNE

CREW

Producers Jean-Philippe ANDRACA Christian BERARD

Assistant Judith HAVAS Direction Director Agnès JAOUI 1st Assistant Director Antoine GARCEAU 2nd Assistant Director Raphaëlle PIANI Intern Director Ludovic GIRAUD Continuity Agatha SALLABERRY Casting Director Brigitte MOIDON Extras Casting Marie-France MICHEL Casting Assistant Fanny TOUYA Production/Administration/Coordination Production Manager Daniel CHEVALIER Production Accountant Yann NEROT Assistant Accountant Marie-Christ FÉVRIER Production Secretary Sylvie FRANÇOIS General Studio Manager Marie-Wine LABRET Assistant Studio Managers Bruno PERDRIGEAT

Nathalie DAGES Intern Studio Managers Aurélien FAUCHET

Jean-Marc FITTE-DUVAL Xavier RIVIERE Romaric THOMAS Alexandra DIMA Lois DEPLACE

Image Director of Photography Stéphane FONTAINE 1st Assistant Dir. of Photo Isabelle DUMAS 2nd Assistant Dir of Photo Marie DECOURT Combo Vincent TULASNE Set Photographer Jean-Paul DUMAS-GRILLET Sound Sound Engineer Jean-Pierre DURET Assistant Sound Engineer Dominique EYRAUD Costumes Costume Designer Jackie BUDIN Wardrobe Aline DUPAYS

Makeup/Hair Chief Makeup Artist Jackie REYNAL Makeup Artist Catherine VIRIGNAUD Chief Hairdresser Patrick GIRAULT Hairdresser Eric BENAZET Sets Production Designer Olivier JACQUET 1st Assistant Prod. Des. Philippe LACOMBLEZ 2nd Assistant Prod. Des. Frank CHICHEPORTICHE Set Dressers Jimena ESTÈVE

Marie-Christine COUDANNE Location Production Managers Sébastien BANOS

Pascal RODRIGUEZ Eléonore CHASPOUL

Props Yvan MORENO Furniture Props Denis HAGER Horticulture Designer Roland ALVAREZ Stage Hands Vincent BESSUEJOULS

Stéphane BOUCHERAT Gail LEROUX

Sets Interns Fannie STAUFF Stéphane CAPOECOMME

Computer Artist Jean-Marc HADDAD Grips/Electricians Head Grip Michel STRASSER Grips Jean-Bernard JOSKO

Stéphane BOUILLON Franck LOIZEAU

Chief Electrician Xavier CHOLET Electricians Joel SPINOU Luc REYROLLE Groupman Robert POLONIA Editing and Finishing Chief Editor Francois MIGIER Assistant Editor Beatrice HERMINIE Intern Editors Clara SALOUCCI

Clara BOUFFARTIGUE Chief Sound Editor Nadine MUSE Assistant Sound Editor Rym DEBBARH-MOUNIR

Misc. and Consultants Canteen Gilles GOUTAL

Jerome LECLAIRE Director 'Making Of’ Francois HERNANDEZ Musical Consultant RE FLEXE MUSIC Music Recordings Sound Engineer Daniel DESHAYS Animals (Cats) Jean-Philippe VARIN Rain Daniel LENOIR Original Music Philippe ROMBI