EMMANUELLE BEART
In her new film, Hell, Emmanuelle Beart plays one of three sisters locked in familial trauma
‘| bared more than my
She became a celebrated French cinematic export in the 19808 alongside Juliette Binoche and Beatrice Dalle, but Emmanuelle Beart has the most luminous film CV of them all. Tom Dawson gets to meet a screen goddess whose career has been driven, above all, by fierce conviction.
ass, | bared my soul'
ot only do we ililVL‘ Robert Altman to thank tor a string ol' l‘)7()\ l‘ilm masterpieces. but he can alxo take some credit for discoxering limnmnuelle Heart. .-\I the time she was a Io-_\ear-o|d au pair li\ing in Montreal. where a member ol‘ .-\|tman\ production team spotted her dancing at a dixco. She \\'tt\ invited to audition tor a part in a lilm
with l)a\'id Bowie and. although the project ne\ er
came to fruition. Beart headed hack to her name i‘rance with the dexire to begin an acting career. Her breakthrough l’ilm turned out to he the WM) heritage drama .llunun (In wun'm. in which she was cast oppmite Daniel :\utei| and (ierard Depardieu as the m}thica| golden-luiired tigure ol‘ the woodland n} mph. prancing barefoot around the Provencal landscape. and imhued h} the local communit} with \itillll} powers. (Beart
herxell' had grown up on a larm in the south oi
l'rance. liollowing her parentx' divorce. and had dreamed ol‘ becoming a majorette). .-\nd. while it\ notable that a number ol' l‘emale \tars emerged from [hix era of l-‘rench cinema we also Beatrice [)alle. Anne Parillaud. Juliette Binoche. Sandrine Bonnaire and Sophie Marceau —- it‘s Bean who has enjoyed the mmt consixtentl} successful career.
Ha\ing recentl} internewed the now 41-)ear old Heart in i’;ll'i\. I can textil'} that her ethereal ik‘ittll} the heart—\haped lace. the large hlue e}e\ and the immaculate hone \tructurc remains utterl} captixating. ('Iaudc (’hahrol. who directed her in her dual wile/\amp I‘o|e\ in [flirt/er in I‘NJ. l'amouxl} dexcrihed her as ha\ing "the lace ol' a High]. the bod} ol a whore'. Yet the inmitahle concentration on her p|l_\\ica| and genetic ttlll'ihtlle\ littx led to ilel‘ acting ahilitiex heing undenalued. This is a woman who Ilth worked with a distinguished Iixt ol' auteurxz Raoul Rui/ t'linu' li’t'gunm/i. Andre 'l'echine (the l'orthcoming .S'Irnwr/i. .lacqucx Ri\ette l'/'/n' Slur) of Marie and .lnln'n). ()lixier :\\\a_\a\ l/.(‘\ [hwn'nt't'x .S‘entrnn'nm/ml. ('laude Sautet (Xv/It (UNI Monsieur .'\I'Il(lll(/i and i‘rancoix ()/on (8 Women). Her lorte iiex in perl'ormancex that enable her to combine an external l‘exll'ttllll with an inner illic‘llxil}: \ee. l‘or inxtance. the w at} her concert \iolinixt character emotionall} unra\el\ in the iinprexxixel} underpla} ed ('21 ('m'nr ('n Hit-«r. Or how her \kidow ed schoolteacher in the forthcoming World War il drama .S‘mrt'm/ rex'eals a moving \ulnerahilit)‘ when cut adrift from her familiar bearings. As Dania 'l‘anmic. who directed Heart
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