Protagonist of L'odore del sangue, directed by Martone, the actress confides in "L'espresso" the intimate secrets

Interveiw with Fanny Ardant by Giacomo Leso

L'espresso: On April 2 the film "L'Odore del sangue" by Mario Martone is released in which she plays the character of an unfaithful woman.

Is it the same in your life?

Fanny Ardant: Yes. I have never given any importance to fidelity. And I have never understood why there are so many dramas connected with unfaithfulness. Fidelity doesn't deserve any admiration and infidelity doesn't justify the scandal.

So Fanny Ardant is unfaithful...

Deeply unfaithful.

And she doesn't believe in eternal love?

Yes, I believe in it. I'm unfaithful, but I believe in eternal love. And there is no contradiction.

The film is based on a posthumous novel by Goffredo Parise. It talks about the human chaos.

Chaos is my nature. I have always defended chaos. The beautiful things, the symmetry, the harmony: life is born from the chaos. Each one of us finds his/her own balance, where one wants and where one is able. Chaos is a big ocean of currents, from which one cannot come out. Every time someone proposed order to me, it bored me. 

So chaos is the origin of this film?

This film is born from two incredible desires, secrets and clandestine.  One is mine and one is of Martone.  The title and the photograph of the man on the cover of the book, one of Parise attracted my attention.  I took it, I bought it, I read it and I was disturbed by its rawness and its power.  

(…)

The topic is dark: treachery and death in fascist Rome.

There are different love stories. The husband, his wife, his lover and that of hers. And then, the death. But the whole story is seen through the distorting lens of the woman. When I read the screenplay, I wanted to show the trajectory of that woman who is approaching her old age, but who prefers to die than to accept and to resign. It's like a boxer who would rather not lose his dignity, prefers to advance until the end of the fight even though he knows it's the last one.

And she thinks that it’s impossible to age?

What could one do? Old age is like adolescence, the obligatory passage. But every woman, at this age, asks herself what will she do. She asks herself, do I accept myself as I am, or surrender to plastic surgery to excuse myself for existing?

(…)

And she feels abandoned?

Not abandoned, alone. But it's my fault. I am selfish. The abandonment is like old age. There are two possibilities, to accept it or to become an object of scandal. It's like in the casino when at the moment "les jeux sont faits" ("game over") and what to do with this game? Do I risk destroying everything or do I get up and say good bye? It's what I like in Silvia, the character in the film, that she risks destroying everything. She had other lovers, but she chooses a young man, a fascist, sexual, athletic. She turns to her husband and says, "The house is empty without you." But he thinks only about himself. In fact, life is all in one phrase: to be reasonable or not.

And Silvia, she isn't...

Otherwise, how to justify that she can be sexually attracted in a breathtaking way to someone whom she finds repugnant?

(...)

What kind of man do you like? A young man...

Oh no, no...

Do you prefer a mature man like Gérard Depardieu?

Yes, I do! I couldn't be attracted to a young man for whom I would only be the object of derision.

So you have chosen Depardieu?

He's my very good friend, but don't make me deny the stories that were published in "Paris Match".

For a lot of men, the young or younger ones, you are an erotic dream.

No. My films are the dreams. The stories. And the meeting with an actor, but also with a writer or a composer, is always disappointing. In the cinema, one sees what we do, not who we are. In daily life we may be boring, fussy, crazy or in a bad mood. There is no one truth about the actors.

Tell me one of them.

I'm a hypocrite.

How is that? Egoists, hypocrites, are not liked today...

An interview is an exercise and a social meeting done to be read. Otherwise I would ask the questions myself...

It wouldn't be interesting for the reader. Tell me however, does it disturb you to perform in the nude?

No, the exposed part of me was my moral part. It's a film in which the bodies undress themselves, and the words dress themselves. The word is the connection between the husband and the wife. The sex alternates with the words. There's nothing impudent in the marital relationship. It's a very crude film, but never obscene.

Do you like to take risks in the cinema?

But what risks? It's not Hiroshima at all. The risk is much bigger in the theatre. For every film, I'm asked if I'm not afraid of losing my personality. I would do everything to lose it. And everyone expects a film will destroy you. Obviously, some films hurt you, and even if you don't ask me the question, I will say that "L'Odore del sangue" is like a knife stab, but the film never kills you. One is wounded, but recovers. In theatre, however, the margin of error is smaller. You do the rehearsals during the months and you realize, always too late, that you are getting lost in the forest which isn't yours. And then, everyone will be hurt. The wounds are fatale. I survived. Before coming back to the theatre... But the theatre is like malaria: sooner or later it returns. And you find yourself praying to the gods from Olympia that the fever from the illness is worth it.

(...)

In "Callas Forever" by Zeffirelli, you filmed in English, for the first time Martone convinced you to perform in Italian.

I like the Italian language very much. From time to time I make mistakes and make everybody laugh. Instead of saying "locale notturno" I say "scatola di notte" ("night box"), because in French you say "boîte de nuit" ("night club")...But the most important is to understand each other. And then, when I speak Italian, I'm less shy.  ■

© FANNY ARDANT Online

Translated by Aleksandra Darsant

Edited by George Sand