Vincent Lindon is back in Cannes – outstanding actor, smooth talker, surreal performer on occasion – after winning Best Actor for his performance in La Loi du marché ( The Measure of a Man, 2015), by Stéphane Brizé, and the triumph of the Palme d'or awarded to the beautiful and controversial Titane (2021), by Julia Ducournau. Only this time, he embarks as president of the jury for the 2022 edition, a task that fills him with enthusiasm.
How do you feel about your role as president of the jury for this year's edition of the Festival?
I'm passionate about it. Watching movies from all over the world. Sharing this moment and debating with people like Asghar Farhadi, Jeff Nichols or Noomi Rapace [all members of the 2022 jury], that's quite special. To understand how they apprehend cinema. To discuss our emotions, and share our analyses. At the same time, it's not serious, not the most important thing in the world right now. And yet, how can you do it well if you don't take it to heart? It's like movies: every shot is the most important thing in the world at the time it is filmed; otherwise there's no point in doing the job at all. Being the jury president is the same thing. I'm going to take it very seriously, and remove myself from everything else.
Aren't you afraid your agenda is too busy for that?
Since Titane, I've kept a very low profile. I'm tired of myself, if you will. There was a time when I was happy to say things and to listen to what I had to say, if you will. I was fine with that. Today, it's less important. Talking with a journalist or a critic that I read and respect, even if he doesn't like the movies I play in, yes, but the rest, it's over. In general, I think that everyone talks too much. People, on social networks, don't think anymore: they react. I believe that nowadays, we can benefit from more parsimonious speech.
Let's talk about Cannes 2021, and the unexpected triumph of "Titane", the magnificent madness of that project. What did you take away from this experience?
It was unusual from the start. Even in the way I read the script. It was never: "I'm passionate about this story, I want to be this character, I think the story is so well constructed, I have been dreaming of this role"... Titane is not like that, at all. It's the first time this happened to me, it was very animal-like, my first feeling was, inexplicably: "I don't want it to go to someone else, it's for me." Like a romantic encounter. In other words, a bad reason that could turn out to be a good reason. And then I had loved Grave, Julia Ducournau's previous film, and was interested in the fact that such a beautiful woman was making such violent films. I was very proud she came to see me.
You have 62.59% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.