Q&A with Audrey Tautou

The French actress reveals all about the World War I epic and explians why she wanted to work with Jean-Pierre Jeanet again.

Jan 21 2005

Audrey Tautou was thrust into the limelight by the charming, wholly disarming 'Amelie', Jean-Pierre Jeunet's uniquely French flight of fantasy that warmed hearts the world over in 2001.

With 'A Very Long Engagement', the 26-year-old actress re-unites with Jeunet to create a romantic epic about one woman's extraordinary efforts to discover the fate of her lover, a soldier pushed out into no man's land and almost certain death during World War I.

Time Out: How did you first hear about 'A Very Long Engagement'?

Audrey Tautou: The first I heard was when I was in Los Angeles for the Oscars with Jean-Pierre Jeunet and he asked me if I would work with him again. Then a few weeks later he sent me the novel, and it's an amazing book. An amazing story. Very powerful and the part of Matilde is just a gift. So then I was even more excited and motivated to share the experience with him.

Was it nice to be reunited with him and the rest of the 'Amelie' crew?

Yes, it makes it easier because you are not frightened of being judged. It's really like being part of a family. You don't have that sort of politeness that you have when first meeting people. So I was not worried about concentrating or being absorbed by my work. I was not worried what people were thinking if I was off in my own little world.

What was it like being in that world?

Mentally it was very difficult because the shoot lasted for six months and it's very tiring being in Matilde's mood for all of that time. You come in every morning and have to be like you have just lost your love. You can't rely on anything else, you just have to do it with your own mind and spirit and you have to go in that world, so that was difficult.

How would you describe Matilde as a character?

I think she's a very determined and independent woman who just wants to understand what happened to her lover, and who is stubborn enough to fight until the end. I think she's also a complex character because for me she's full of doubts but isn't allowed to express them. So there's this fight, this war between what she has to pretend to be and what her deeper feelings are.

Do you believe in that pure love that drives her forward?

Yes, and it's impossible to live when somebody you love – whether its your daughter, your brother, your sister, your parents – when somebody disappears and the reason or certitude of their death is not clear. I think that she wants the truth of Manech's death, because she can't be without him.

Having worked in London on Stephen Frears' 'Dirty Pretty Things' could you see yourself acting over here again sometime soon?

Not for the moment, no, I don't know. I'm actually a bit lazy at this time. But maybe later because even though it's more difficult to work in a foreign language – well not more difficult, but it requires more work – I find it very enriching and I will improve my English even more.

'A Very Long Engagement' is released today and is reviewed in Time Out London January 19-26 2005. Issue No. 1796.