#for those of u confused: these are all the words people used to describe mia

[shayemitchell]

make me choose → anonymous asked: mia winter or nora grace?

[lilithsrecord]

𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖎𝖟𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖘𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖔𝖑

part 2

♱ 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

outward appearance means nothing if your are unable to carry yourself with grace and confidence. it’s important to radiate an aura that is unique to u and is beautiful and enchanting to others. find your essence. are u an ethereal innocent angel or a bombshell femme fatale? Just by channeling in a sort of character in your demeanour can drastically change how other people view you. you might be wondering “hey this is a bit much just for school,” and ur right but it’s all fun at the end of the day

𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

𝔣𝔢𝔪𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔢:

femme fatale: noun

an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who is likely to cause distress or disaster to a man who becomes involved with her.

"a femme fatale who plays one man off against another in pursuit of money"

a femme fatale is a women who shows power through how well she can toy with a mans brain. in hindsight she might seem like a women catered to the male gaze due to the strong enchantment she has upon men, but do not be fooled. a femme fatale is a strong willed and powerful women who only caters to her own needs. she achieves her goals by seducing her pawns to use them to her own advantage. channeling in the characteristics of a femme fatale can make one feel powerful, sexy, and oh so alluring. to become a femme fatale you must ooze with seduction. femme fatale examples include gilda, from the movie “gilda”, jane smith from “mr. and mrs. smith, and amy dunne from “gone girl”.

feel powerful when you walk from one place to another. let other people stare at you while they feel intrigued by ur allure but never completely give them what they want.

make your appearance look bold and striking. be sexy. dress to show off what other people want for themselves. wear dark and luxurious colours. let your hair be free and voluptuous. a bold lip and sharp eye makeup brings attention to the most seductive parts of your face. a femme fatale is nothing without a striking appearance

have your voice sound like smooth whiskey. speak slow to captivate others. make sure your voice comes out prominent and clear. add a slight rasp into your voice. each word u speak should be carefully chosen. people should be addicted to hearing you speak. be sassy and smart but always with class.

smell expensive. pick a scent that exudes class. examples: black orchid by tom ford. mugler alien. good girl by carolina herrera.

a femme fatale makes sure to always get her way. don’t be afraid to use ur seductive quality’s to get what u want whether that is good grades or social status. [ however do not put urself in dangerous positions. please don’t sleep with a teacher lmao ]

𝔠𝔬𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔢

coquette: noun

a woman who flirts.

in my own definition a coquette to me is a girl who is delicate and radiates innocence. she is more commonly known as the girl next door or the pretty girl. people become attracted to this essence due to the childish ways of a coquette. though that sounds concerning, a coquette isn’t a women who tries to act like a child on purpose. she is just a women who is naturally sweet and innocent. they hold onto a childlike quality that the rest of us have lost and so desperately crave. the allure of the coquette is ultimately her adorableness. her demeanour is light hearted and youthful. no one feels the need to do her wrong because she is just too cute for any harm. she is an ingenue. examples of coquettes are lizzy grant, cat valentine from “victorious”, alice cullen from “twilight”, and marilyn monroe.

wear clothes that make u look cute. the coquette aesthetic has been around for quite a while. the main aspect of a coquette outfit is its innocently teasing nature. wear bright colours that compliment ur skin like a blush pink, bright reds, and pretty lilacs. make people around u appreciate ur innocent look but know that there imagination is running wild. the makeup for these looks are more natural and rely on the condition of ur actual skin. take good care of ur skin. have a set routine but remember that it’s completely okay if u have pimples! you can still be a pretty little coquette even with acne.

vanilla or any kind of sweet scents are a staple for the coquette essence. ariana grandes perfumes are perfect for making people mouths water for a sweet snack when u walk by. olympea by paco rabanne is my personal favourite.

be kind and sweet to people who deserve it. people need to see u as a sweet and innocent doll who can do no wrong. but don’t be afraid to be risky and be the complete opposite of that once in a while. the rare moments where u show ur femme fatale side will have people incredibly intrigued by you.

perfect your voice. your voice should sound pleasant like some sort of princess. make your voice sound higher but not ear screeching high. add a beautiful mix of air and softness to ur voice. a breathy voice is incredibly intoxicating and suits the coquette.

𝔭ê𝔩𝔢-𝔪ê𝔩𝔢

pêle-mêle: adverb

in a confused, rushed, or disorderly manner.

also known as the manic pixie dream girl, a pêle-mêle is the essence of a girl who is described as whimsical, eccentric and is quite literal the life of the party. though at first glance she’s all rainbows and sun shine, the shadow side of the pêle-mêle can be described as a tortured artist. her optimism is delightful. she is not afraid to take risks. she’s a mess but people can not help to be intrigued by her free spirited ways for she is a drug to people who crave adventure. examples of a pêle-mêle include ramona flowers from scott pilgrim vs the world, mia wallace from pulp fiction, harley quinn from the DC comics, and holly golighty from breakfast at tiffany’s.

don’t be afraid to take risks. risks and adventure is what the pêle-mêle lives off of. be brave. do things you are afraid to do. start small and work your way up like from riding that roller coaster your so afraid of to having a motorcycle race with your friends (trust me those are so fun!). show people just how daring you can be and immediately people will be magnetized to you.

wear clothes that are unique and you feel comfortable with. the pêle-mêle rejects conformity and the way you appear should reflect that. wear clothes that harmonize with your crazy personality. be daring and bold with your makeup. make sure you stand out from the crowd and that you do not care what people think. the alternative style perfectly suits someone who embodies this essence.

be confident. obviously this rule applies to all the essences but confidence and self love is at the core of the pêle-mêle. you need to show people that you do not care what they think of you and that at the end of the day, you are just here for a good time. the more you practice self love, the easier it will be for you to express yourself without the fear of judgement from others.

be a socialite. don’t be afraid to speak your mind to people. pêle-mêle’s are usually people persons. they love good company that they can go on adventures with. make friends by being your true self and don’t hold yourself back. even a few mishaps by saying the wrong thing from time to time can make people fall in love with your clumsy nature.

obviously there are plenty of other essences you can achieve for yourself but these are my top three favourites. to find out who exactly who you want to become try the few tips listed below!

how to find your personal essence

what kind of people captivate you? what type of personalities do you see that you wish you could be? do you find yourself being envious of the pretty girl next door, the man eater, or the mysterious persona? figure out what kind of a person do u wish to truly become and inherit their manner. find out the characteristic of ur desired essence to the littlest of detail. this can include from the way you walk, talk, eat, sleep, look, smell ext. think of this as becoming your ideal best self. take the female archetype quiz to get a better understanding of your self.

what kind of aesthetic catches your eye? do you enjoy the glamorous high fashion life or do you like the softer cherry coke and heart shaped sunglasses niche? maybe you enjoy completely different things or a blend of a few. live up to this aesthetic. do this by expressing this aesthetic in the way you dress to how u decorate your room.

what kind of environment do you feel the most comfortable in? are you someone who loves education and school? or do you love the idea of being free and living in an RV for the rest of your life? maybe you just want to live in a cozy high rise new york apartment or a huge mansion up in beverly hills. envision where you see your ideal self in 10-20 years. your ideal environment can reveal a lot about what kind of lifestyle choices you want to make.

you might be thinking to yourself hey these aren’t the best tips for school. and at an educational standpoint you’re right. but it’s important to embody your best ideal self to truly enjoy this lifetime. these are little things that can be used to motivate you. i believe that inner self work should be prioritized over your school work though both are important. make sure you are taking some time out of your week to find out more about yourself and who you want to become. be the best you.

[ciggylungz]

Eat your heart out

Blurb night- 1.8k words

(request: ok but what if u wrote one where y/n is a virgin and they finally did it after dating for months and then Harry's friends came to visit him and you overheard h talking how bad u are and all that angsty stuff...)

 Virginity

The word means a something different to everyone. Some people save it for marriage, some don’t care about it, others tie it to religion. It’s all up to personal interpretation and value. For Y/n, it’s not that she didn’t want to lose it, she just never felt ready until she met Harry.

She had met him through a mutual friend, they were both invited to a birthday party and just got on so well they decided to get to know each other better. Dates, hangouts, and many hours spent together later they had become official and now they’re 5 months in and going strong.

A few nights ago, she had finally felt ready. She had communicated to Harry at the start of their relationship she’d never been intimate with someone before and it might take her a while to feel ready to be so vulnerable with him, but eventually the night came and while it was a bit clumsy filled with trial and error she thought over all it was a special experience. Harry had made her feel comfortable, he had made her feel like she was beautiful and made him happy, so she’s completely confused and crestfallen at the words she’s hearing come from his mouth echoing through the spacious house.

“mate, it was bad. Like proper awful, I almost gagged at some points from how bad it was.”

A cruel laugh followed his words. Her chest felt hollow, like her heart had caved in just from his words. She couldn’t bring herself to stop listening, she guessed she was just a glutton for punishment because the hurtful words just kept coming.

“I thought being with a virgin would be hot!”

She heard the voice of one of his friends exclaim, she had never hated the sound of someone’s voice before that moment.

“so did I! it’s why I put up with the wait, thought she’d be bloody tight and a good shag, but I was dead wrong. She barely got wet; she didn’t even taste good! I couldn’t stay hard for shit, pretended to cum and everything just to get it over with. I didn’t know sex could be so bad!”

Another round of cackles and random bullying comments were made about Y/n among the group of men, at this point Y/n felt worthless. She felt like she failed, she felt dirty and stupid. Everything he’d ever said to her was now being questioned. she swears she could vomit.

“Jesus H, what a waste of a pussy innit? Don’t worry can get some girls lined up for you this weekend. Can trip and have a proper orgy, deserve it after pity fucking that dud.”

“Thank god! Need a good fuck after that nightmare. Line up a good few for me yea?”

Humiliated didn’t even come close to describing how Y/n felt right now. Not only had her boyfriend objectify and completely embarrass her to his friends, she’d just heard first hand that he hated it so much he had faked his orgasm, and was planning to cheat on her with multiple women in less than 24 hours. She was sick, her heart stomped on and her feelings completely crushed. She’d never felt so worthless, stupid, used and disgusted with herself. She had confided in Harry how she was scared to be vulnerable, afraid to be intimate with someone because she wasn’t ready to be so open and bare with another person. Harry had told her how she was worth the wait, how she was beautiful and he loved her but now she knew none of it was real. He’d just wanted to be with a virgin, and he hated the experience.

The vomit crawling up her throat had finally reached her mouth, the girl darting towards the bathroom to empty her churning stomach into the toilet tears springing to her eyes as her body tried desperately to purge out all the hurt yet the waves kept coming.

If anyone had heard her getting sick, they didn’t care since no one even called out her name. The girl didn’t even feel like an actual person anymore, just a defective object who was disposable. She couldn’t be here anymore, the emotional pain starting to manifest into physical symptoms as well. Her head pounding, stomach turning and ears ringing. It took all the energy she had left to shove some of her things into her bag to take back to her flat.

The girl was too humiliated to even face them, to confront Harry or mention what she had heard. She internalized all of it, pulling her hood up and ducking out of the front door silently. She suddenly felt lucky that the living room wasn’t in view of the entry way so she could slip out without detection.

 ----

y/n didn’t bother to leave a not nor text Harry about her departure, making her way on foot to the underground to get home. She hadn’t driven her car there since Harry had picked her up, and she didn’t have any service to get an uber so she opted for the easiest option.

The majority of the train ride she spent with her head down, thoughts racing as she desperately tried to suppress the sobs begging to be let out. she somehow managed to keep it together until she got into her flat, as soon as she shut the door her back was against it pained sobs wracking through her body.

When her bottom finally hit the ground she was reminded of the bruises she’d woken up with on her hips and ass from where Harry had gripped onto her.

Maybe that’s why he made me switch to all fours, he was so disgusted he couldn’t even look at my face. Maybe that’s why he seemed to get angry, I couldn’t make him feel good.

The soreness didn’t even compare to the internal injuries his words had left her with. It was as if she’d been clawed from the inside out, every hurtful word slashed at her organs. Her mind burning with self-hatred, insecurity and disgust towards herself. Y/n had always been insecure, she struggled with body image and confidence since she was a child and this ridicule of her natural state and what was supposed to be special tore her limb from limb.

She didn’t know how long it had been, she seemed to zone out finding herself laying in fetal position on the wood floors of her home. Her back was still pressed into the cold steel door, using what was left of her to stand to her feet and lock it, sliding the chain lock as well just to make sure there would be no chance of anyone disrupting her decent into the void of pain.

She didn’t get much sleep that night, her head wouldn’t stop pounding and her thoughts never eased up. She’d gotten a text from Harry asking where she was, her only sending a simple message saying she was feeling poorly and went home in reply.

Harry left her on read.

It must have been many hours since the sun had rose then set again in the time she’d laid still between her covers. She hadn’t gotten up to use the bathroom or eat. She didn’t feel like a person anymore. She didn’t feel like she held any worth in any sense to anyone, seeing as no one had reached out for her in the hours she’d been MIA, not even the boy who supposedly loved her.

Y/n shifted her gaze to the clock on her nightstand, she then knew it was Sunday. It had been almost an entire 48 hours since she’d moved from her spot and by now she was sure Harry had been balls deep in numerous other women. Women who could give him everything she failed to, women who he desired and could get off with. They must be everything she’s convinced she’s not. Pretty, sexy, desirable, loveable, worthy of Harry’s intimacy. Something he regretted ever engaging in with his own girlfriend.

 ---

It was 10 in the morning on Monday when Y/n’s phone finally dinged. By Sunday night she had managed to drag herself to the bathroom to relieve herself and brush her teeth, yet she only then returned to her bed to lay in a depressed shame filled coma of sorts, she truly felt so heart broken it was like her body was giving up on her.

She caved and looked at the message, feeling another stomp on her deflated heart when she saw it was from Harry-

“you alright? Stopped by your work, they said you haven’t called out but you never showed?”

Y/n had forgotten about her job in her spiral, but even now she couldn’t bring herself to care. She knew she was already on thin ice with her manager for taking so many days off to see Harry preform or visit him on his breaks so it wasn’t a surprise if she got fired. She didn’t care though; she knew if she lost her job she’d be another month late on rent and end up being evicted since she couldn’t scrape together enough for last month either. This would lead to her likely having to move back home with her mother or find a hostile somewhere for women, yet she didn’t care. It seems silly that something as simple as someone commenting on her sexual skills would put her in such a state, but that’s not really the main focal point in her mind.

The thing that hurt most was knowing Harry had only been with her to get to take someone’s virginity, and she’d disappointed him so badly he talked shit about her to his friends and made plans to cheat on her. Harry had completely disrespected, objectified and crushed her, and he didn’t even know she knew but she decided he shouldn’t have to know she knew what he said for him to realize it’s wrong. He’s an adult man who knew full well how hurtful and horrid his comments were about someone he had claimed to love. He should have spoke to her if he felt that way, yet instead he played her and tossed her out like rubbish.

Harry broke her heart, one he’d known was already fragile and timid. He’d still said all those nasty things about her even after the nights he’d let her cry into her chest about how much she hated her body, how bad her self-image and confidence was, the way she felt like she was never good enough for anyone. His actions only confirmed what she’d always feared to be true.

Harry didn’t love her.

[mrmichaelchadler]

A Very Deep Place: Claire Denis on High Life

Claire Denis may be one of the most revered auteurs in world cinema, but she has little interest or patience for such reverence. When I told the indelible French director that it was an honor to speak with her during our chat at Chicago’s Peninsula Hotel, she gave me a sideways glance and exclaimed, “The word, ‘honor,’ is too much! If I was Nelson Mandela, that would make sense, but I am making films.” I explained that the “honor” was derived simply from the opportunity to meet someone whose work had profoundly effected me. She paused thoughtfully before replying, “Films effect me profoundly, too, but making them is about luck more than honor. I take a slow U-turn from something that is entertainment to a project where I am able to put more of myself onscreen, and these days, it takes a lot of luck to be able to convince people that your films are worth making with the actors that you like.”

Needless to say, this initial exchange with Denis made me adore her all the more. She has the same sober perspective on life, freed of pretension, that has been a distinctive trait of her pictures from the very beginning. Her 1988 debut feature, “Chocolat”—not to be confused with Lasse Hallström’s 2000 romance of the same name starring Denis’ latest muse, Juliette Bincohe—is a masterpiece drawing upon the Paris-born filmmaker’s own childhood, where she spent many years living in Africa with her parents. Roger Ebert was an ardent champion of Denis throughout his career, leading the director to be honored with a Golden Thumb award last fall at Toronto International Film Festival’s annual Ebert luncheon. Watching Denis explore the realm of science-fiction in her latest triumph, “High Life,” I was reminded of a line from Ebert’s four-star review of “Chocolat,” where he describes how the land is so quiet “that thoughts can almost be heard,” and so patient “that every mistake is paid for sooner or later.” Denis told me that the critic’s words accurately captured why Africa is unlike any other place on earth. 

“I remember looking at those landscapes when I was a young girl,” reflected Denis. “I could feel the beauty, the strength, the aliveness, but I also felt that I had better beware taking it for granted. When I came back to see my grandparents in France, they showed me the mountains in Brittany and said, ‘Don’t you see that this landscape is great?’ I disagreed and was disappointed, because it wasn’t vast. It’s not a place where every detail counts, it’s just nice. In France, there are a lot of nice landscapes, and I don’t mean that I am unable to see their beauty. But I know that it is not the same as when I was living in Africa and if I return there someday. When I am facing those landscapes, they are vast even in the mind, in the spirit. It’s not just a continent, it is the origin of the world.”

“High Life” portrays a different sort of expanse—the vastness of outer space—resulting in an absence of sound that may seem emptier yet is no less nuanced and revealing. In another bracingly audacious showcase, Robert Pattinson stars as Monte, a man who spends his days caring for his baby daughter, Willow, while stuck aboard an otherwise unpopulated ship cruising through deep space. Memories of his deceased crew mates, all former prisoners on death row, gradually reveal themselves, occasionally materializing to glimpse at him from nearby rooms, not unlike Dave observing his future self in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Binoche plays the doctor leading the doomed mission, while Mia Goth proves as entrancing as ever in the role of a moody passenger who mocks Monte’s self-imposed isolation by singing, “Always alone, always blue…” 

Claire Denis, director/co-writer of “High Life.” © 2013 ALCATRAZ FILMS / WILD BUNCH / ARTE FRANCE CINEMA / PANDORA PRODUKTION

“It took a few days for us, the crew and the actors, to forget that we were on a set in Cologne, Germany, by the river Rhine,” admitted Denis. “But on the other hand, after three or four days, we realized that coming back to the hotel at night was a strange experience, since we had spent all day together in this little corridor. In Cologne, there is a space agency, [The European Astronaut Centre,] where you could meet the real guys who are going up to the space station. One of the cosmonauts told us that the first thing that struck him about his fellow passengers was how they smelled. They are so close together that they are able to identify each person by their own smell. The space station is projected on a screen twenty four hours every day, and I remember observing how they experience night and day. I also noticed that there was this guy always leaning and kneeling in the same spot, and I learned that he was the captain. I asked, ‘But what is he doing in that position every day?’ And I was told, ‘Because the toilet is blocked and not functioning, and he is the only one who knows how to repair it.’ I thought, ‘On top of everything, maybe there is the smell of shit!’ All of this creates a sort of feeling that is different from what you get with a landscape. The idea that what existed outside our ship was a void impacted each of us on the set. Even though we were in a studio draped in black, that idea of the void gave us such a strange feeling.”

As in Denis’ previous masterworks, the silences in “High Life” are so delicious that you savor every drop of them. The subtext that they conjure is all the more potent since it is never openly articulated. It doesn’t contradict the four-decade-old warning made by Ridley Scott’s “Alien” that “in space, no one can hear you scream,” yet that doesn’t prevent us from seeing how the the unlucky crew—confined on a ship ironically branded with the number seven—are often howling on the inside. Like the hypnotic first half of Andrea Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights,” Denis’ films somehow manage to convey the complexities of a novel through largely wordless visuals, knowing fully well that wall-to-wall narration would instantly cheapen their meaning. A lot has been written about the famous sequence in Denis’ 2008 gem, “35 Shots of Rum,” where the growth of key characters is noted by their movement on the dance floor, yet there are countless moments throughout the director’s career that are equally sublime. Take, for example, the moment in “Chocolat” when a white woman, Aimée (Giulia Boschi), locks eyes with her black houseboy, Protée (Isaach De Bankolé), while glancing at their reflection in a mirror. The layers of tension and eroticism that reverberate within their shared gaze could fill an entire chapter, and the actors radiate the full extent of their characters’ inner lives without having to utter a single line of dialogue. I asked Denis what she looks for in an actor that affirms their ability to—as she once said of Isabelle Huppert—“brings words to life with their body.”

“Of course, it is their talent, but it also may be their trust,” noted Denis. “Without trust, it is difficult for an actor or an actress to express very much with the body. If they know what I’m expecting and if they trust me enough, then they are able to move freely, expressing their character through the movement, whether it’s Juliette as the doctor, or Mia Goth being infuriated all the time, or Robert trying to protect himself and yet, being full of rage in the flashback at the beginning.”

Though the dialogue in “High Life,” Denis’ first film in English, may be occasionally difficult to make out—causing me to eagerly await the subtitled Blu-ray edition—the director specified in the film’s production notes that there was a clear reason behind her selection of language. She wanted the “American English” to lead the viewer to “recall a country where the death penalty still exists—like in certain states in the U.S.”

“In space, you speak either Russian or American, that is it,” Denis told me. “There was one Scottish cosmonaut I met in Cologne, and he has a strong Scottish accent, but he speaks like an American because the words are very important. It’s communication. You cannot play around speaking a little bit of Italian or a little bit of French, though I think that the cosmonauts are already beginning to learn Chinese. But I was interested in the idea of using people on death row as lab rats in a way that almost appears generous. The death corridor is horrible, so we give you another opportunity, an option, a glorious mission. This doesn’t happen in real life, of course, but I don’t think it’s impossible, considering how many thing we are always trading—‘give me this and I give you that.’ I was in Texas a long time ago, near a place where there was a big penitentiary, and I read in the local newspaper that the cost of death row was so high that the people in this small city thought those inmates sentenced could be used for something useful rather than just be kept alive at the cost of the people.”

Juliette Binoche in Claire Denis’ “High Life.” © 2013 ALCATRAZ FILMS / WILD BUNCH / ARTE FRANCE CINEMA / PANDORA PRODUKTION

It’s fascinating to see Pattinson cast here as a character who believes “chastity has made him stronger,” since he initially gained global popularity for his lead role in the “Twilight” franchise, a saga built largely around the pangs of teenage abstinence. Of course, sex ed classes in the U.S. still favor abstinence education over any in-depth discussion of intercourse, let alone pleasure. Perhaps that is why the scene in “High Life” where Bincohe mounts a chair—much like she mounted Pattinson in “Cosmopolis”—and writhes with orgasmic ecstasy thanks to a phallus protruding from the contraption struck me as uncommonly moving. Denis said she was moved by the scene too, and likes that it stands as a rebuke to the stigma so often attributed to female sexuality. 

“I would never have forced Juliette to do the scene, so she knew what to expect going in,” stressed Denis. “We made that scar on her stomach and she felt free with only me and Yorick Le Saux, the DP, in the room with her. It was really impressive the way she did it, and Stuart Staples had already composed the music, so we had it playing while filming the scene. I was surprised when I first heard the music of the so-called Fuckbox, because it wasn’t what I had expected. But then, when I realized that it came from a very deep place, I was like, ‘Wow, this is the right music, for sure.’ With Stuart’s work, I am always surprised in a great way.”

Another member of Denis’ crew worthy of being singled out is Pierre Buffin, a visual effects supervisor who has mastered the art of realizing the visions of such risk-takers as Gaspar Noé (“Enter the Void”) and David Lynch (“Twin Peaks: The Return”). The space imagery he creates in “High Life” is both convincing enough to suspend our disbelief and expressionistic enough to serve as an externalized abstraction of character psychology. 

“Today in The New York Times, they have apparently published the first image of a black hole,” revealed Denis. “This is a place not too far off in the Milky Way, where we knew there would be a lot of them, but they’ve now become clearer and clearer. In the process of doing the film, we got more information about black holes and now, so many of these theories about them have become real knowledge. It’s not superstition anymore, and that’s great. While researching space myself, I viewed a [simulation] made by NASA of a possible faraway, very big black hole. I looked at the design—with those stars turning around, attracted—and I said, ‘Wow, it really looks like a crocodile eye.’ When they made the picture, there was probably some sort of cloud in the void, and I kept it in mind when talking with Pierre Buffin. I don’t think he was so happy working on the film because we had a very limited budget. Sometimes it was hard for him to accomplish what he had to do with little money, but I was happy with the project. I was not wanting so much more than what we had.”

The room where Denis and I were seated was located on the hotel’s fourteenth floor, and I noticed that she had left the window open in order to hear the strike unfolding on the streets below. “It was sad because no one was stopping to talk to them,” Denis said to me before we began the interview. “I felt like telling them, ‘Yes! We strike in France all the time!’” The youthful exuberance emanating from her eyes reminded me of the young girls in her films who are uncorrupted by the taboos of adulthood. There is a clear line that can be drawn from Willow in “High Life” all the way back to Aimée’s daughter, France (Cécile Ducasse) in “Chocolat,” whose tender yet unsentimental scenes with Protée are among the most touching in Denis’ oeuvre. Monte may worry that Willow’s harsh cries will kill him, yet she proves to be his ultimate reason to keep living. 

Scarlett Lindsey and Robert Pattinson in Claire Denis’ “High Life.” © 2013 ALCATRAZ FILMS / WILD BUNCH / ARTE FRANCE CINEMA / PANDORA PRODUKTION

“I think that Willow, growing from a baby and into a young woman, gives her father a sort of happiness or life he apparently would never have had without her, during his childhood or his time in juvie,” said Denis. “It’s as if life has been cut away from him, and suddenly this little girl brings him love, something he probably was not expecting. And she is very free with that, because of course, she has no one else.”

Willow’s determination to bring her father, quite literally, into the light mirrors the modern movements founded by youth, particularly the survivors of the Parkland school shooting. It was their impassioned fight for gun control that inspired a girl in Sweden, Greta Thunberg, to lead global protests to combat climate change. I asked Denis whether she saw the real-life heroism of these young people reflected in the character of Monte’s daughter.

“Yes, she is not afraid,” agreed Denis, before turning her attention to another topical movement. “I recently read in the newspaper that people in California are asking for the end of the death penalty. I understand why it exists. If I was hurt, I would like to be violent myself, but the death penalty solves nothing. It’s a fake way to solve the brutality of violence. I am speaking for France, where the death penalty is abolished, but treating violent people is not an easy thing to do, and it has not been solved. It should be taken into consideration that there should be more options for how to deal with people on death row.”

A compliment that Denis warmly received from me, albeit with a giggle, was my belief that she has directed some of the greatest child performances in cinema, beginning with Ducasse in “Chocolat,” whose unmannered maturity and vulnerability is on par with that of Linda Manz in “Days of Heaven.” When I mentioned that “Chocolat” remains Ducasse’s only credited film role, I was delighted that Denis leapt at the chance to share the one-time actress’s current whereabouts.

“She is a veterinarian, she has two kids and she now lives in France near Lyon,” said Denis with a smile. “And she rides horses. She is the same, but she is a woman. I also remember the baby in ‘Nenette and Boni,’ who was four days old. To watch a newborn baby is [akin to] watching science fiction. It’s really amazing to see life like that contained in such a small body, like when you are a child and you have a kitten. You are seeing life in a free way, which is something that you don’t see in your parents or your teacher, for instance. I have no trick when it comes to directing children. I just love to do it. And Robert was also very helpful. He was great with that little baby. When she made her first steps, they are what you see in the film. We were so moved.”

from All Content http://bit.ly/2IoXOki