“It’s too hard to explain this story, this scenario“. On the 1 p.m. television news, facing journalist Hugues de Fontgalland, Romy Schneider confided in her experience in the feature film Things of life, broadcast this Sunday, April 2, 2023 on C8 from 9:10 p.m. Claude Sautet’s 1970 film comes just a year after the success of The swimming pool, emblematic film of the actress’s career. Between two extracts from the film, Romy Schneider had agreed to answer questions about the work and about her career. In this 1969 interview, unearthed by theWHENthe actress looks back on the shooting of the film with Michel Piccoli and on a vision of her character which particularly exasperates her.
“I consider it crazy to say I’m the mistress“
Things of life, it is the story of a drama, but also that of a romance. Separated from his wife, Pierre (Michel Piccoli) lives a passionate romance with Hélène (Romy Schneider). But the couple is struggling. The fate of the characters changes when an accident occurs. “Everyone knows that there is a car accident and that Michel Piccoli dies in the film“, explains the actress with piercing blue eyes. But everyone also says”that she plays his mistress“, she adds. A vision of her character that exasperates the actress. Frowning, she declares: “What is wrong. I play the woman he lives with. I consider it crazy to say that I am the mistress.” For Claude Sautet, whose words were relayed in 2021 by Firstthis movie was “the opportunity to finally be able to deal with couple problems” : “Pierre, this privileged, indecisive, vulnerable man has everything going for him, but he hesitates to make a decision, to change his life. He is afraid of questioning himself and chooses an attitude of flight from life itself. For him, the accident is almost a solution.“
The continuation under this advertisement
“I was constantly surprised by what she gave me“
Besides this awkward setting, however, the actress thrives in this new film, which contains a horrific scene of accident, which comes at the right time in her faltering career. “I stopped almost two years because I had my son. I didn’t expect to start again under such good circumstances. I am glad“, she enthused. Saying to herself “very optimistic“on the rest of her career, she praises her collaboration with the”formidable“Michel Piccoli. As for Claude Sautet, he is also full of praise for the actress on whom he initially had a priori. “I was constantly surprised by what she gave me. I had not yet fully measured its brilliance on the screen. She had, of course, an absolute character. When we were filming, I had to keep my eyes on her. And, all day, she bombarded me with funny and warm little words“, he will explain.
