The original idea for the movie came from the Louvre Museum in Paris. In 1996 administrators asked Tsai if he was interested in making a film inspired by the museum and its countless masterpieces. “We wanted to create a collection open to contemporary artists by inviting international directors from Asia, America and Europe with a singular artistic vision,” said Catherine Derosier-Pouchous, head of the Louvre’s film, audiovisual and multimedia department.
It is the first time in the Louvre’s 213-year history a film maker has been asked to shoot a movie based on the museum itself. The Louvre has indicated the film will now become part of its permanent collection, also a first.
Tsai, who won the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion in 1994 and the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear in 2005, felt enormously honored to be asked to direct such a project. At the same time, however, he felt a great sense of responsibility and apprehension. “I experienced so many frustrations and felt such anxiety that I almost went insane,” he said May 11 in Taipei. When the film was nominated for the Golden Palm, Tsai explained that he felt relieved. “I am very happy that so far everyone who has seen the film has given it positive reviews.”
Henri Loyrette, director of the Louvre, said he was excited about Tsai’s work and its entry in Cannes. “People may not have the chance to visit the museum, but they definitely can experience the spirit of Louvre and what it stands for via the movie.” Loyrette said the collaboration between Tsai and the Louvre was very successful, like the earlier collaboration between the museum and architect I.M. Pei, who designed the glass pyramid now serving as the museum’s entrance.
Tsai spent three years developing the story for “Face,” his 10th film. “I wanted to examine the Western artistic tradition from a Buddhist perspective. At the same time, I also wanted to convey the free-spiritedness of the Louvre.” In his film Tsai tries to understand the world of art using such Buddhist concepts as “emptiness” and “nirvana.” “Everything is illusory, including cinema. The faces we encounter in our lives, the influence they have on us—these are the important things,” he said.
The lead role in the film is played by Lee Kang-sheng, a Taiwanese actor who has often worked with Tsai in the past. In the movie Lee plays a film director named Xiao-kang—the alter ego, perhaps, of Tsai himself—who constantly travels between Taipei and Paris, between dreams and reality. During one of his trips to Paris he has a homoerotic encounter in the Tuileries gardens with French actor Mathieu Amalric. The issue of homosexuality is a frequent motif in Tsai’s celluloid offerings.
As director, Xiao-kang is asked by his producers to film the legend of Salome, which becomes a story within a story. To increase the movie’s sales revenues, the producers insist that Xiao-kang choose one of the fashion world’s top models to play Salome. She turns out to be a difficult prima-donna, pursued everywhere by the paparazzi. In the midst of all this chaos, Xiao-kang learns his mother has passed away. Thus the film begins.
In many of Tsai’s movies, the same group of actors appears again and again, almost as if they belong to the same acting ensemble. “Face” represents something of a departure from this custom, since it includes several actors, many of them French, who have never appeared in Tsai’s previous films.
For Tsai, shooting “Face” gave him the opportunity to work with several actors he deeply admires. Many of them, in turn, had worked in the 1960s and 1970s with Francois Truffaut. Considered as the founder of French New Wave, Truffaut has influenced Tsai profoundly. Tsai chose Jean-Pierre Leaud, now 65, to play King Herod, because Leaud had also appeared in “The 400 Blows.” Leaud’s unforgettable expression at the end of that film had inspired Tsai to become a director. For Tsai, Leaud is “an idol, a god.” This is the second time that Tsai has worked with Leaud. Their previous collaboration was in the film “What Time is It There?,” completed in 2001.
Jeanne Moreau, who was cast as Catherine in “Jules and Jim,” another classic by Truffaut, plays a mysterious muse that wanders throughout the characters’ dreams. Fanny Ardant, Truffaut’s companion in his later years and a highly regarded actress in her own right, plays a producer who is eager to finish the movie.
In addition to these familiar screen legends, Tsai cast Laetitia Casta as Salome. Casta is best known as the latest model for the bust of Marianne, the female figure who is thought to be the symbol for the French Republic. “I chose Laetitia Casta because she was not a typical actress,” Tsai said, “And she has a face that I feel attached to and so does the audience.”
Tsai, who was born in Malaysia, said he had to be very careful while filming in the Louvre, because the museum in trying to protect its artifacts imposed many strict rules. But the staff did provide Tsai and his crew with a great deal of support, the director added.
One of Tsai’s opponents is Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock.” “Every time I go to Cannes, I meet brilliant Tawanese directors. Ang Lee is admirable, because he finds a balance between art and commercial potential, despite the limits that Hollywood imposes on film workers.”
Write to Amber Wu at amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw