Jan Kounen (born May 2 1964) Dutch born French film director, mostly known for his films Dobermann (1997) and 99 Francs (2007) and videos for English pop group Erasure in the 1990’s. This is the first time one of his films has had a cinematic release and his first time to Australia to promote his latest Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. I caught up with an animated Jan recently an a rainy day in Adelaide, much to his disappointment as he was keen to hit our beaches.
Q: What attracted you to direct this film Coco and Igor?
A: It was the general proposition, the anti romantic love story between two icons, the opportunity to recreate Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and to do something completely different and stretch the boundaries.
Q: Being a fan of theatre I loved the authenticity of you recreation of The Rite of Spring what was involved?
A: It was very difficult as there was no dance choreography available unlike the musical score so we did a lot of historical research in order to piece the puzzle together. We looked at drawings and testomonies at that time. We had a responsibility to remain true and authentic. Every night there was a show at the Theatre Champs-Elysees so it was quite a complex and logistical nightmare to have to pack it up each night and put together the next day for filming. I tried to get that effect with the audience getting seated and waiting for the premiere of The Rite of Spring which is mirrored with attending a movie premiere. I feel that The Rite of Spring is the first part of the film and after that it is another playing of the “spring” with dance and sacrificial themes continuing and transcending life.
Q: What did you enjoy most with making this film?
The long single scene between Igor and Katia Stravinsky where she asks him if he has been sleeping with Coco. When i was looking through the lens I thought i was watching someone elses film as it was in Russian and I felt like a complete spectator.
Q: How did you find filming in a foreign language, Russian in this case?
It was very difficult but I have filmed foreign languages before and shot documentaries in the Amazon with traditional Indians having no idea of the dialogue at the time of filming. So I only have a sense of the meaning through the sound and the melody. Coco and Igor originally came to me in English, but I refused to film it this way as I wanted the Russians to speak Russian and the French to speak their language. The music of Igor Stravinsky comes from the man so it was important to represent his world including his language. Dialogue is only one form of language in cinema, the visuals and the music are forms of language. I like to use language which is more directly connected to our perception our feelings like the movement of an actor and the background. In one of my favourite scenes there was no dialogue but you could follow the thinking of the character and so much “language” was created through other media. As a film maker cinema can work without dialogue
Q: Its a story of two revolutionary icons of their time, how did you create that fine balance where one did not dominate the other?
I took the information of their infamous lives and then tried to forget who they were and strip the characterizations down. I believed this story would work to some extent if they were two ordinary people having this affair so i filmed it this way and encouraged the actors to play it out like this. In this way we were free to engage in creative licence in how they think or feel otherwise we are just making a documentary.
Q: I notice that you havd a hand in writing this screenplay which seems to be common to most of your films. Do you see this as an essential part of the film making process for you personally?
I dont consider myself to be a writer, I think you are either a visual creator or a wordsmith though there are some who are good at both. In the process you just have to take the film, resonate with it and own it. With all my projects I canvas the author to ensure they are happy with me adding or changing scenes otherwise I wont take it on. The author will have to like my approach, so far i have been lucky. My film wont be your book it will be my picture and will take a life of its own. You can’t go to see a film based on a book to get exactly what the book delivers as it has transformed into a different media and artform.
Q: Your Filmography is quite varied where did you see your evolution as a director?
I dont know. I am happy that I have a film that has been released in Australia but if you had asked me what kind of movie I would have done before Coco and Igor I would have thought of some sort of cartoon animation for kids. I was going to take the year off and do some writing but then I received the script for Coco and Igor. I am very open to what comes my way and in my wildest dreams I would never have thought that I would be doing a 1920’s period piece.
Q: I noticed your unusual bracelets can you tell me about them?
They are from the Shipibo tribe in South America and are associated with Shamanism and the use of traditional medicine which I have a great interest in and have been researching. In the past i have spent several months there filming a documentary called Other Worlds (2004) and after each film I usually try and go back there for several months to recover and replenish. Also I have done a mystical western called Renegade.
Check out my review of Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky under Film Reviews. He is definitely an up and coming director to watch out for.
Photos by Gilbert Roe
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