UNSPOKEN, the second feature by Belgian film maker Fien Troch received its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last September. A month later, I attended the national premiere at the Ghent International Film Festival. At the time, I hadn’t seen her first feature from 2005 (Someone Else’s Happiness) but it had received positive feedback and I was curious about her new film because it featured Emmanuelle Devos, one of my favorite actresses today. UNSPOKEN turned out to be an intimate gem.
The film focuses on a couple’s inability to communicate, five years after the disappearance of their daughter. Next to its brilliant acting, UNSPOKEN’s visual language is mesmerizing. When I came out of the theatre, I absolutely wanted to see this film again. This week, UNSPOKEN is being released in Belgium and I would like to use the opportunity to urge all of you to check out this amazing movie.
Here’s an interview with UNSPOKEN’s very talented young director.
(original Dutch text free upon request)
One of the main assets of UNSPOKEN is the outstanding choice of the leading actress and the male lead. Did you write the script with Emmanuelle Devos (Grace) and Bruno Todeschini (Lucas) in mind? How did you get in touch with them?
When I started writing the script, I already had both in mind. It feels much comfortable when you can visualize a character, even if you run the risk that you never might work with them. It’s much easier to write a script with concrete images in mind.
I was able to send the script directly to Bruno through a friend of mine. He responded almost immediately and was very enthusiastic. We made an appointment and had a very relaxed & comfortable talk. He reassured me, especially because of his enthusiasm for the story and for my first feature Someone Else’s Happiness.
I contacted Emmanuelle Devos through her agent. It took a long time because usually your script ends up on top of a pile and you got to have luck if your script gets read at all. I think I waited almost 4 months, phoning and checking if they already read it every now and then. Ultimately, I received a phone call by her agent telling me that she had read it and that she was anxious to do it. I made an appointment with her in Paris. Again, it was a very relaxed talk and she too was enthusiastic about the script and about Someone Else’s Happiness.
You were pregnant while shooting UNSPOKEN. Did you feel emotionally more sensitive in comparison with the shooting of Someone Else’s Happiness? Did your pregnancy had an impact on UNSPOKEN?
I am almost certain that my pregnancy affected my film very little. During my pregnancy, I was very dynamic and didn’t have changing moods or emotional outbursts. UNSPOKEN is much more intimate and sensitive than Someone Else’s Happiness but I don’t think my pregnancy has anything to do with it. Of course, there is no proof that my film would have turned out differently without my pregnancy but I always prepare myself meticulously before the shooting which is in fact just the realization of these preparations which were done before my pregnancy.
In a certain scene, it looks like the baker who is visited by Lucas suddenly runs into a door or wall. I found this scene completely wacky…
I am a fan of the kind of lighthearted humor where people run into walls or fall from chairs. Besides, I was looking for elements that would provoke absurd or funny situations whenever Lucas is at work, especially to stress the contrast with the situation at home. In this way, the baker gets so nervous that he doesn’t know any longer what to do and consequently crashes into the door. Although I realize he could as well have staged the scene to avoid the inspection but that’s something that I leave to the audience.
In a beautiful scene, we hear The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”. What was first: the song or the scene?
The scene was already there when I heard that sudden song on the radio again. I downloaded it and listened to it a couple of times, also while writing the script. I suddenly realized that it would be the perfect song for that scene. So we used it while shooting the scene and fortunately, we were able to get the rights.
Both Someone Else’s Happiness and UNSPOKEN deal with parents who lost a child. As a young woman just in her thirties, what fascinates you in the subject?
I don’t think it’s the subject itself that fascinates me but the emotions it provokes and that I want to use to tell my story. Usually, I start to write down situations and only then enters the idea of the lost child. It enables me to seek extremes in the emotions of my characters.
Thanks for your time and good luck with the movie!
