10/09/2022 - VENICE 2022: With the help of thesps Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson, the Italian director delves deep into the theme of forgiveness

Monica (Trace Lysette) is beautiful, but she is also quite sad. And maybe she’s lonely, too, calling up her ex-boyfriend, who never picks up and who has already told her to stop. When she finds out that her mother (Patricia Clarkson) is sick, she decides to return home. But her mum has never met her before – not as a woman, at least. We talked to director Andrea Pallaoro about his Venice competition title Monica [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Pallaoro
film profile].

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Cineuropa: Did you always know that your camera would be that close to Trace? It’s almost invasive at times.
Andrea Pallaoro: I always wanted to do that, from the very beginning. In fact, this approach is strongly connected to the 1:1 aspect ratio we chose. We wanted people to be close to her, both physically and emotionally – so close that you can hear her thoughts. That was the main impulse behind Monica for me. It was more about exploring a very specific emotional state, rather than just telling this story.

How did you want her to look? Monica isn’t always made up; she isn’t always “perfect”. She is not trying too hard.
I wanted her to be a human being, first and foremost. I wanted to observe her and be with her in these moments of intimacy, when she is at her most vulnerable, not just when she has the full armature on. These are always the most interesting moments that you can spend with a character in a film, I think.

The theme of forgiveness is crucial here. Many others would not be able to forgive the way that she does. Not when your own parent tells you that they can’t be your parent any more.
I think it’s one of the most hurtful things you can possibly imagine and go through. But because of that, Monica is a modern-day heroine. She sets an example for all of us. She is able to come to terms with the wounds of her past, to forgive, and she does so with so much generosity and courage. I really look up to her, you know? Through her, I see a way of dealing with my own wounds.

You work very well with actresses, it seems – also in Hannah [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] with Charlotte Rampling, which was presented at Venice as well. Do you think you’re well equipped to talk about women?
What’s essential is a profound sense of trust. Only this way can we go on exploring different things the way I want to in my films. Only this way can we make that jump. The actors, women and men, can feel very vulnerable when they work, and if they trust you, they can go further. That’s exactly what I need in my films. Getting to know each other first, revealing ourselves to each other, is an important part of this. Once we are on set, after all those conversations we’ve had before, we just keep on trying things out, and we are playing. But it can only happen if there is this trust.

Why did you even want to talk about the trans experience? What’s interesting is that you don’t actually show Monica’s struggle – she has survived that already. She is more comfortable with herself now.
I am glad you said that because it’s very important. Monica’s transness isn’t the centre of the story; it’s a story about a woman who returns home. We never see the struggles of her past; we just feel them. I am fascinated by the traumas that come from abandonment. When I say “abandonment”, I also mean not being accepted or recognised for who you really are – especially by your parents. It’s something that every human being has experienced to a certain extent, some much more than others, and we can all understand how it feels. That’s what makes her story so universal. Through Monica, maybe people will come to terms with their own complicated family dynamics.

Especially between mothers and daughters. You have a very unusual pairing here, with Trace and Patricia Clarkson. They are so different, but they fit together.
When I finally met Trace – and finding her took a long time – and once I knew who Monica was and knew the kind of journey we would be taking together, I started thinking of Patty. They have different approaches to acting, but they do complement each other, which created an interesting friction.

It feels like they both have a secret.
Yes! And if the audience wants to do some work on their own, this secret is what will keep them engaged. With the moments these two share, you almost feel like you are intruding. There is this sensation: “I shouldn’t be looking at this.” It’s their intimacy, and you are watching them through a keyhole. This sense of discomfort is so crucial to the process of catharsis I am always looking for in cinema. Discomfort is a very powerful tool that art can offer us. That’s what I am really after.