Beauty Break: Juliette Binoche
Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 1:50PM I received a few notes about the new banner delighting that I had accidentally paired The English Patient stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes. I wish I could say "accidentally" but in truth it was! I couldn't find a photo of Juliette Binoche with her fingers in her mouth, but I didn't want to leave her out. File under: Too wonderful to ignore.
If you haven't yet seen her latest acting de triomphe (sorry), save Certified Copy to your DVD queues. Her performance is an inspiration. Hollywood's flirtation with her seems to have ended once they replaced her with a younger model (Hi, Marion) since, you know, only one French actress at a time can be the girl they must cast in every movie but their loss: if anything the 47 year old actress is a stronger screen performer than ever. There's an argument to be made with Flight of the Red Balloon, Summer Hours (previous post) and Certified Copy arriving in such short succcession that that mid 90s career explosion was mere warm up.
More photos [mildly NSFW] after the jump
Binoche creating her own beauty
That last picture had to be included because that's how you feel in the movie theater whilst watching her, is it not?
Reader Comments (12)
I can't believe she's so young (in her 40s). Thank God she's not an American or a Hollywood actress -- this piece would be a sad one if she were.
Oh god, she is truly amazing, I was in love with her in the '90s. I haven't seen yet the Kiarostami movie for which she won at Cannes last year, but her face, her vulnerability, her bravura (without NEVER showing it) are so impressive in movies like "The unbearable lightness of being", "Damage" and "Three colours: blue".
by the way... great selection of photos Nathaniel!
LOVE LOVE LOVED her in Certified Copy. I think it was the best performance of her career, but I really hope she hasn't peaked.
And she was Kiarostami's muse for so many years, they just never got a full feature film made together. I really wish they'd work together soon again.
I LOVED HER IN CERTIFIED COPY SO MUCH. Sorry for the caps, but I had to emphasize, since I've always loved her but this time was really really specially special.
Now, top 10 Binoche:
1 - Certified Copy
2 - Blue
3 - The English Patient
4 - The Flight of the Red Balloon
5 - Caché
6 - Damage
7 - Les Amants du Pont-Neuf
8 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
9 - Summer Hours
10 - The Widow of Saint-Pierre
And she'll be in Cronenberg's next, after Dangerous Method. It is Cosmopolis, also with that Pattison kid and a stellar cast
I could watch her cry all day. Can't wait to see Certified Copy.
She has barely aged in 20 years!
After Certified Copy, she officially became my favourite living actress (give or take Liv Ullmann).
And yes, it's been both frustrating and wonderful that Hollywood has shunned her.
Even though I enjoyed her natural warmth in Chocolat (it undercut the film's ponderousness very nicely), I'm so relieved that she dodged any further candy-themed Miramax Oscar porno titles in favour of Haneke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Assayas and Kiarostami. Those were four electrifying performances (at least two of which remain very underappreciated).
I can't wait to see what she'll do for Cronenberg and Ozon.
"further candy-themed Miramax Oscar porno"
FYC Comment du jour
This just made me ridiculously happy. (Although I think she has her finger in her mouth somewhere around the plum scene in The English Patient).
Juliette Binoche is the cure for anyone's depression. How can you not be happy when she smiles (it's infectious).
Great post about arguably the most accomplished actress living on the planet. Her 90's breakout woke the world up to her talent, but it was nowhere near as accomplished as her Hanekes, Hou, Assayas and Kiarostami entries... the great new is that there are mentions of new films with Kiarostami, Hou and Assayas as well as a Bruno Dumont about Camille Claudel (during her incarceration).... Im so excited to watch Binoche's choices and can forgive the odd flop (Amigorena, Montiel) when her performances are so good!