Do you think Monica Bellucci has done it all? Think again.
“I’ve never done anything like that,” she tells Variety about her role in “Ketticè.” Directed by Giovanni Tortorici, the film premiered at Locarno.
“I was on set in my pajamas with a knife in my hand and slippers on my feet. This woman has abandoned her femininity.”
Set in Palermo in 2012, “Ketticè” follows teenage Giulio who becomes increasingly lost, even after his encounter with a spirited girl named Ketty. So does his mother.
“It was interesting to play this wife and mother who represents the angst and frustration behind the apparent perfection of decaying high society. She’s an unhappy woman, bitter, with a kind of rage, but she has no outlet for it.”
As her character struggles to find balance, her relationship with her son brims with tension.
“She tries to counterbalance this frustration by eating little cakes and screaming constantly. Sometimes, the situation becomes almost comical. There is a real generational incomprehension between the two of them.”
Throughout her career, Bellucci hasn’t done many comedies, though she has certainly proven her comedic timing in “Call My Agent!” or “Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.”
“I expressed my dark side more: in ‘Malèna,’ ‘Irréversible’ or ‘The Passion of the Christ.’ Then, I did many genre films, from James Bond to ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’ or ‘Matrix’,” she recalls. But in “Ketticè,” her character is tragicomic at times.
“She threatens her husband with a knife, but nobody’s scared of her. She screams, she’s aggressive, but everyone knows she won’t go anywhere. She wouldn’t have the courage to change her life. In the end, she’s their slave,” says the star.
Earlier this week, Tortorici told Variety that Bellucci delivered a “very intelligent, very realistic interpretation, even if the character is a bit eccentric. I have to say that when I showed the film to people who also know this aristocratic world, they told me that they found a lot of truth in her performance.”
“Giovanni is young, but he’s completely in control of the set. He made a personal, unique movie,” reciprocates Bellucci, also praising young co-stars Salvatore Gallina and Rachele Testagrossa. “They brought these fully believable characters to life. When young people work like that, it means the director is talented.”
“Giovanni looks so calm and sweet, but on set, he was a tiger – in a good way!,” she laughs.
“He knew where he was going.”
This year, Bellucci worked with many young directors, from Maria Sole Tognazzi to Léa Mysius’ (Cannes premiere “The Birthday Party”) and Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Seven Dogs”).
“It’s interesting because there’s really an exchange, you know? They come with their own universe, point of view and excitement, and I come with my experience.”
“Léa Mysius is a young director, but she’s already respected in France. She also gave me the opportunity to play a beautiful role unlike anything I’ve done before. It’s character far from my Mediterranean temperament. She wants to live in isolation, which is the opposite of who I am in life.”
Bellucci continues to choose her roles “through instinct.”
“When I worked with David Lynch [on ‘Twin Peaks’], I had just one scene. But sometimes, it really doesn’t matter if it’s a smaller role. I just like to be free,” she said.
“What I like about my work is the element of surprise. I like it when directors come to me with ideas I hadn’t thought of, even though I’ve been here for so many years. I still have the excitement and passion for my work.”
She adds: “Our bodies change, of course, but we can express other aspects of life that we couldn’t before. I could never have done ‘The Birthday Party’ when I was 30 or 40. I needed more experience to portray these kinds of emotions.”
“Today, we actresses are so lucky to have the chance to keep working even as adult women. In the past, it was impossible to have a career after 40. It’s slow, but things are changing,” she says.
Still, it’s not all there is.
“I love what I do and I’m very grateful that I still have the chance to do interesting things. But life is more important,” she states.
“Life is stronger than art.”
