Acclaimed French actress Juliette Binoche shared her experiences with sexualization and violence in film in a detailed guest post. “I had to learn to say no,” wrote the 60-year-old (“The English Patient,” “Beloved Cook”) in the Saturday edition of the French newspaper “Libération.”
In her early days as an actress, she often had to take off her clothes during castings. Binoche also described aggressive touching, for example in a sex scene, but said: “Direct my anger at a specific person? Why?”
In the 1980s and 1990s, there was an unbridled need for naked bodies in film that was almost exclusively limited to women, Binoche wrote. “There wasn’t a script without a nude scene. It was difficult every time.” Only after a long time did she understand that, in her opinion, she could question unnecessary nude scenes in the script. The Oscar winner also stated that she had witnessed sexual assaults on female colleagues. “I couldn’t always protect my comrades.”
Gestures and remarks that she will not forget
Binoche continued: “All these violations cause anger and indignation. But no desire to stop.” She won’t forget blows below the belt, inappropriate gestures and sexist comments. “They poison life, but they remain irrelevant.” Binoche, who was crowned best actress at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals, wrote: “The desire to indulge in acting remains stronger.”
