Why did you decide to open the film with a love scene that is imposed on the character? That scene is the first one that I had in mind while writing the script and it remained intact through the final editing.
Entering the film through her face allows the viewer to be directly at her level, to very quickly share a moment of intimacy with her and feel that the moment her sister is experiencing just above her head is an external element.
The opening is meant to shock, but in the end it pretty much sums up where she is in her relationship to sexuality, which we can easily imagine she experiences vicariously, through her sister.
What interested you about our relationship to the body and to nudity? From my childhood up to about the age of twenty, I spent part of each summer in a nudist colony. When everyone is naked no one checks anyone out. Nudity is no longer an issue; the idea is for everyone to be equal despite our physical differences, and whatever our complexes. But there definitely was an issue with filming the naked bodies: avoiding exhibitionism.
It was important for me to keep some modesty. And what about the impact of the gaze and of touch in romantic relations? When I was younger, during the holidays, I spent a week with a group friends that included a blind woman. My first reflex was to wonder if we were going to have to wash and clothe her⦠it was stupid! Then I wondered how the blind experience sexuality, and homosexuality in particular. The minute disabilities come into the picture, management becomes an issue.
