Catherine Breillat Says Asia Argento Is a ‘Traitor,’ Harvey Weinstein Isn’t That Bad, and She’s Against #MeToohttps://t.co/zOMAstLxmRpic.twitter.com/do0clLuSwC
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) March 30, 2018
Like several other luminaries of French cinema, Catherine Breillat has a negative view of the #MeToo movement.
About Harvey Weinstein
“Despite everything, I think that Europeans have lost a lot with the loss of Harvey Weinstein. You have to remember that there are French producers who we haven’t denounced — I won’t mention them; I won’t mention names, although I know three who are extremely respected — I don’t know why they weren’t denounced as well. They absolutely had their place.”
About Jessica Chastain
“Long before the #MeToo movement started, I was very upset when Jessica Chastain made statements against the film ‘Last Tango in Paris.’ If you listen to her, that film should never have been made. To listen to her, Maria Schneider was raped. But Jessica Chastain wasn’t there, and it’s not true — I was on set. The scene was fiction.”
France’s equivalent of #MeToo
“I’m absolutely against #BalanceTonPorc (France’s equivalent of #MeToo). It’s too easy to accuse people via hashtags anonymously; we have a justice system. And France, too, has a history with ‘balance ton juif,’ ‘denounce your jew.’ We know the hashtag #BalanceTonPorc was invented out of vengeance. This isn’t to diminish women; there are real rapes and real violence. In French, the word violence contains viol: rape. That’s why the reception of my films was frequently so devastating.”
Sexual Misconduct
“Women mustn’t be afraid to speak out, but still, you can’t resort to #MeToo about verbal violence. Of course, if you’re 14, verbal violence can be the same as actual physical aggression, but when you’re 25 or 30 and you go to a man’s hotel room, you know the game. Women shouldn’t present themselves as bimbos or innocent young things regardless of their age. Rather, we have to educate young girls so that they’re better equipped to defend themselves and so they don’t feel soiled just because someone said something to them. That’s not sufficient. They have to know how to respond.”
About feminism
“I’m a feminist, but not in my films. Feminism can go too far, into a kind of respect that’s unnecessary, but of course rape is a crime, attempted rape is a crime. They must be harshly punished and condemned, and they aren’t always.”
About Asia Argento and Weinstein
“To be very honest, I don’t believe Asia. I know her, and she was very, very young…If there’s anyone I don’t believe, it’s Asia Argento. As a person, Asia Argento is quite servile. I never asked her to kiss my feet, but she’s that kind of person. I don’t believe Asia. If there’s anyone capable of defending herself, who’s not timid about sex, who does it a lot, and has lots and lots of desire for both men and women, it’s her. So I don’t believe Asia. For Asia, it was obviously, let’s say, motivated by self-interest — it was a kind of semi-prostitution. Harvey Weinstein’s not the worst man there is; he’s not the most stupid, either. Asia may have been disappointed that she didn’t become a great Hollywood actress she might have been, but there were lots of other things: drugs, many other things. She feels bitter. Because bitterness, too, can lead people to denounce if you wanted to obtain something and you didn’t obtain it, if you feel humiliated. Quite honestly, I don’t like Asia. I think she’s a mercenary and a traitor.”
Before shooting “Last Mistress”, Breillat had just suffered a stroke and none of us had the courage to stand up against her cruelties in fear she would have another one. She took advantage of this and treated us like shit, knowing we couldn’t anger her.
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) March 30, 2018
These are some drawings I made of Catherine Breillat on my journal, while at the hospital and during the shoot, in spring 2006. pic.twitter.com/EwO3xheTzd
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) March 30, 2018
During the scene she wouldn’t call CUT , so the main actor almost fainted and he took it on me. We got in a “fist fight” while Breillat sneered in the back.
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) March 30, 2018
I am both sad and angered by these old school self proclaimed “feminists” and their lack of humanity in face of other women’s suffering. The French ones have proved to be the worst. Fin.
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) March 30, 2018
source, 2, 3, 4, 5