Michel Gondry has won the heart of millions of moviegoers with his eccentric and breathtaking visual style, from the heartbreak of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to the childish whimsy of Be Kind Rewind. Everyone is dying to see what he does with the giant budget and action scenes of The Green Hornet, but first up is a much more stripped-down Gondry film, the quiet documentary The Thorn in the Heart. Inspired by a suggestion from his teenage son, Gondry filmed the documentary about his aunt Suzette, who taught in a series of rural French schools in the 60s and 70s, witnessing the slow decline of France's agricultural culture as people moved on to the cities. As the film goes on it shifts focus to the tense relationship between Suzette and her son, Jean-Yves, and the years of resentment that have come between them.
Earlier this week I got on the phone with Gondry to talk about the film, why he wants to tell stories about people you never see in the movies, and what the relationship between Suzette and Jean-Yves has become since the film ended. We also talked a little about what he hopes will be his next film, The We and the I, and you can read all about that here. For more on The Thorn in the Heart, read below.
You describe the film as a document of a world that's disappearing. How so?
Somebody who is this age is going to pass away. [Suzette is] one person who has so much experience and lived so long and interacted with so many people. Her memory is going to be gone with her. She's not writing down her story. I think it's very important to keep track of that. She has a really important perspective of the world, of this half of the 20th century.
Why did it seem important to put it in a film, as opposed to a book?
I love the countryside she's been in her whole life, and I went there on my holidays, and I wanted to tribute to that as well. I think we always see entertainment based on people who are constantly in the lights and the attention of people. Sometimes it's interesting to see something that you're not used to seeing, which is the main ingredient of life, and it's removed from the usual entertainment. I think it's important to give the opportunity to people to witness the life of somebody who was not public.
The film changes directions halfway through, shifting focus from Suzette's school career to her relationship with her son. How did that shift happen?
We needed to find former pupils and interview them, and her son was one of her pupils in his school years, so we had to interview him. And then by interviewing him we realized there was way more to be said than his life at school. When we started to talk to him, the movie became much more dramatic, and we had to explore this direction. It became more important emotionally than the schools. We followed this path in a way, because it imposed itself on us.
Did you realize how strained this relationship was between them before you started this?
Oh yeah. I received a phone call six years ago, Jean-Yves crying to me, "My mom, she told the IRS, she denounced me to the state." Really horrible story, and I didn't know what to do about that. This film was really a great way to cure that. Of course I knew it was a terrible relationship at the time.
How hard was it for you to ask those tough questions of both of them?
It was difficult, but I needed to go there, because Jean-Yves was open very easily, and I didn't want Suzette to look like she was close-minded or very hard and strict. I knew that she had a lot of suffering inside, and she had a lot of reason to be the way she was. I wanted to be able to share that, so I had to go there and ask a difficult question. It was painful but I thought it was necessary.
Has their relationship changed since what we saw at the end of the movie?
Yes. They talk much more. There are ups and downs, but they talk about things they never would have talked about in their lifetime.
Is that what you were hoping for when you showed them the movie?
Yes, of course. I knew it would be difficult. Initially it was supposed to be called The Schools of Suzette, then it became The Thorn in the Heart because of what she said about her son. She didn't really like that I put this title on it. I had to explain why. I think she came to peace with that, and the relationship is very good now. Her relationship with her son is as good as it can get with some limitations. They are so different that it's hard for them to enjoy each other.
A lot of people would see this movie as a departure from your other films. Do you see it that way?
I try to learn from both, from features and documentaries. In both cases you have to find a way to make the camera as discreet as possible, and flexible enough to be able to capture the moment when it happens. I know from documentary how to not have a preconceived idea of what the scene could be. To let the scene happen and then record it.
There are people who don't know me who could be interested in the documentary. People who are older, or don't go to see movies because movies aren't talking to them. I've been interviewed by a magazine for old people, and they really enjoyed the film, because they don't see themselves portrayed on film, they don't feel part of society. Or society doesn't see them as important.
