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Then in the process of writing, I also realized it was a coming of age story.
Shes lost like half of herself and has to become whole again.
Credit: J. Kempin/Getty Images
And afterwards, I hoped we would be able to go further into that.
Maybe the reason I had never fully writtenPersonal Shopperwas because I did not have the actress for it.
For both of us, this film was about finding where the limits were.
Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
And after finishing it, I can tell you I have no idea where the limits are for her.
Ive seen you two interact.
It seems like you really like each other and feel very comfortable together.We do, very much so.
I was interested is Kristen as a human being and I loved discovering that she was so instinctive.
Im half joking but half extremely serious.
For instance, I wrote the screenplay really fast and I wanted to shoot it right away.
And I was like, Kristen, you dont need months to prepare for a Woody Allen film.
But once we started shooting, then I realized her preparation process.
I fully realized that she needed all that extra time.
And in that sense, Kristen was much more the adult in the room than I was.
Whats the collaboration like while youre shooting on set?We actually dont talk very much.
Were each very intuitive.
I like to discuss my work once its done because somehow then I end up making sense of it.
But its much more raw in the process of making the film.
And Kristen functions that way too.
We have a very matter-of-fact discussion style.
Its funny, though.
I think words are a limit to the complexity that we create on set.
Putting out too many words while making something kind of spoils the process.
Do you feel weird talking about the film without her?In a way, yes.
I feel like Im appropriating something thats really a collaboration.
And I realized that there was some bond between us, something that was happening.
I really wanted to extend that.
And then I sat down and began writing this story which was about a young American girl.
And my experience in knowing young American girls is mostly Kristen.
So it became something.
Youve dealt with familial grief as a subject matter before, like in the wonderfulSummer Hours.
But where did the idea to add a thriller element come from?
Theres an iPhone inPersonal Shopperwhich is like a Ouija board.
Its amazing.The thing is that Kristens character was lonely from the start.
What turns her on is transgression, doing something forbidden.
I think she accepts and understands it but also struggles with it.
This is also a movie about solitude.
I like the idea of her loneliness being informed and inhabited by the world of modern communication.
Its a major dimension in the evolution of modern humanity.
What should audiences keep in mind while watching Personal Shopper?
There are always doors between things known and things unknown.
One thing audiences should keep in mind is that they wont get all the answers.
I think movies are more about questions than answers.
Movies have been helping me to think about the world and question the human experience for my whole life.
Thats hopefully what I share with an audience.
