‘Emmanuelle’ Director Audrey Diwan Shares the Secrets Behind Her Erotic Drama, From Fake Orgasms to the Spirit of Wong Kar-wai
variety.comBen Croll Opening up this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival, Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle” marks an unexpected follow-up to her Golden Lion winner “Happening” – at least on paper, anyway.
If anything, the filmmaker followed a similar line, using a literary adaptation to emphasize sensorial experience, in this case the evasive quest for physical pleasure. “The project was one of renewal,” Diwan tells Variety. “Reviving sensations then sharing them with the audience.” Updating the 1967 novel from Emmanuelle Arsan, the latest version imagines a thirtysomething Emmanuelle (Noemie Merlant) as a kind of leisure quality control inspector, sent to stress test a Hong Kong luxury hotel run by Naomi Watts and haunted by a mysterious guest played by Will Sharpe.
And though centered on pleasure, the film often sees those needs unmet, focusing as much on frustration as on elation. “Pleasure, and the pursuit thereof, should remain a mystery,” says Diwan. “So I meant to explore the subject from my perspective without giving any universal answer.
As every woman knows, pleasure comes with a very personal definition.” How did you decide on this project to follow-up “Happening?” On a very personal level, I’m wary of comfort.
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