Film Festival
Catherine Deneuve on kissing scene with her daughter
Catherine Deneuve at the premiere of the film “Marcello Mio” in Cannes. photo
© Andreea Alexandru/Invision/AP
In her new film, Catherine Deneuve plays herself. It’s about her former partner Marcello Mastroianni and their daughter Chiara. Not every scene was easy, says Deneuve.
In her new film, the French acting legend undertakes Catherine Deneuve a journey into her past. That wasn’t easy for her in every scene, the 80-year-old said on Wednesday in Cannes. The work is about her previous relationship with the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996). Deneuve and other filmmakers play themselves in a kind of fictionalized version.
Deneuve and Mastroianni’s daughter Chiara Mastroianni plays the lead role. “Marcello Mio” follows Chiara as she transforms into her father after an identity crisis. Equipped with a wig, suit and moustache (and thus looking astonishingly like her father), she disturbs those around her with her new appearance.
In the film, Deneuve follows her daughter’s behavior with amused curiosity. In one scene she kisses her daughter on the mouth – and it is implied that at that moment she is overcome by feelings for her former partner. “That was a bit ambivalent, that was actually difficult for me,” Deneuve said of the scene. “Because she’s my daughter.”
Chiara, on the other hand, said she had no problems with it. She always distances herself from the roles she plays. “It’s just a game – it’s a film,” she said. “What did cause me problems, however, was that I didn’t like becoming Chiara again,” she added. “I haven’t yet come to terms with that. It’s disturbing when you’d rather be someone else.” The work by Frenchman Christophe Honoré is in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.