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(Naturally, Hansen-Lve is the daughter of two philosophy academics.)
With six films now under her belt, shes built a singular reputation in French cinema.
My English is not so…
I apologize if I have any issues.
Thats as fine a place to start as any.
I write them in French, and they get translated.
But onMaya, not so much.
They were not supposed to be English anyway, so it wasnt such a problem if it sounded awkward.
Hes French, shes Indian; they each use the English as theyve learned it.
What I find special about it is that Americans see this a lot.
Im not sure I wouldve been aware of it if I wasnt asked questions about it when Im here.
Im just interested in the cultural difference.
I mean, I was living with a man 25 years older than me and I didnt notice.
Its not like all my films deal with that.
Of course, if she was really, really young, that would be an issue to me.
But shes a young adult, thats the way I see her.
Stereotypes about Americans being uptight and the French being liberated about sexuality, all that.Its true.
Maybe girls are more mature in France.
The ideal of daddy?
In my films, I think it has more to do with a certain spiritual complicity they have.
This also ties Lola and Lorenz together.
It has to do with their love of architecture and style; it is an intellectual bond.
In this respect, hes like Sven fromEden, too.
I never choose what my films are going to be about.
I just write them and try while writing them to figure that out.
Im trying to find a more concrete image.
So mine was all fall, no rise.
So withMaya, I was inspired by footage of freed hostages being released.
I felt like everyone would imagine the captivity, him being in the war zone, his reportage.
I wanted to imagine the other side, moments where he doesnt work and looks for direction.
Thats more interesting to me.
Have you felt this way, like Gabriele does?Its part of why I made this film.
There is a book that impressed me a lot a couple years ago, calledThe Journey Is the Direction.
This character and this title the journey being the destination theres something about that I feel very connected to.
I wanted to film in another place, another country, another context.
I was attracted to India for a long time.
But its still personal for me, the attraction to the unknown.
In that way, I feel similar to Gabriele.
If I can write them, it is because I have connected to them.
I was reminded of two films while watchingMaya.
The first was RenoirsThe River, which youve discussed in other interviews.
But Im curious, have you seenEat, Pray, Love?No.
At the time, some criticized its narcissistic perspective that she goes to India and makes it about herself.
It is told from Gabrieles perspective, and I dont think theres any shame in that.
In a way, its more honest to, ah, not assume, whats the word?
But it helped that Goa gave us a specific place to capture.
You have to either show an India that is solely fantasy or show how bad the poverty is.
Its not about the subjects you see on television.
Maybe hed say,Oh no, yes you have, thats not true.
But I think its more unconscious, if I have.
I cant claim to have an influence on his work, only he could say for sure.
But he certainly had one on mine.
This would be a very long discussion, we spent 15 years living together.
In terms of production, storytelling, he experiments in many different directions.
Watching him being so daring helped me a lot to be daring.
Maybe I wouldnt have triedEdenif I hadnt seen him be so unafraid to move on, to take risks.
That would be so depressing!
I should ask you.
I have no idea.
Its an easy thing to think, right?
It has nothing to do with love.
In my case, it was not a matter of loving more or less.
We were just happy like that.
My parents were married for 20 years and then got divorced.
To me, marriage is not the highest ideal.
I dont have anything against it.
I dont let preconceived ideas control my life.
I have a go at find my own way, in filmmaking and in personal relationships.
Mayaends with Gabriele leaving Maya behind, just asGoodbye First Loveends with Camille leaving Sullivan behind.
Do you prefer sad endings to happy endings?Do you really think they are sad endings?
Id say they are ambivalent endings, which is really different.
I see mine as more open, or yeah, ambivalent.
Never just sad or just happy.
I couldnt do a film with a just-sad ending, it would affect me too much.
Its a grief, a renouncement, a letting go.
Theres often this idea in my films of letting go of something to save something more essential.
In life, we must leave things behind to move on.
The wind takes it.
Its not a moralistic point of view, its a philosophical one.
Your characters seem more at peace going with the flow.This is a good way to put it.
How did you say, going with the flow?
I used to know a quote from Renoir aboutles Fauvesand about freedom.
People think of this as the opposite of freedom, but this is true freedom.
My films deal with the idea of freedom that doesnt fight with destiny.
My time as an actress was very short and amateur.
As a critic, too, that was the worst.
I dont regret that time at all, I just felt like I wasnt made for that.
It would take me a week to write a single review.
I think that its a great exercise to learn about my own work, doing interviews.
I learn about my own work having to discuss it.
But we filmmakers tend to do too many of them.
Life is so short!
The self-analysis sometimes terrifies me.
I take it youre not in therapy?[Laughs.
]No, Im not.
I probably need it, but … [shrugs].
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
