Patrice Leconte, a travelling filmmaker

Cinema is a journey

Meeting new people, exploring new lands, new experiences, new sensations. That’s what drives film director Patrice Leconte, who is an insatiably curious man and avid traveller, filled in wonders at the world and its inhabitants. Guest of honour on a Mediterranean cruise in March 2024, he shares for Escales his thoughts on the voyage.

What link do you make between travelling and cinema?

What I like least is shooting at home in Paris. Well, so to speak, since I grew up in Tours. But I have a liking for films that transport you somewhere else. I love travelling, wandering… The most on-the-move film I made is undoubtedly Girl on the Bridge (starring Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteuil, ed.). The film begins on the Debilly footbridge in Paris and ends a few thousand kilometres further on, on the Galata Bridge in Istanbul. In between, another deck, that of a cruise ship. I have absolutely incredible memories of filming on the ship. We got on board in Venice and disembarked in the Bosporus strait, passing through Greece and Piraeus. It was wonderful.

Travel and holidays are often themes in your films… How do they inspire you?

The prospect of a holiday, that’s the stuff dreams are made of, don’t you agree? Being on holiday, being vacant, means being caught by surprise, giving free rein, living differently. It means exploring new landscapes and meeting new people. The very idea of a holiday, with a capital ‘H’, is the promise of eternal renewal, and that’s obviously very inspiring.

If not, what is it that usually catches the wind in the sails of your creativity?

I’ve never started a film thinking “here’s a subject that interests me”. I am, however, captivated by the idea of encounters. Bringing together characters who might never have met in real life. Encounters are a common feature to almost all my films. No doubt because I myself like to share, discuss, debate.

Your films have this underlying desire to explore new territory…

One of the worst things in life is boredom. It’s not a question of being afraid of it, I’m never afraid of being bored, but I’m always worried about the possibility of boring the spectators who were kind to go and see my films. That’s why I’m always obsessed with doing different things, straying from the straight and narrow that people sometimes think is already mapped out. I love taking up projects without being sure I know how. Of course, there’s an element of doubt, and we’re always on the lookout for anything that could potentially go wrong. But seeing where the wind takes you in life is very motivating. It stops you from falling asleep.

Is making or watching a film also a way of travelling?

As a film director, I still have a taste for making films that make life taste better. Films that, for the duration of a screening, make us forget everything and transport us somewhere else. Somewhere else, geographically, a new sensorial experience, whatever… Then you come out of the cinema, back on the street, back to reality, to everyday life, but with that little something extra in you that took you away.

If travelling inspires you, how do you decide where to shoot?

In the end, it’s often the journey itself that imposes locations on us. For Girl on the Bridge, the filming locations came to us as we travelled from Paris to Istanbul, from the Debilly footbridge to the Galata bridge. It’s a movie on the move for which we did a lot of travelling! Girl on the Bridge is a film that keeps transporting us further and further south. We had to find the right ship to take us on this long journey. Finding the ideal route to head south, in the direction of the sun, other regions, other landscapes.

Is shooting on a ship, on the sea, something special?

Not really, no. We’re on the move, I agree, but it’s more a question of static mobility. There’s a very pleasant slowness. In a train, on the other hand, where I also did some filming, the movement is obviously much more perceptible. There’s this urgency to shoot before the train reached the station. Filming is like a time trial. Shooting on a cruise ship is something different. It means working and living in the same place. When we finished filming for the day, we took a few steps to the side and moved on to our respective private lives. The ship was big enough to be able to isolate yourself, to pass each other in the corridors, to meet in the bar or restaurant. It’s a very special feeling to live on the set of your film.

This filming of Girl on the Bridge took you to the heart of the Mediterranean. Is it a special region for you?

As a child, I spent my summer holidays on the beaches in Normandy… That’s probably why I always like to head south. And the Mediterranean Sea is so charming and attractive that it seems like a promise for a temperate change of scenery. The South, sun, the diversity of landscapes, the T-shirts… There’s nothing like it.

What kind of traveller are you?

I love travelling but I hate travelling alone! Not being able to share what you see, what you feel, is awfully frustrating. But my wife and I have travelled quite a lot. I have dazzling memories of Bhutan. I loved exploring Burma, which unfortunately is no longer accessible. I remember a hot air balloon ride over Bagan at sunset. A moment out of time and out of the ordinary. Otherwise, a more maritime memory would be Panama ! Going through its canal was an incredible experience. In fact, there’s not a single destination from which I’ve returned disappointed. I’ve always found something to marvel at. There are so many places to explore. So much so that I sometimes balk at the idea of returning to a place I already know. I believe that we won’t be able to be as amazed as we were the first time.

Where do you plan to go next?

I have often travelled alone to Japan to present films. I’d love to go back, but this time I’ll bring my wife. To be able to share this country and this culture with her. Otherwise, soon, Laos here we come, our youngest daughter, who came back enthusiastic, recommended that destination.

Photo credits: filming of the movie The Girl on the Bridge, with Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis. Photo from Patrice Leconte’s personal collection ©Catherine Cabrol.