Emilie Muller

Good morning.

Good morning.

You may hang your coat over there.

It's for you.

Hello.

Hello. Please, have a seat.

What's your name? Emilie Muller.

Is that your real name?

Yes.

Are you an actress?

Once I played a small part in a play,

but I believe this fact does not make me an actress.

Was that all you played?

Yes.

Ever starred in a movie?

No, never.

Had an audition?

No, this is the first time.

Any specialty course? Acting classes?

I'm afraid, not.

How did you come to know that we are looking for an actress?

A friend of mine told me about this.

She insisted on me coming here with her,

but in the end she hasn't come herself.

But you have come.

Yes, because of the script.

A man locked in a room,

a woman wandering around the world instead of him.

I was really touched by that.

Could you show me the contents of your bag?

My bag?

Yes.

I..

You don't want to do this?

Do you think it's not appropriate?

No, not at all.

Should I empty my bag?

Or what should I do?

Take out any item and tell me why it's in the bag,

and what associations it arouses in your mind.

Wait a moment.

Everyone ready?

Action.

Emilie Muller, take one.

Can I begin?

Well, there is nothing unusual here.

A wallet.

A powder-box.

This morning on my way here I was passing a market.

There were plenty of various fruits there

including apples.

Red apples, green apples.

I came closer just to have a look,

and the seller took one apple and gave it to me.

What is it?

This?

An advertiser.

Are you looking for something?

Not now, but I look for a job from time to time.

What kind of job?

I change jobs all the time.

I was a housekeeper, a nanny,

a waitress, a documentalist.

I currently work as a proofreader in a publishing office.

I like working there.

Only when I read a text I mostly see defects.

You can find so many things in the ads.

Come to think how wonderful it is

that a few words in a paper may change a person's life.

I like to read real estate ads, I want to have my own house.

Not a palace, just a small wooden house deep in the woods.

It has to be a place to go whenever I want,

where I could invite friends, or listen to music far into the night.

When I read real estate ads, I imagine what kind of life I would have there.

Your own home is a totally new life.

It will bring different flavours, new colours.

Or maybe absolute loneliness,

no-one to talk to.

Sometimes this is what I feel like having.

Aren't you afraid?

No, not at all.

When I was a child, my parents often left me home alone,

and I spent time in solitude

with a book to read.

But I don't remember ever being afraid.

A ring.

An old friend of mine gave it to me.

It belonged to his mother, but she's passed away.

I have never worn this ring.

Why not?

It's too heavy.

A plane ticket.

An old ticket?

No, it's new.

My friend sent it to me.

It's a return ticket. From Paris to Nizza and back.

I still don't know if I go.

Why?

He told me he had an old apartment overlooking the sea,

just like in that movie...

No if I go, it will only be to see the tomb.

To see what?

The tomb.

They say there is an old cemetery on the outskirts of the city.

Matisse, the artist, is buried there.

His grave is bare, but there is always a bunch of red flowers on it.

Someone, some woman maybe, brings new flowers every day.

When my friend told me about it, I wanted to see it with my own eyes right away.

And yesterday I received this ticket.

But if I go, I may not come back.

A sketchbook for taking notes.

What kind of notes?

Some stories, scraps of dreams, phrases I have read in books.

I constantly write something down, it is a rather foolish habit.

Why foolish?

Because it is for nothing.

Important things you remember without any notes.

Is it also your diary?

Yes.

I make myself write something down every day. It's like a job for me.

I write about things I see, or do, about people I meet. About everything.

Aren't you afraid that someone will read it?

Yes. I once lost a diary.

Since then I've been having bad dreams,

that someone has found it and started sorting out my relationships.

Some horrible things are written here, things I never told anyone about.

Could you read anything from there to me?

Monday, July 7th.

I have known happiness, but that didn't make me happier.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Are those your words?

No, it's Jules Renard.

I read this in his diary.

Oh, by the way, I've recently written down an extremely funny phrase, let me find it.

Would you like some coffee?

No, thanks.

Do you like to seduce?

No, I don't think so.

But everyone likes to seduce, don't they?

It's more like I am seduced by other people's desire.

How do you mean?

When someone is interested in me, pays me some attention, I can't resist.

I want to, but this is stronger than me.

Men must be taking advantage of this?

When they do, I leave them.

Sometimes it happens rather unexpectedly.