A moment with... Isabelle Huppert
Golden Globe-winner Isabelle Huppert is one of the most distinguished actors in French cinema history, with over 100 films to her name, including Elle (for which she was Oscar-nominated). Born in Paris, Huppert has spent most of her life there, and the City of Light still holds all the charm and magic that’s kept her there throughout the years. The French actor – and Mandarin Oriental Fan – shares her favourite Parisian hangouts, from memorable museums to the best independent cinemas for arthouse films.
Even if I spend a lot of time abroad for my work...
I’ve always lived in Paris. Walking around the city is one of my favourite pastimes. Paris is a city where you always discover something new; a building you didn’t know, boutiques... It’s a city you really savour by strolling through it, sometimes without great purpose – but that is also part of its poetic charm, that charm of the purposeless.
Elle’s feel was…
Very urban. It was filmed in Paris and its suburbs; it was precisely this break away from the image of Paris that was key. When you shoot in areas such as the Latin Quarter or the Champs Elysées, you become a foreigner in your own city, a tourist. These places suddenly belong to the world of film, places that belong to everyone. When you stumble upon areas you don’t know, such as Pantin on the outskirts of the city, you see that Paris’ centre is slowly moving outwards.
I like going…
To museums. They’re anonymous and soothing. I love the Museum of Modern Art, and the Louvre is magical. The Centre Pompidou has wonderful temporary and permanent exhibitions – it’s a bottomless well for art.
To me…
Old classic French films make up part of Paris’s unique depth, which exists nowhere else. My son and I own two old independent cinemas in Paris, the Christine 21 and Ecoles 21. These two cinemas have always shown arthouse films and now my son runs them – and I help by being a loyal member of the audience! There’s a real appetite for these films: people come to experience them in their original formats. I’ve been quite a lot recently, as there were several Japanese films showing that I like. Beyond films, for me cities are defined by their museums and theatre. I love the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe and the Bouffes du Nord.
Even if…
They tend to be quite dusty and aren’t quite the ‘lungs’ of the city, which you find in London or New York, but the parks are pleasant. When we shot Things to Come we spent a day at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and I liked that a lot. It’s a huge green space. The Parc Montsouris is great, too.
I like Mandarin Oriental, Paris…
In particular, for Thierry Marx’s restaurant, Sur Mesure par Thierry Marx. It serves very elaborate molecular cuisine – you just want to taste everything. The hotel is also in an unusual setting, in the heart of the fashion district and right in the thick of the action. I also like that it’s one of the newer luxury hotels in the city, so it has a more modern type of architecture. It has a calm and soothing feel to it.