The popular filmmaker Woody Allen does not believe in destiny, but in luck and that everyone lives at the mercy of chance. This is one of the underlying ideas of his new film Coup de Chance, which will arrive in cinemas on September 29. It is the 50th film by the director of Manhattan. In an interview granted to ACN, Allen assures that he has always sought to make "a perfect film", but recognizes that this "never happens", it is "impossible".
The director has presented the feature film in Barcelona coinciding with his concert this Monday night at the Teatre Tivoli, which inaugurates the 55th Voll Damm Jazz Festival. Allen, who filmed part of Vicky Cristina Barcelona ---released in 2008--- in the Catalan capital, assures that he would film in the city again if he had a good idea for Barcelona. "There are few good cities in the world, like Rome, Paris or London, and Barcelona is one of those good cities." He states that he would film in Barcelona if he had an idea. "If I were sitting at home and had an idea that was good for Barcelona, I would be very happy, because it is a great city, with a lot of energy, with a lot of culture and a lot of architecture and painting."
Coup de Chance, Allen's new film, deals with the role that chance and luck play in our lives. "I don't believe in destiny, I believe in luck, and that every day you are at the mercy of chance. You have no other option, you can only hope that nothing bad happens and that you will be lucky," he explains.
Fanny (Lou de Laâge) and Jean (Melvil Poupaud) seem like the ideal couple: both are successful in their work, live in a beautiful apartment in an exclusive neighborhood of Paris, and appear to be very much in love. However, Fanny accidentally meets Alain (Niels Schneider), an old high school classmate, and falls madly in love, and they begin to have encounters, much to Jean's suspicion.
Presented at the Venice Film Festival, Coup de chance, filmed in Paris and starring French actors Lou de Laâge, Melvil Poupaud, and Niels Schneider, is Allen's 50th film and his first film shot in French. In the film, he talks about recurring themes in his filmography such as loves and heartbreaks, lovers, chance, intrigue... Allen believes that there is a theme that is repeated by chance in his films, which is the luck and randomness of life, and cites, in this context, the film Match Point, from 2005. One of his most celebrated films of the 21st century.
The perfect film
The director of films that have become cinema classics such as Annie Hall, Manhattan, Husbands and Wives or Mighty Aphrodite assures that he has always sought to make a perfect film, but it never happens, he clarifies. "There's always something you wish you had done or shouldn't have done." For this reason, he states that it is "impossible to make the perfect film." He adds, however, that "there are other people who do make them."
Woody Allen, 87, explains that throughout his career he has tried to make feature films that are different from each other. "Perhaps if I made more films, I would try to make some or at least one that was just funny." He recounts that in all these years he has had the opportunity to make so many films and to have so much freedom, that he has been able to explore ideas and plots that "were not only funny, but also serious."
Another aspect of his way of working that he has managed to maintain over the years is having control of his work. "I would only make another film if someone came, gave me the money, and then left. I wouldn't show them the sets, nor would I talk to them about actors or movie stars, just that they give me the money and leave, and after a few months, they receive the film."
American director Todd Solondz once said in Barcelona that "there have always been restrictions" regarding the freedom of filmmakers, but right now these "are more serious." Asked if he shares these words, Allen points out that in America "there are no restrictions, you can do anything you want. People are going to get angry, but there is no censorship." However, he insisted that there is a lot of freedom and stressed that whenever he has made a film in Europe there has never been any problem with censorship.
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