C’est bien ce qu’a dû constater, le lendemain, un jeune habitant du quartier, quand la star, devant se changer dans les ruelles ornées d’azulejos et de tags, se présente spontanément à sa porte pour obtenir l’hospitalité. Il fallait voir ses yeux de Tex Avery pour mesurer combien l’ex-James Bond girl demeure, à 53 ans, un sex-symbol planétaire et un futur objet du désir. « Vous me voyez avec un garçon de 20 ans, même très beau ?, plaisante-t-elle plus tard. Je le regarderais comme un fils… Il faut différencier la pulsion et la manière dont on la gère. Sinon, nous ne sommes que de petits animaux ! Je ne porte aucun jugement moral : l’amour n’a pas de codes… Les jolies jeunes femmes, je ne les envisage jamais comme des rivales, au contraire, j’éprouve pour elles une infinie tendresse. Je pense à mes filles et au long chemin qu’il leur reste à parcourir. »

C’est de Lisbonne que monica Bellucci, prudente sur sa vie privée, confesse être amoureuse : « Il y a deux ans, j’ai passé des vacances au Portugal, je les ai prolongées pour trouver une maison tant l’esprit des lieux m’a séduite. Il y a quelque chose de provincial dans cette ville internationale. Ce qui correspond un peu  à ma personnalité de gamine venue d’Ombrie, qui a fait dix fois le tour du monde. Ici, le rapport à l’humain est très simple, jamais artificiel. J’y viendrai quand j’aurai un peu de temps libre, les plages de Cascais sont à vingt minutes, et j’adore tous les petits villages des alentours. Les sept collines, le microclimat, le fleuve… Dans Lisbonne, tout me rappelle Rome, où j’ai aussi une maison et tant d’amis. Je me souviens de la première fois que j’y suis venue, à 16 ans, je me suis dit : c’est ici que cela va se passer pour moi ! » Mille et une vies plus tard, Monica Bellucci a conquis la planète entière.
Dans son sillage, les choses peuvent basculer à tout moment dans une comédie italienne à la Ettore Scola. Ce n’est pas une posture, c’est une allure : il suffit à Monica de vous parler avec son accent légendaire, de bouger ses hanches d’à peine quelques centimètres, pour conférer à n’importe quelle situation un parfum romanesque. Comme quand elle nous fait visiter sa maison, traversant le chantier et le regard des artisans, juchée sur d’immenses talons, moulée dans une robe de créateur.
Cannes, mais dans les gravats ! Et avec pour seules marches celles qui mènent à sa chambre. De son point de vue, tout semble normal, elle ouvre les fenêtres, s’agenouille devant un matériau à vérifier, s’enthousiasme du framboise écrasée des meubles de cuisine, lance l’idée d’un grand dîner à la fin des travaux… Du nôtre, nous sommes médusés, comme transportés à Cinecittà, cherchant Mastroianni dans un coin de la pièce et s’attendant à ce qu’un type hurle en italien : « Coupez ! » Un instant, on est aussi chez Pirandello, dramaturge italien chantre de la mise en abyme.
Après deux jours de dur labeur et de glamour intense, le ventre creux et les photos terminées, il est urgent d’aller déjeuner dans un petit restaurant réservé par l’actrice. Qu’il doit être rigolo de pouvoir dire, comme elle vient de le faire : « Allô, c’est Monica Bellucci, comment tu vas, mon chéri ? » et d’obtenir une table pour douze en terrasse dans la minute ! Ce jour-là, c’est la Saint-Antoine, le saint patron de la ville, une date très populaire où les sardines grillées sont à l’honneur dans les rues de Lisbonne envahies de barbecues de fortune… Mais la belle Italienne veut un carpaccio ! Qu’elle ne touchera pas à la vue de la version locale : une grande assiette de saucisson arrosé d’huile !  Monica nous déculpabilise en grignotant par-ci par-là les douceurs du pays et autres leche alléchants, alors qu’elle nous dit avec un air sibyllin devoir encore « travailler » dans les jours à venir. Message décrypté a posteriori : à Milan, dans les heures qui suivirent notre escapade portugaise, elle a défilé parmi les garçons de Dolce & Gabbana. Avant qu’on ne la retrouve présidente du festival du film de Dinard, dans la série « Dix pour cent » en septembre et à l’affiche d’un film aux côtés du mythique Ben Kingsley

Paris, au Royal Monceau, quelques jours après notre aventure portugaise. Dans le confort moelleux du palace parisien, l’actrice, qui vient de signer un contrat avec Nivea pour une ligne anti-âge, évoque son rapport au temps : « J’aime beaucoup cette marque que je connais depuis l’enfance et qui fait partie d’une tradition pour la plupart d’entre nous. Que Nivea m’ait choisie prouve son respect pour la femme à n’importe quel âge. Vieillir ne me fait pas peur, car c’est une manière de vivre plus longtemps, une façon de ne pas mourir ! L’âge n’est pas une maladie ni la fin de quoi que ce soit, c’est simplement la continuité d’une féminité qui s’exprime différemment. » Paroles, paroles ? On insiste un peu pour savoir, honnêtement, comment un sex-symbol absolu vit les matins où la mine est triste devant son miroir, où les ans ont commis leur part d’outrages ? « Finalement, le temps qui passe va me permettre d’avoir accès à des rôles qui ne seront pas forcément liés à la beauté. » Une raison suffisante pour renoncer à la chirurgie ? Réponse de l’intéressée, hilarante quand elle mime, au milieu du lobby, un lifting en tirant son visage vers l’arrière : « Je n’ai rien contre la chirurgie esthétique si cela permet de se sentir mieux. Aujourd’hui, je fais la maligne, mais peut-être que, dans dix ans, vous viendrez m’interviewer et me reconnaîtrez à peine ! ».
Monica prévient alors que ses filles (Deva et Léonie, 13 et 8 ans, dont le père est Vincent Cassel) vont la rejoindre incessamment sous peu pour le déjeuner. Ce qui fait basculer notre conversation : « Je veille à ce que ma vie publique ne rejaillisse pas sur mes filles. Mais je ne parle pas de mes choix artistiques, je reste une actrice libre… De toute façon, ensemble, on n’évoque jamais mes films, elles ont à peine vu “Astérix et Obélix : Mission Cléopâtre” ! On parle d’elles, pas de moi. Je veux pouvoir me dire que je ferai peut-être plein d’erreurs, mais que j’aurai fait de mon mieux. L’amour, c’est la clé de tout : un enfant qui a été aimé a déjà la réponse à son pourquoi sur terre. » L’amour, son grand sujet : « Aujourd’hui, j’ai envie de douceur, de paix. Mais une autre partie de moi est encore passionnelle, sulfureuse. Sinon, c’est la mort ! Disons que, avec le temps, je prends de la distance… Le feu est encore là, mais il peut peut-être brûler ailleurs. Je pourrais m’enflammer pour un film ou pour un homme comme à 20 ans, mais encore faut-il tomber sur le bon scénario ! » conclut-elle avec le sourire.
Avant qu’une ombre étrange et presque métaphysique gagne son visage, son regard, sa voix. « J’ai une part sombre, mais j’ai eu la chance de la vivre à travers le cinéma sinon je n’aurais pas tourné “Irréversible”, “La Passion du Christ” ou “Maléna”. J’aime beaucoup cette phrase de Platon qui dit quelque chose comme : “Sois gentil avec n’importe quelle personne que tu rencontres, elle est en train de mener une bataille très dure… contre elle-même.” Personne ne peut faire l’économie de cette aventure intérieure, mais, que voulez-vous, même si j’aime autant les nuits que les jours, je me sens viscéralement attirée par la lumière. » Qui le lui rend bien en s’accrochant à son visage dès qu’elle apparaît quelque part. On appelle ça une star.

High-profile American films include the Matrix sequels, Shoot ’Em Up and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ; Bellucci is also increasingly active in TV projects such as the 2017 series of Twin Peaks and the latest series of French sitcom Dix pour Cent, in which she plays herself. She’ll next be seen in Israeli director Eran Riklis’s upcoming spy thriller Spider in the Web, in which Sir Ben Kingsley will be co-starring.

 Monica Bellucci: Photograph: Ricardo Abrahao

What’s it like working with Emir Kusturica? How is he different from other directors?
He’s interesting because he does so many things … he’s a director, a writer, an actor, a musician. In his way of working, he’s a bit like Fellini. It’s another way of making movies – everything is about the light. The sun has to be right … everything can change, so the script is more like a base.

But it was very interesting to be in this movie because it was a special atmosphere; this land I was in was beautiful but also very sad. I think Kusturica makes movies where there is duality between fantasy and pain, fantasy and reality. This is one of the most interesting parts of his world, and that’s why I approached this project from its human and artistic point of view, never a political one.

The film is interesting because it’s a love story between two adults, and it proves that love and sexuality are a matter of energy and not age: we see two people that aren’t young any more but the moment they meet, something beautiful and magical happens.

I got acquainted with [Kusturica’s] work through Time of the Gypsies. I saw it a long, long time ago – it was a really amazing work. In every movie he does, even when the stories are different, he comes back to his subject of fantasy and reality: it’s as if he’s in some way trying to escape the pain of his country through the dream. In his films there is violence, but at the same time there are moments of ecstasy.

My favourite of your films is Alice Rohrwacher’s Le Meraviglie. What were the positives and negatives of acting on such a small-scale, parochial film?
No negativity at all. And I’m happy there are good Italian directors like Alice Rohrwacher, [Matteo] Garrone, [Paolo] Sorrentino, [Luca] Guadagnino – it’s amazing to see the possibility to come out of [Italy] and make an international career. Because we were very stuck with Fellini, Rossellini, Visconti, De Sica, which was great, but it’s beautiful to see this new generation of young, talented directors coming out. The talent of directors and actors is there, it’s just that sometimes there are political and economic problems.

I like Alice very much – she’s very natural, very direct, very human and very private. I like that very much.

Monica Bellucci: Photograph: Ricardo Abrahao

You’ve just starred in the French TV series Dix pour cent, and you played an opera singer in the US TV series Mozart in the Jungle. How do French and Italian TV compare to US TV, other than presumably having less money?
In Italy, there have been very good TV series, like Gomorra. Even in France, they do very good TV series. Dix pour cent is on Netflix and is very successful. Netflix gives a chance – even French and Italian series can go all over, and it’s a new way to communicate.

[Jean-Luc] Godard used to say that when you look at TV you look down, and when you look at cinema you look up. But I think today everything is changing, and when you can see what we can do in TV series, what kind of roles actresses can have – like in Big Little Lies – it’s amazing to see all these actresses have amazing roles like that, and explore so many [facets of] the human condition.

So many people don’t go to the cinema. Cinema is in the home now, and that’s a great way to communicate with people who don’t often go to the cinema. But cinema too is communication. TV, cinema – if it’s good quality, why not [both]?

Have you any ambition to do theatre work?
No, actually … But I’m sure one day I’m going to find something that gives me the feeling that I want to repeat it every night. It’s a special thing, theatre – [stage] actors tell me that all the time.

When you’re onstage, every night is different because every night you have the new possibility to express the pièce. I’m sure that one day I am going to have this experience. But for now, yes, just movies.

What is beautiful about acting is that for some actors it never ends. You can have [acting] experiences even when you’re 70. Even in France, actresses are “Mademoiselle” all their life – never “Madame”, always “Mademoiselle”. It’s a never-ending story in some way.

You’ve said before that you “come from the world of fashion”. Fashion, like acting, demands a degree of physical mastery – but does it have any emotional dimensions?
Fashion gave me the possibility to get in touch with myself. Because actually, as I say all the time, the body is so important to express yourself. When you’re an actor, it’s like being a dancer in some way – everything gets through the body … you are your own instrument.

So the fashion world was interesting for me to get in touch with these feelings, and also, for me, it was a question of passion. When I was young, I was in love with pictures and I used to think that a beautiful picture can give you great emotions, like when you watch a great movie or read a great book. Through that I learnt that to be an actor is such special work, but also very fragile. You are your own instrument, so everything can be very delicate: fragile but beautiful.

Sometimes when you see incredible dancing – for example, I went to the Bolshoi and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life – you see how our bodies can make magical things. This is what happens to an actor, when they give their body for the role. The body becomes an object of work. But you have to respect your body. Even when you give your soul for a role, you have to always respect your soul.

For me, it makes the work more interesting. [Physicality gives me] the possibility to get in touch with different people, different cultures. Like I said before, it is about communication, [whether I] work with Alice Rohrwacher or Sam Mendes or make an American TV series or a French TV series.

You’ve worked in film industries around the world. Obviously, the Harvey Weinstein scandal was huge last year; where is that kind of predatory sexual behaviour worst? Is Hollywood particularly bad?
I come from fashion, where of course young girls can get into those kinds of situation. So when I got into cinema I was already old enough to see how to deal with those situations. It’s true that when you’re young, you [are] in touch with people who are powerful and can use their power to make you feel humiliated. This can happen. But I don’t know if that’s sexuality or just [pure] humiliation.

Sometimes people are like two personalities – one is very intelligent and talented, [and the other is] completely sick. It can be in any industry, any situation. It’s very difficult. It’s beautiful that women today can talk about it. They’re less scared. Sometimes women are like birds – they get stuck in a cage and don’t go out, because they’re scared. To come out of this kind of feeling takes time.

Monica Bellucci: Photograph: Ricardo Abrahao

Is it the same all over the world?
Yes, of course. In every situation – it can be cinema, it can be fashion, it can be in an everyday office. It’s what happens when you give power to people, and it’s about personalities. You can use your power in a good way or a bad way. It’s just about dealing with power. Those people use their power to cover their own sickness.

What’s the most difficult film you’ve ever been involved in?
Irréversible … it was difficult but very enriching. And to work with Gaspar Noé was so interesting because he’s such a talented director.

It caused quite a scandal when it was released in 2002.
Yes, a scandal, but today it’s a cult movie. They study this movie in schools of cinema. The way it was made is so special.

Did it change the kind of role that you were being offered?
It’s more what kind of roles I [started] looking for. As an actor, the opportunities [are beyond your control], but at the same time your freedom lies in your choice. If you [choose a certain role] it’s because maybe you’re looking for something or there is a part of you – a darkness, maybe – that needs to come out.

Do you have a favourite of your own films?
I don’t know; it’s so difficult to say. Maybe L’Appartement, [which] gave me so much. It was my first French movie, it won a BAFTA, and through that film I had the chance to make my first American film, with Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman, called Under Suspicion. And through [Under Suspicion] I could go to Cannes for the first time. It’s incredible how life is strange, and how a mix of coincidences brings you someplace that isn’t [down to] you.

Which director would you most like to work with?
Too many. [Laughs] When I say that, I realise how happy I am – I still have a lot of passion for my work, and I still have so much to learn. This makes me feel excited and happy – I feel I want to be in this business. And I’m so happy I can lead my life through my work.

Monica Bellucci: Photograph: Ricardo Abrahao

You’ve defended airbrushing or “retouching” in the past. Don’t you think it contributes to unrealistic images of women?
Of course, when there’s too much it’s not beautiful any more. But things are changing right now … they all understand when retouching is too much. It’s like sometimes when you see publicity from 15 years ago, you see how now it’s completely different. The picture looks so old when it’s too retouched. Everybody understands that too much retouching takes the life out of the picture. You can’t recognise the faces any more.

You’ve said in the past, “Pour moi, tout est politique.” What do you mean by this?
It’s about choices. When you choose to have children, it’s because you’re positive about life. You believe that things can change, that even though things are terrible sometimes you have faith in humanity. It’s a beautiful choice that you make as a woman. Well – beautiful or not, it’s a choice of faith.

What do you make of Emmanuel Macron?
People like him very much. I don’t vote in France, but I like him. I think he’s bringing something new, a new energy, and so young.

Do you vote in Italy?
I vote in Italy … I have different bases – Rome, France, Portugal – but this is the way I’ve always lived. It’s even the way I’ve approached my work – different countries, different directors … if I wanted to make an international career, that’s the only way I [could].

But it’s so interesting for me. When I’m with Emir Kusturica, I speak Serbian, when I’m with Bahman Ghobadi I speak Farsi – but of course I don’t speak those languages in real life. It’s just for the movies. But [languages are] so interesting.

Monica Bellucci: Photograph: Ricardo Abrahao

What do you make of Italian politics right now? Those in power are somewhat older than Macron – Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, President Sergio Mattarella. Where do you feel you stand politically?
Things right now in Italy are going better. Economically the situation is better right now. We call Italy “il bel paese”, and maybe there is a reason for that. And I have to say, when I go around the world, I smile when I say I’m Italian … even though there are so many problems in our country, the attitude of Italian people is beautiful.

The theme of this issue of Glass is Timeless. What’s the most timeless film you’ve starred in?
[Thinks for a while] Hmm … Malèna, by Giuseppe Tornatore. It’s about a woman during the Second World War. What was it, 2000? 18 years old already. It doesn’t get old. The film is still very beautiful.

In your opinion, what makes something timeless?
It’s difficult to say. Maybe a subject that is the basis of humanity … something that is not about fashion, or the [zeitgeist]. When you see something that is timeless, it touches the soul. Consider the Pyramids. They’re timeless, like a film, a book or a painting. They touch your soul.

by Arjun Sajip

From Glass issue 33 – Timeless

Photographer RICARDO ABRAHAO @ SRL
Styling CHRISTOPHER MAUL
Set design KADURI ELYASHAR

Photo assistant PIERRE BARBREL
Fashion assistants SIMON TCHARCHEFDJIAN, JEAN-GUILLAUME LIGUE
Hair JOHN NOLLET
Make-up LETIZIA CARNEVALE
Model MONICA BELLUCCI @ KARIN MODELS
Set design KADURI ELYASHAR

Credits

Image 1:

Shirt MARGARET HOWELL
Coat CHRISTIAN DIOR
Blazer MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS
Skirt TOGA
Tights SOCKSHOP
Shoes A.W.A.K.E.

Image 2:

Shirt MARGARET HOWELL
Coat CHRISTIAN DIOR
Blazer MARC-ANTOINE BARROIS
Skirt TOGA
Tights SOCKSHOP
Shoes A.W.A.K.E.

Image 3:

Shirt Givenchy

Image 4:

Jacket, trousers, belt ISABEL MARANT
Shoes KENZO

Image 5:

Hat YOHJI YAMAMOTO
Gloves STOCKER
Jacket LUTZ HUELLE
Dress ANDREAS KRONTHALER FOR VIVIENNE WESTWOOD