The French connection

It is not unusual for me to attend a dinner without paying attention to who the honorees are. So, there I was, on a Saturday evening at the French Consul’s residence casually chatting with the foreign guests introduced to me, without knowing who they were. Then a young, nymphet-looking blond asked me if she could smoke and, judging from the absence of an ashtray, I told her she was better off going to the garden to smoke. I opted to go with her just for a change of scene. I carried on a conversation with her, not knowing who she was. What I noticed was that she had a very charming personality.

It was only when we were called to the sit down dinner and as I listened to the welcome speech that I realized that I was in the midst of top artists from the European movie industry. The blond nymphet across the table was Deborah Francois, a young, talented actress whose film debut, L’Enfant, (meaning child) won the prestigious Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Another blond seated near me, Delphine Mantoulet, is a composer, whose latest musical triumph is featured in the film Transylvania, an entry to the Cannes Film Festival this year. I took note of these two ladies and before the evening was over, I made an appointment for an interview.

Shy and soft spoken Delphine Mantoulet is tall and curvaceous who impressed us with her musical talent. After the sumptuous dinner, she obliged us by playing on the piano a few numbers from Transylvania, which opened in France on Oct. 4. The musical score is a collaboration with Tony Gatlif, the film’s producer and musical arranger.

Delphine explained to me that Transylvania is about a woman (Zingarina) who goes off in search of the man she loves. She met this man in France and one day, without any explanation, disappeared from her life without a trace. Accompanied by her protective friend Marie, Zingarina throws herself body and soul into her search, and realizes that in the midst of her emotional turmoil, she falls in love with his country, its music, its land, the stark light. In fact, she realizes that the country Transylvania very much resembles her character. The music expresses the conflicting passions of Zingarina.

Mantoulet’s and Gatlif’s collaboration is full of sharp contrasts. I noticed stark notes like a cry in the wilderness then followed by cascading soft tones of solace. It did not surprise me when she confessed that after 14 years of classics in a musical conservatory in France, she went to London and immersed herself in the Anglo-Saxon world of pop, metal, rock, electronics, and techno. She also explored other countries’ music like Indian, Gypsy and flamenco. As a result, Mantoulet’s music became a mixture of different influences. Transylvania’s music employs different instruments like the flute, cymbals, gordons, violins, double bass, traragote, percussion, guitar, accordions, tambourines, and other exotic unfamiliar instruments that sounded Greek to me. With her varied talent, movie directors and musical arrangers like Tony Gatlif will be casting her more and more and it will not be surprising if this young lady’s music is on top of the musical charts one day.

Belgian born Deborah Francois is just 19 years-old but she already has a film which won a Golden Palm. And it was her first attempt as an actress at that.

Speaking to me in fluent English, she admitted that her fast track to prominence happened by accident. Two years ago, the Dardenne brothers were in Belgium auditioning young girls for their movie L’Enfant. Young Deborah went just for the heck of it, thinking she had nothing to lose. Except for a play or two and a few drama classes, she did not have any acting background. To her surprise, she bested 150 girls and got the part of Sonia, a young teenage mother whose good for nothing boyfriend sells their newborn son for money. It was a very demanding dramatic role for a young amateur with no movie experience. Asked what she thought got her the part, she humbly answered, "Perhaps it was the passion that I showed when I was auditioning for the part."

She has the kind of chameleon beauty that could challenge any role. She has big olive green eyes with brown sparks that are fringed with long black lashes, and the whitest porcelain skin I have seen on this planet. At times, she struck me as having that naughty nymph-like look, very much like a young Charlize Theron. But she also has that look of a young schoolgirl, a bit childlike in her simplicity of character. Nothing complex nor put on about her, that’s why my time with her was so refreshing. She seems oblivious to her sudden surge to fame and shows not even a hint of attitude nor ego that plague most celebrities. She talked about her dreams and her vision. Even if she has a love interest at the moment, she has no immediate plans to settle down. Her career is her priority. One day she would like to star in a Hollywood movie. But first she would like to perfect her English and speak it without an accent. Right now, all her movies are in French.

Since L’Enfant, Deborah Francois has been in demand that she had made four more films. One is the Page Turner, (La Tourneuse de Pages) where she plays the role of an aspiring pianist whose ambition was thwarted unconsciously by a lady member of the jury when she was about to take her exams. She plans her revenge against this jury member which is the plot of the whole movie. The movie is currently showing in Europe and was also nominated for the Palme D’Or ward at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Her role in L’Enfant won her a best actress award, "but only in Belgium." She dreams of winning that award one day, in an international festival like in Cannes or in Venice.