Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in Words and Pictures. Courtesy Latitude Productions
Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in Words and Pictures. Courtesy Latitude Productions

Juliette Binoche talks about Words and Pictures



A new movie plays out the debate over whether words or pictures have more impact at an elite, New England prep school.

Juliette Binoche plays Dina, a gifted Italian artist who moves into teaching when she starts suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, which limits her ability to paint. Dina takes a teaching job that allows her to be closer to her family. Her nemesis is Jack, a charismatic English teacher played by Clive Owen. A once-promising author and poet, he’s been suffering from writer’s block for a number of years. Trouble brews when Jack hears that Dina has told her art students that words are “traps” and “lies”. He is furious and wants to prove to her that words are more powerful.

Both on-screen and in person, Binoche states that she agrees with Dina. “I am more of a visual person. As an actress, you are given words and you have to decide whether to play the words, or do something other than the words. I’ve always felt that somehow the words were just the tip of the iceberg. Acting is about feelings.”

She says it was as a student that she learnt to forget about the words. “I really was in touch with that big question when I was 18. In an acting class there was a teacher who would say stop it, stop it. She repeated it so many times until I was lost and it was then that I discovered that acting is to be lost. It is another layer. When you have a chunk of words, how do you as an actor integrate it and make it real? Those are huge questions.”

Perhaps this vision should come as no surprise. After all, the 49-year-old has constantly proven that she is more than just one of the finest actresses to come out of France. In 2010, appearing in Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy, she became the first to win the Best Actress prizes at the Cannes, Venice and Berlin film festivals – the European triple crown. In 2008 she surprised many by appearing in a modern dance production, In-I, in collaboration with the choreographer Akram Khan.

Binoche is also an artist herself – and her own paintings appear in Words and Pictures. It’s not the first time that’s happened, either, with her paintings also featuring in 1991’s Les Amants du Pont-Neuf. She even designed the French movie poster.

“I started painting when I was 9,” says Binoche. “My mother bought art books and I was just so passionate about these books that I would just copy pictures from them.”

The influence of her mother is not just limited to painting. “I’ve never played a teacher and my mother was a teacher. She was my French and theatre teacher, so for me there is a resonance that I was interested in ­exploring.”

The debilitating effect of arthritis was also something she found intriguing to explore. How does an artist cope when they are forced to find new ways of working?

It is this idea of reinvention that drives Binoche to continue to try out new things. “As an actor, and I think generally as an artist, you have to take the risk that comes out of the depths of the human journey and the feeling of desperation that is in all of us,” she says.

• Words and Pictures is screening at the Madinat Arena today at 8.30pm

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

The specs
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The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli

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Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km

JAPAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa

THE BIO

Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place

Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai

First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group

Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business

Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne

Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia

Family: Six sisters

10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
  • Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
  • Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.

Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')

Manchester City 0

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