"I was really shocked when I first read the script," said French actor Benoit Magimel of his role in The Piano Teacher, opening tomorrow in Taiwan. "So the first and biggest challenge for me was to accept the story. I had to conquer my fear of the script to be able to take the role."
Magimel plays a gifted young piano student named Walter Klemmer, who is attracted to his icy and mysterious teacher, Erika Kohut, played by Isabelle Huppert. Without realizing it, he is soon drawn into an emotional maelstrom as a result of her wicked, sado-masochistic streak. This, in turn, brings to the surface a violent misogyny in Walter, which has near tragic results.
In a telephone interview with Taipei Times, Magimel revealed how he first shied away from the controversial film's sado-masochist themes, which looks at a string of relationships warped by mind-control: mother controlling daughter; teacher controlling student; and man violently dominating woman.
Director Michael Haneke's Cannes-winning film has proven itself to be too disturbing and shocking a film for some audience members. When the film screened in Spain, in fact, 22 people in the theater were carried out due to discomfort (all later insisted on going back to finish watching the film).
None of this kept lead actress Isabelle Huppert from tackling her role in the film. Huppert has grown accustomed to extreme roles and was drawn to the story and the part of the sadistic teacher almost immediately. For Magimel, however, joining the film was a rather painstaking experience.
There is a large amount of torture, Magimel said, and an immense sense of frustration that playing his role forced him to face.
Similar to Magimel's own personality, Klemmer is a simple young man. "He is smart, humorous, likes sports -- almost an ideal type of young man. So he uses a simple, humorous way to seduce women. But the woman he adores doesn't know how to love. And the whole process is, for him, something of despair," Magimel said.
Well, the saying "no pain, no gain" is certainly appropriate to Magimel's turn in the film. He was awarded Cannes' Best Actor prize, giving an incandescence to the 27-year-old actor's rising stardom.
"I am happy and honored, of course. And winning the [Cannes] award has proved that I made the right choice in my acting career," said Magimel.
Haneke also received the festival's kudos for his directing achievement as the film earned the Jury's Grand Prize. The Best Actress award also went to Isabelle Huppert both at Cannes and the European Film Awards, underlining her status as one of the best actresses of her generation.
But the film has vastly raised Magimel's profile. He's now feverishly sought after by directors and casting agents and the French media has even labeled him the next Alain Delon.
He had previously played French writer Alfred Musset in Children of the Century, in which he starred opposite his girlfriend Juliette Binoche, and was Louis XIV in The King Is Dancing. He will also be seen in a few recently completed projects, including To Mathieu, with Nathalie Baye, Lisa, starring veteran actress Jean Moreau and urban action-adventure film The Nest.Also See Film Review Inside
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