Re-release of 'The Lovers on the Pont-Neuf', Actress Juliette Binoche Delivers a Special Message to Korean Audiences!

The crazy love that captivated the 90s, 〈The Lovers on the Pont-Neuf〉 is being released today, and actress Juliette Binoche has unveiled an interview video containing a special message for Korean audiences. As the heart of Leos Carax's film 〈The Lovers on the Pont-Neuf〉 finally premieres today, January 28, actress Juliette Binoche, who visited the Busan International Film Festival last year, has sparked interest by sharing her personal reflections on the film's re-release.

In the released interview video, Juliette Binoche, dressed in a white suit, clenches her fist when asked to introduce the film and brings up the word "struggle." She said, "I fought for this film for about two and a half years. I endured with patience, passion, and struggle, and ultimately created it," recalling the arduous production process. She continued, "The dance in the film is somewhat rough but humorous and incredibly beautiful. Denis Lavant is truly like a twin to director Carax," also mentioning the film's unique beauty and Denis Lavant's specialness. When asked about the significance of the film in her life and career, she expressed, "It is a very special film. If a person has conviction, they can achieve anything. Without that, you ultimately cannot go all the way. This film taught me the conviction to hold onto ideas and passion," revealing her deep affection for the project.

Finally, in response to the question, "How do you think audiences today, 30 years later, will view the film?" Binoche recalled, "The reaction in Korea was particularly good when it first premiered," and added, "This film is not one that divides opinions based on age, whether young or old. The affection for this film will vary according to each person's sensitivity and curiosity." This reaffirms that 〈The Lovers on the Pont-Neuf〉 is a film that continues to be rediscovered and loved across generations and eras even today.

What Binoche referred to in the interview as "the conviction to hold onto ideas and passion until the end" was a reflection of her choices and actions. Amidst the chaos of astronomical production costs, with repeated halts and resumptions of filming, she dedicated herself to the project without shying away from actual homelessness and dangerous scenes, and even during the moments when production stopped, she stayed on set, instilling courage in the director and believing in the film's completion. Thus, 〈The Lovers on the Pont-Neuf〉 was born, a work where one can most vividly encounter Juliette Binoche's dazzlingly radiant youth and fervent conviction, calling today's audiences back to the theater.

〈The Lovers on the Pont-Neuf〉 is a film depicting the intense love and brilliant liberation of a painter, Michel, who is losing his sight, and a homeless man, Alex, who lives by performing fire shows on the bridge. It is a work that completes the early filmography of director Leos Carax, forming a 'youth trilogy' alongside 〈Boy Meets Girl〉 and 〈Bad Blood〉. Set against the backdrop of the Pont-Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, now known as a sanctuary for lovers, and the splendid fireworks of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, it is regarded as a work where Carax's unique cinematic grammar, which explodes narrative and emotion through intense colors and bodily movements, reaches its peak. After its screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991, it received rave reviews, being called "a truly cinematic film in an age of mediocrity" (The Times) and "a film overflowing with pure and immediate emotions" (Le Monde).