Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos return to the "extreme, painful but also joyful" set of La Vie d'Adèle

"The jury took the exceptional step of recognizing the achievements of three artists in the choice of the Palme d'Or. They are Adèle, Léa and Abdellatif Kechiche." These solemn words, pronounced by Steven Spielberg in May 2013 while he presided over the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, were a landmark in the history of cinema. Never seen before. Never before has a triple Palme d'Or been awarded, and has never been awarded since. For the very first time, the supreme award was awarded to a film, La Vie d'Adèle, and its director, Abdellatif Kechiche, but also its two performers, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. Equal.

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That evening, on the stage of the Palais des Festivals, the two actresses let their joy burst forth. And their complicity. If Léa Seydoux, 27 years old at the time, then confirms her status as a new icon of cinema, Adèle Exarchopoulos, 19, asserts herself as the dazzling revelation of this unprecedented list. Together, they enter the legend of Cannes. The event is out of the ordinary. At the height of La Vie d'Adèle, this work clashes on an absolute passion between two young women – Adèle, a high school student who is looking for herself, and Emma, a Fine Arts student with blue hair and a steely temperament – for which the two actresses have invested body and soul. The film is praised by critics and audiences, but marred by a controversy over the trying conditions of filming – technicians spoke of moral harassment on the part of the director, actresses evoked endless sex scenes... The scandal is enormous. And leaves traces.

Ten years later, La Vie d'Adèle remains a cult film. Her actresses? Two stars. Muse of auteur cinema, Hollywood heroine, Léa Seydoux has a brilliant career with international renown. With an equally intelligent filmography, Adèle Exarchopoulos has established herself as the essential actress of French cinema, both popular and demanding – this year, she is also present at Cannes with two films, The Animal Kingdom, by Thomas Cailley, and Elementary, by Pixar.

In video, I will always see your faces by Jeanne Herry, with Leïla Bekhti, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Elodie Bouchez, the trailer

United by an unbreakable bond since La Vie d'Adèle, the two actresses have total respect for each other. "Our friendship is like no other," they confide, "nothing can weaken its power." Celebrating ten years since their meeting, they gathered for an exceptional photo shoot for Madame Figaro. Time didn't hurt their relationship. They have matured, but they keep intact this sincerity and momentum for cinema, their kingdom and their playground. Flashback.

Adele wears a Saint Laurent leather coat by Anthony Vaccarello. B.zero1 earring, in rose gold and diamonds, Bulgari. Photo Tom Munro

Madame Figaro.–Ten years ago, you won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for La Vie d'Adèle. What inspires you about this anniversary?
Adèle Exarchopoulos. – Looking back, I realize how much this film was a foundational life experience, which built me as much as deconstructed. So much has been said since its release. There are good and bad, some that have been said, others that we regret. I have the feeling that this is a love story, with its passion, its misunderstandings, its wounds.

Léa Seydoux. – You're right, we are facing a story of love and chaos. I greatly admired Abdellatif Kechiche's work. Shooting for him excited me. But, let's face it, everything in this adventure turned out to be extreme, painful but also joyful, especially because Adele and I found each other. Unhappiness and lightness were intertwined. In Cannes, when the film was presented, this ambivalence continued: a completely crazy success and a controversy.

I already had enough experience on set to know that all this was not normal

Léa Seydoux

The shoot was hard. Léa, you felt "that it would be an important film, that was going to stay, and that it was worth drooling" to use your words. Do you still think so?
L.S.: I already had enough experience on set to know that all this was not normal. Such a film could not be made today. None of us gave up, we supported each other. In my entire career, this is the film I hear about the most in the world. It has marked generations.

A. E. – We were overwhelmed by the phenomenon. And then, at some point, controversies emerged, people began to give their opinion on everything, to throw untruths. I sincerely believe that only three people know exactly what happened: Leah, Abdel and me. Léa and I overcame the harshness of the ordeal and went through great moments of grace.

L.S.: Sometimes Abdel tried to divide us, but between Adele and me there was always benevolence. From the outset, our relationship has been healthy.

A. E. – Leah was very protective. Today, I realize how much she let me exist and have my moment in the light. When her relationship with Abdel became more complex, it never stopped her from encouraging me to seize my chance. "Take advantage of what's happening to you," she told me. It is absolute elegance.

No actress had ever received a Palme d'Or at Cannes. What has this unprecedented reward come to repair or release in you?
A. E. – She honored our work, valued our commitment to this film, but that's not what repairs or soothes.

L.S.: It gave me strength. In a way, I thought it deserved that we receive the Palme. I say it without any pretension, but not without pride: I really think that Adele and I are co-authors of the film. La Vie d'Adèle is based on the relationship between the two heroines, on our bond, our game, our unreserved involvement. The jury recognized this work both beautiful and painful, I do not know how they knew or guessed ... It was the heart that spoke. Unanimously. It touched me a lot.

A. E. – It's true, this recognition confirmed that we had not invested so much for nothing, that it was worth it.

After La Vie d'Adèle, it was very hard to shoot without Abdel and without Léa. I felt lost

Adèle Exarchopoulos

Léa wears a leather coat, Louis Vuitton. Photo Tom Munro

How has this film changed the actresses and women that you are?
A. E. – After La Vie d'Adèle, it was very hard to shoot without Abdel and without Léa. I felt lost. Abdel leaves a lot of freedom to act, the scenes are written, but you can improvise, he lets the camera turn for hours. Finding myself then on sets where everything was more professional but also more academic confused me. This is the trap of the masterpiece: we can fear that everything that comes next will no longer have any flavor. At the same time, this film very clearly taught me my own limits and the limits of what I could accept. At 17, when I accepted this role, I went headlong without asking myself any questions, and so much the better, fate does things well.

L.S.: This film taught me a lot about life and about myself. I tested my determination, my endurance, my strength. I often say it, and it's not a posture, cinema has educated me. I feel like everything I know about life, about human relationships, I learned through cinema. Doing this job connected me to the world. That being said, after this shooting experience, I chose to work only with directors who would be partners. I work better in tenderness and love than in violence.

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Could you go back with Kechiche?
A. E. – This is a delicate issue. My relationship with work intensity has changed. I recently toured with Jeanne Herry, and I worked in joy – which did not prevent me from crying, from playing fatigue, pain... I could go back with Abdel for a role that would be a challenge for both of us.

L.S.–I'm always asked the question, I'm not going to move the knife in the wound. Would he want to tour with me? I do not think so. And me, would I do this film again today? I don't think so either. Kechiche films youth particularly well, and I am no longer old enough to shoot in one of his films. I shot La Vie d'Adèle when I had no children, no ties. Today, my life has changed, everything is different.

Léa, how do you view Adèle?
L.S.–On this shoot, I saw an actress bloom, I have fond memories of her. I knew she was going to be a star. The actresses I admire are first and foremost women I admire. She has a kind of purity, a whole character, which makes that in life as on a film set she shows total generosity. Adele is also an impetuous woman, who is not afraid to go for it, to confront, to go towards the truth. She always delivers something intimate and personal in her roles. Above all, Adele is immediately fair.

Adèle, how do you see Léa?
A. E. – We are different but both instinctive. I think we have the same freedom, especially in the way we approach a role. In the game as in life, Léa is someone very surprising, intense too. It's rare. She may be accessible, curious, very human, but a mystery emanates from her. She is not aware of it and does not cultivate it, it is her nature. When you know her in private, she has something incredibly touching. I admire her career, her demanding choices, her crazy talent – she is able to travel in all universes.

Adele wears a hooded dress, cashmere, Alaïa. B.zero1 bracelet, in yellow gold and diamonds, Bulgari. Mathieu Laudrel hairstyle, Harold James makeup, Rachel Evy manicure. Photo Tom Munro

Do you make films for the same reasons as when you started?
L.S.: If cinema didn't exist, I don't know what I would do today. My place is on a platter. I feel like I'm in the right place. But beyond the immense pleasure of acting, what I prefer on a set is the team spirit. Making movies? It's living life more intensely.

A. E. – For me, it's a perpetual adventure, a limitless playground. When I was younger, I didn't really know why I was making movies, I just had fun. Today, it's my job. So, sometimes I doubt, I put pressure on myself, it's dizzying, but the pleasure remains the same. There's this childish jubilation in the game, like when you play with your friends at recess. I like to hide behind a character, I allow myself more things than in my own life, morally, intimately.

In ten years, you have become mothers. How has this changed the women and actresses that you are?
A. E. – Now that my son is in school, I can no longer bring him to the shoots all the time, it pushes me to make better choices and sometimes also sacrifices: I would not support a life too far from him, too far from everyday life. Becoming a mother has shaken up my certainties, it is a huge responsibility, and, at the same time, I rediscover the world through her child's eyes. Motherhood feeds me in the way I approach my roles, but it remains very unconscious.

L.S.–I love being a mother! I find it very joyful, exciting and informative. Even as a child, I wanted to have children, it was always an important thing for me, even though I did not consider cinema as a profession at all. That being said, is this the kind of question you ask a man...?

The year we won the Palme d'Or remains an incredible moment, a kind of nirvana

Léa Seydoux

You manage your notoriety differently: Léa, you are totally absent from social networks, Adèle, you play ...
A. E. – I don't know if it's generational, but, for me, my image on Instagram remains a game, which serves the promotion of my films or a luxury brand by injecting distance, second-degree distance. I know that I divide by the way I speak, move, put joggings. For me vulgarity is not there, but rather in education and how to behave with others. Today, Instagram serves me as much as it entertains me.

L.S.: Our profession is already immodest enough, I do not wish to expose myself further. I am of a very discreet nature. I prefer to tell myself through films.

A. E. – I love the mystery of Leah. I have zero mystery. (Laughter.)

Léa wears an oversized wool cardigan and lace tights, Louis Vuitton. LV Volt bracelet, gold, Louis Vuitton. Hairstyle Étienne Sekola, make-up Sandrine Cano Bock, manicure Anatole Rainey. Photo Tom Munro

How do you view the Cannes Film Festival?
A. E. – I try to approach this moment with as much lightness as ten years ago. It's always a joy to have a film in Cannes. I am very happy to go and defend Thomas Cailley's film, and to discover it there, but also to climb the steps for the Pixar film: it was one of my dreams to do a voice in a cartoon!

L.S.: I love it as much as I hate. We are completely excited on the spot, then the pressure drops suddenly. We always live a little depression when we come back from Cannes. But the year we won the Palme d'Or is still an incredible moment, a kind of nirvana.

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Why did you never go back together?
L.S.: Now that you ask the question, I realize that it was never proposed to us.

A. E. – No one dares. This film has so marked people's imagination, that it is perhaps complicated for a director to consider a project with Léa and me.

L.S.: Yet we both want it. We can play so many roles together...

Adèle Exarchopoulos plays in Passages, by Ira Sachs, released on June 28, and in Le Règne animal, by Thomas Cailley, presented at the opening of the Un Certain Regard selection, released on October 4. Léa Seydoux plays in Dune: second part, by Denis Villeneuve, released on November 1st, and in La Bête, by Bertrand Bonello, to be released soon.

In video, Dune: second part, the trailer