INTERVIEW Léa Rinaldi's Behind Jim Jarmusch

Text by Brendan Seibel 

"I think I can have a new look (at) him, not as a mythological figure 'underground', 'punk'," says young Parisian director Léa Rinaldi, discussing her new feature length documentary Behind Jim Jarmusch with VINGT PARIS. "I didn't know anything (about the film). When I came I learned and I saw his movie but I didn't have any preconceived ideas to put him on a pedestal." Barred from seeing a script or schedule Rinaldi was granted three days to film on the set of The Limits of Control. The results are a surprisingly intimate and ethereal portrait of one of America's most idiosyncratic auteurs.

If the film is imbued with a sense of isolation and melancholy found in many of Jarmusch's films.   "Against my will his rhythm takes my film," Rinaldi explains. "His voice, the quiet on the set." However this atmosphere allows the camera to delve into moments shared by cast and crew. Rinaldi focuses on the minutiae of staging shots and running takes from the perspective of a production assistant. Her effortless assimilation into the ranks allows for unguarded moments with the film's stars: Issach de Bankolé, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

Amidst the nervousness preparing for scenes and the restless waiting, Jarmusch speaks freely to Rinaldi, often leading her on walks through Seville where shooting took place. Uninterested in discussing work Jarmusch is free to espouse non sequitur philosophical musings, tying life to film, death to consciousness, beauty to honey bees.

What's most impressive is the level of intimacy. Rinaldi had met Jarmusch years before while she was filming interviews at Cannes and the two have maintained an intercontinental friendship. There's an
obvious level of trust revealed in his candor, enigmatic as it may seem. Emboldened by this relationship or highly attuned to her surroundings Rinaldi captures details you're unlikely to see in any
traditional "behind the scenes" feature: John Hurt's restless surveying of a courtyard as Jarmusch wanders aimlessly in the background; Tilda Swinton's hands clenching and releasing as she waits for action to be called; Jarmusch's hands clasped behind his back as he considers the angle of the camera.

An extraordinary amount of care went into Behind Jim Jarmusch. Rinaldi took three days of footage and threads a quiet, contemplative narrative throughout. "It was like a present for Jim," she concludes. 

Behind Jim Jarmusch will be playing continuously between the hours of 10h and 20h on 25 & 26 November during the Né dans la rue exhibition.

La Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain

261 bld Raspail

Paris 14