But in Nenette et Boni, you see Colin masturbate, you hear him recite his fantasies about the baker’s wife. . . . You’d think a female filmmaker would present this behavior critically, yet Denis doesn’t. There’s a vitality to all of it—even in that early scene when Boni’s hanging out with his friends and they’re getting into this . . .

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Both of the title characters possess what you might call “unmanageable youth.” To me, the sexuality of the film is part of that. There’s clearly some correlation between Boni’s sexual energy, which he releases through his fantasies, and Nenette’s pregnancy, which is the consequence of actual sexual activity. I thought the scene of her giving birth was pretty amazing.

It was just harsh. Denis didn’t romanticize it at all.

I think that’s why Denis’s filmmaking is practically inimitable. You can spot the influence of other breakthrough filmmakers of the past 20 years—for instance, Michael Haneke, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, or the Romanian New Wave directors—in the work of lesser artists. You just see certain kinds of shots that remind you of them. But Denis always seems two steps ahead of everybody else.

. . . And there’s a trail of buns from the bakery, as though we’re inside one of his fantasies about the baker’s wife.

  • Gregoire Colin in Nenette et Boni

Which is an unexpected reference to Terminator 2.

  • Nenette et Boni

  • Beau Travail

  • Colin and Denis Lavant in Beau Travail