Exclusive Interview! Alicja Bachleda Talks ONDINE

Next weekend, June 4th, an indie movie titled ONDINE, (watch the trailer) written and directed by Oscar winning filmmaker Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), starring Colin Farrell, will hit U.S. select theaters and a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing co-star, Polish actress/singer born in Mexico, Alicja Bachleda (Colin’s girlfriend in real life) who plays the title character, a mysterious woman with a secret, who comes out of the water and may or may not be a folklore mermaid-like creature known as Selkie. I’ve watched ONDINE and it was a very beautifully shot film, a naive yet gritty fairy tale. Alicja talked about her character, the challenges during the shooting, and more. Check out the full interview after this jump…

RS: Are you familiar with writer/director Neil Jordan’s early work or his previous films?

AB: The early ones like The Company Of Wolves, but all that beautiful world that he creates which is ya know very much located in the Twilight zone between the reality and fairy tale. So with this project, it was quite the same, I mean the script was just beautiful and the part that was given to me, it was kind of a dream come true, quite complex and quite a bit of a challenge for an actor to play a part that’s not so specific. She is somebody else that people see her or understand her to be. It was quite interesting and quite tricky to play that part
But I didn’t have to think twice of course, I was just very honored to be given that opportunity, to be part of it

RS: Now it seems like Ondine is very subtle compared to the movies that Neil Jordan has done in the past, that were usually dark in terms of tone and mood.

AB: I see Ondine as a very hopeful movie about people that were destined to live in quite miserable environment and their lives are quite dark and sad and all of a sudden yes there’s that miracle that happened, that change that comes with the appearance of Ondine. And for her as well, it’s a second chance, a chance for a new life, for a better life, she definitely believes that she might be that new person. Now, it is a very hopeful film, it tells the story about people that are given a second chance, I think comparing to other Jordan films, it has that quality, it’s quite dark but it’s very hopeful and beautiful. It speaks great value in life like love, trust, hope and belief

RS: Now I read the press release and it said that you had a stunt double for the scenes that require you to spend time in the very cold lake.

AB: Unfortunately most of the scenes with me were in cold water and I wanted to do most of it myself. Yeah because I wanted to be truthful to my character and I think the character tells so much of my struggle and it was quite a struggle because that water was quite cold and sometimes my body or my muscles just won’t respond, ya know, after spending some time underneath the surface. I think the water was 8 degrees centigrade, actually quite dangerous. And those moments when you don’t see me or you’d see just a part of my body or you’d see me from afar, my stunt double would help me or she would take over but mostly it was me. I was happy to do that, although it was a challenge but I was glad that I could overcome my obstacles and do it.

RS: you said 8 degrees centigrade?

AB: yes so it was like 30  or 40 fahrenheit

RS: now, you were in the drama Trade with Kevin Kline, it was about human trafficking, excellent movie by the way

AB: Thank you

RS: But I remember in that movie, Trade, your character experienced physical abuse and in Ondine your character also had to go through similar rough experience, if you will, on top of which you had to spend time in the cold water. what made  you come back to such physically demanding roles.

AB: It was a coincidence. I’d have to say I enjoyed.. such physical work. It just gives me great energy in Trade and Ondine, those parts were actually fueled by the actions as well, so it is a great help, but as I said, quite challenging so you’d have to focus and concentrate and be very disciplined to be able to go do it.

RS: Ok, I have to ask this..This film was shot back in 2008.. and Rama’s SCREEN is not a gossip blog so I’m gonna stay out of your current relationship life, but at the time, of the shooting, what was it like working with the world renown party boy Colin Farell?

AB: (laugh) well I won’t comment on that.  Because the fact that it was great, He’s a very professional actor, very focused on his work and very devoted to what he’s doing. And it was great to see that, I didn’t know him before, I didn’t know much expectation or whatever people believed he was, I didn’t care that much to follow other people’s opinions but I was just very, ya know, happy to meet an actor who’s so ambitious and so willing to talk and to discuss the scene and ya know, helpful and very professional and focused on his work which helps a lot.

RS: You mentioned in the press release that your character Ondine is some kind of illusion.. you’d consider her to be that way.. so knowing that or understanding that, how did you manage to approach it, how would you go about playing Ondine?

AB: well, there are some given facts. Or at least one given fact that we both know about that I don’t know want to disclose for people.. to still have that mystery.. but based on the script and her real past, this is .. it was easy kind of to create somebody that was quite real. And then the tricky part was to play it the way that people would believe that she might be somebody else, and that the surprise at the end would still be there.
I focused on the situation or tried to imagine the situation where you’re just given a second chance in anything. It’s going to be something much smaller than life, but something that you really want to believe that will work out and kind of find yourself completely in it and believe in happy ending and basically that was it. And also being on the set, I met few people that would swear somebody from their family met or heard of a weird woman they believe was a selkie that would come from the water and live on the land for 7 years and have families and just disappeared, so it was very interesting to create that character

RS: Ah yes, you mentioned Selkie.. most of us American would know it as just mermaid. In fact most here would probably consider Ondine to be a modern mermaid tale.

AB: Yes, it’s Selkie.

RS: What fascinated me as well about this story is your interaction with the child actor Allison Barry who plays Annie who strongly believed that your character was actually a Selkie. By the way. I think Allison gave an impressive performance for her age, she reminds me of young Dakota Fanning. But help me out there, it seems at first your character wanted to play along with Annie’s fantasy but then you had a change of heart and then you wanted to believe it again?

AB: I can tell you, I know I think which moment do you think, that she decided not to play the part, she was not willing to, after she found out that she can live a different life, she can be selkie. Everything that Annire threw on her, her expectations of what selkie can do, that scared her.
I mean, something to live up to those expectations, it’s quite difficult.  So it’s quite natural that when she finds out that she can actually exist and she can be her new self and make it more real than Annie would like her to be. She just wants to stick to that and not be kind of a myth or trying to raise to the expectation.. if you remember she was supposed to.. change everybody’s life for better.. I mean all that or marry the fisherman.. it’s something that you kind of.. you like the concept but you want life to take its own course. So I think towards the end she’d rather be considered that fantastic creature than who she really was. But it’s becoming obvious that the truth will see the daylight soon.

RS: How do you choose your gigs?

AB: I just wish to have the opportunity to pick the best scripts, to judge project by the quality of it and how ambitious it is and the value it carries and all that but of course, reality is different, I’m kind of open to anything that reaches to some kind of a level and especially if the script is valuable enough and it’s smart enough, I would be more than happy to do. If it’s an action movie and I’d have to hold a gun and jump out of a plane and all that, I would be very excited, I’ve never done that, I think it’d be a great change from drama movies I’ve done recently.

RS: Is there anything that you have signed on to? Or considered doing?

AB: I do have few projects coming up. There’s nothing I would mention right now because the talks are not final but yes I’m very much looking forward to going back to work and I think it will happen soon

RS: I read somewhere that you also have albums, as in you had a career as a singer?

AB: Yes I grew up singing and I released a few albums back in Poland and in Germany, for the last year I focused on acting so I didn’t really have time to hide in the recording studio and record an album, but it’s coming my way. I feel greater urge to sing everyday and I believe it might happen soon that I would disappear for a month or two and record something but for now I’m very much focused all acting.

RS: so it’s your beautiful voice that we hear in the movie Ondine?

AB: Yes that’s my (laugh) voice. Quite beautiful.

RS: or I should say.. enchanting

AB: (laugh) Thank you

RS: Has Neil Jordan asked you to be in his next movie? Did he go ‘you were great! Let me have you in my next project’?

AB: (laugh) well he didn’t say that. So I believe he didn’t say that then maybe he has no plans.. but ya know, there’s nothing for me to say except the fact that I wish to work with him again eventually in the future