11 · 09 · 12

"Mexico is the most romantic country in the world," Geraldine Chaplin

Daniela Michel, general director of FICM, and Alejandro Ramírez, president of the festival, asked for an applause for Geraldine Chaplin who arrived at a theater packed with a public anxious to see and talk with her at the end of the screening.

"It is a great honor and privilege to be at the Morelia Film Festival to present the film," the actress said prior to the screening. "I invite you to see and enjoy the film so that we can talk after it is over."

Et si on vivait tous sembles? is about five old friends who decide to live together as an alternative to living in a retirement home. Joining them is an ethnology student whose thesis is on the aging population. Stéphane Robelin directs actors Daniel Brühl, Jane Fonda, Claude Rich, Pierre Richard, Bernard Malaka and Chaplin, in a film that impacted the public in Morelia.

After the screening, a long applause brought Geraldine Chaplin to the stage where Daniela Michel conducted a question and answer session with the public. "What was it like making the film?" asked Michel. "It's too bad that all of the actors in the film aren't here," Chaplin responded. "Jane Fonda and I became friends right away. She is very inquisitive. The three actors, huge names in French cinema, had never worked together before and they were always talking about the old days, so the director had to scold them. It was a very good shoot, with a lot of respect toward the young director."

Asked about her view of old age and death, Chaplin frowned and responded quickly. "Old age is the most horrible thing that exists. It is a massacre, in which everything becomes a country without maps. I'm afraid of death; I hate it. They say old people are wiser, but I think young people are full of wisdom."

Many people congratulated the actress, who is the daughter of the comedian Charles Chaplin, as they asked her questions about her acting career, her work with a multitude of directors, and her advice to young filmmakers.

"Mexico is the most romantic place in the world," she said. "This is a perfect city for a festival because it is magical. Here one imagines everything that has happened and everything that can happen. And if you add cinema to that, the magic becomes even more incredible. I am very moved and appreciative to the Morelia International Film Festival for inviting me."

The conversation with the public lasted more than half an hour, during which time Geraldine Chaplin was generous, seductive, funny and demonstrated her command of the stage through the clarity of her ideas.