Philippe Claudel is better known in some circles for his novels (“By a Small River,” “Grey Souls”) than his film work.

But when it came time to tell the story of a broken women trying to start her life anew, Claudel understood which medium would work best.

“The story of Juliette, for me, was impossible to write a novel with that. I wanted to work without words,” Claudel says of “I’ve Loved You So Long,” his newest film.

The French artist – he also paints and teaches writing at a university – had written screenplays before but felt ready to direct.

“It’s a very personal story, not autobiographical, but I’m very close to all the characters in the movie,“ he says. “It was impossible to give this story to another director.”

“I’ve Loved You So Long” deals with a character who spent more than a decade in prison, but we never see the cell where she stayed or her fellow inmates. It’s hardly an accident.

“It’s very difficult to tell stories about prison – many clichés,” he says. “In this movie, I was very happy to talk about prison but never in this movie do you see the prison. It’s more powerful.”

Working with star Kristin Scott Thomas meant both actor and director were open toward improvisation.

“I gave her total freedom for the first take in each scene,” he says, and then he took over after that. The final version emerged in the editing room. “Sometimes Kristin’s first take was perfect, just what I wanted.”

He wouldn’t work any other way.

“The creative process is like an adventure,” he says.

“I’ve Loved You So Long” hardly seems like the right kind of film release for the ho-ho-holiday season. But Claudel, like his film, comes brimming with optimism.

“I like to explore the tragic dimension of her life, but we have open space for the hope, for the light, for the rebirth,” he says. “I wanted to show its possible to have a second chance. It’s important for me to begin this story with a very tragic and dark atmosphere and very slowly go into the light.”

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Part 1 of WWTW’s chat with Philippe Claudel

(Photo: Elsa Zylberstein and Kristin Scott Thomas play sisters reunited after 15 years in “I’ve Loved You So Long.”)

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2. WWTW Interview: Writer/director Scott Prendergast (‘Kabluey’)
3. WWTW Interview: Director Nick Tucker (‘Do As I Say’)

Philippe Claudel worked as a teacher in a prison for 11 years, but he never taught anyone quite like Juliette, the lead character in his new movie, “I’ve Loved You So Long.”

Juliette is released from prison when the film opens, having served 15 years for the murder of her child.

“During this time I met different people, but I didn’t meet exactly Juliette,“ Claudel says in accented but fluent English. “I discovered the face of her humanity.”

Audiences will, too, especially given the brilliant turn by Kristin Scott Thomas as the tormented ex-convict.

What’s Thomas, best known for her work in English-language films like “Random Hearts” and “The English Patient,” doing in a French feature? Possibly collecting her second Oscar nomination.

Her turn as Juliette, a dazed woman taken in by her younger sister (Elsa Zylberstein), is drawing serious Oscar attention.

“She speaks perfect French with just a little delicious accent,” Claudel says of Scott, who was seen earlier this year in the terrific French thriller “Tell No One.” “She’s been very under-employed in French movies before this film.”

Claudel wanted to show Juliette in an utterly unglamorous fashion. She wears no makeup, dresses in nondescript clothes and appears disinterested in starting her life again.

Thomas had no problem with any of these directions.

Claudel, a bestselling novelist in France, has been aching to create a project with a strong female character at its center.

“In my novels I explore constantly the male universe. I wanted to change that,” he says. “I wanted to show the real face of a woman, to work with an actress, to use the light and sound, the clothes and the set.”

Tomorrow: Claudel discusses why he decided to tell Juliette’s story on the big screen and not in print, and opens up about his creative process.

(Photo: Kristin Scott Thomas plays a woman trying to resurrect her life after a lengthy prison sentence in the French drama “I’ve Loved You So Long.”)

Related posts:

1. WWTW Interview: Writer/director Scott Prendergast (‘Kabluey’)
2. WWTW Interview: Director Nick Tucker (‘Do As I Say’)
3. WWTW Interview: Seann William Scott