Le Centre Pompidou &... Natalie Portman

She is a true Francophile. Married to French choreographer and dancer Benjamin Millepied, Natalie Portman lived in Paris while he was the director of the Opéra national from 2014 to 2016. These days, the Oscar-winning actress (Black Swan, 2010) is in Cannes for May December, Todd Haynes' new feature film Safe, in which she stars alongside Julianne Moore, the filmmaker's muse since the 1990s. From her years in the French capital, she has maintained a strong connection with Centre Pompidou, or "Beaubourg" as she says— just like a true Parisienne.

“I lived in Paris when my son was 3 or 4, and I quickly realized that when the weather was bad and that we couldn’t go to the playground, the best thing was to go to the museums. Beaubourg was probably his favorite one, and we used to come all the time, to the Atelier des enfants. I say "Beaubourg", because while living in Paris I quickly learned that you don’t call it "the Pompidou"! I also remember once there was this big chalk room where you could write on the walls (by Jean-Luc Vilmouth, editor's note), and play a part in making the art — he loved that. I also took my daughter recently during the Gérard Garouste retrospective, and she got to make a piece and hang it up in the children’s gallery. It was so fun for her to feel she could be part of the collection in that way. 

The Pompidou has just an extraordinary collection, from Memphis works to modern photographs or Yves Klein… you just go from one masterpiece to another. Some of my favorites artists there are Kandinsky — I love the kind of synesthesia of the music with the colors, or Bauhaus painter and photographer Moholy-Nagy. I am also a huge fan of Anselm Kiefer’s; his work always moves me the most out of any contemporary artists. There is a piece there, called Für Velimir Chlebnikow: Schicksale der Völkerpieces that I find really moving. I just love the way Kiefer interacts with poetry and history. Growing up, I loved Egon Schiele and the German and Austrian expressionists, there is some sort of punk attitude that really got me excited. My mum is an artist, and I feel related to Matisse in a way — maybe because the patterns and the colors remind me of my mum’s work, she does big abstract color pieces. 

I have always loved taking the escalator up, it’s just the best way to see the city. I always tell friends when they come to Paris to go up to Georges and walk around outside, and look at the view... 

Natalie Portman

I recently came to see the Alice Neel retrospective, and it was so incredible to get to be introduced to someone so important in American art and activism. I wasn’t very familiar with her work. The building in itself is so extraordinary — the idea of Piano and Rogers of having the inside on the outside feels like it has an emotional connection to letting your deepest self be exposed... I have always loved taking the escalator up, it’s just the best way to see the city. I always tell friends when they come to Paris to go up to the Georges and walk around outside, and look at the view... 

I recently came to present the screening of Safe, for the Todd Haynes retrospective. It was an incredible honor to be able to talk to Todd about it, it is one of my favorite films and favorite performances ever ! I was so lucky to get to work with him, and to get to watch him working with Julianne, his muse. It was extraordinary. He is so kind and generous and warm, and also so prepared. He knows exactly what he wants. We shot the film really quickly and it just felt completely in control. A lot of time when things are fast like that it feels chaotic and hectic, but he was able to make it so smooth, and he gave us room to explore. In all of his movies, he really shows the complexity of women, in an unbiased way. I think Todd is one of the greatest directors of our time. ◼