Hélène suddenly discovers a consuming passion for chess—a game that was totally foreign
to her—and this passion turns her life upside down.

That brings to mind the “blind” game scene—one of the most beautiful sequences in the film. A fantasized game where the language of the game replaces words of love…

Bonnaire: Yes, through mentally moving the pawns, they would like to allow themselves to tell each other of their love, but…. For me, Hélène starts to reveal her feelings a little, not openly as the queen would do, with the freedom to go straight to her goal on the chessboard, but indirectly, like the bishop, sideways, diagonally. She has always been able to head right for her goals but in the quest of her passion, something stops her from revealing her feelings.

Bottaro: What happens between them at that point is about pleasure, desire rendered finer. For a long time I sought to fulfill their relationship and I felt that it had to be linked to their way of communicating: Through chess. You can’t imagine those two together in bed. If Hélène was
reduced to an adulterous woman, everything would fall apart—the singularity and sensuality of their relationship would no longer exist. The day I experimented with one of those so-called “blind” games, where two players compete without a chessboard (just by naming their moves out loud) I felt such emotion that I realized that’s what I had to do. To me, Hélène and Kröger make love in that scene, but in a very unusual way!

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