Renate Rijnsve, fresh off her Oscar nomination for Sentimental Value, undergoes a visual transformation in Butterfly.
“Itonjae wanted me to break away from my previous look. Lily went against normal beauty standards,” she says.
“It made a lot of sense for this character who grew up being exploited because of her beauty. She’s trying to distance herself from the male gaze. At the same time, she enjoys provoking a reaction, but not attracting anyone’s sexual attention.”
In the film, which was shown in Gothenburg and IFFR, she plays Lily, a performance artist who reunites with her sister Diana (Helen Bjorneby) in the Canary Islands after the mysterious death of her missing mother.
“It’s one of the hardest things we do, and it requires constant effort. It’s trying to move past the hurt and pain caused by someone’s actions. See where it came from, see the more nuanced images and innocence, and break free,” she says.
“You can see how tense these sisters are because of their unusual upbringing, and the only way to reconcile that is through each other.”
The Norwegian actor enjoyed being on set, which was “like a mix between a fiction film and a documentary”. That’s mainly because the non-professional actors had a real connection to the set.
“I love filmmakers who challenge the established,” she says.
“Itonjae’s ideas come from other places. He’s very unconventional and I really respect him. Hopefully, I can continue to work and learn from directors who have different tastes and different ways of making movies.”
Itonje Søimer Guttormsen achieved arthouse acclaim thanks to his previous film “Gritt,” about a polarizing character who actually makes a cameo in “Butterfly.”
“She’s a very unconventional female character. On some level you love her because it’s so hard to like her. There’s something to relate to there,” Reinsve admits.
“We definitely knew we were moving into the same situation as Lily. She has a lot of traits that make it hard for her to fit in or function as expected. And she’s not going to change. She’s always at war with the world.”
Itonje Soymar Guttmussen jokes that he is attracted to “difficult women”. “Women who have been hurt, ignored, or abused and are fighting and finding strategies. But Lily and Grit are very different. Grit has projects and ideals, while Lily is very selfish.”
Butterfly, which focuses on strained family relationships, may be her most relatable work to date. The publisher is Protagonist Pictures.
“It’s a very relatable piece, but I’m going to change gears and go off-piste. Maybe we’ll get a wider audience involved. Either way, I’ll take them on a journey into the great outdoors.”
She added, “I don’t want to compromise. I want to be bold with my art and dig deep. But I also want to reach a wider audience. ‘Commercial’ isn’t the right word, but this is the film that appeals to me the most.”
Having Reinsbe in the lead certainly helped. “It’s very democratic in Norway. Everyone knows each other. When we started, she wasn’t at that level yet, but now she’s a big star. So people will pay attention to the movie because of her. It’s a gift, but I knew she was right for this role.”
Lily certainly stands out with her outrageous looks. However, the director asserts that there is a way to resolve this madness.
“Lily dresses to protect herself. It’s how she distinguishes herself and her sister. She’s telling everyone, ‘I don’t belong here.'” But she’s also a chameleon. She takes on the characteristics of the people she meets. I always saw her as exhausted and clearly not healthy, and of course Renate is stunningly beautiful. She was bold, embraced it, and was very interested in how to improve her appearance. ”
Gutmussen’s characters come to know their mother through the people who changed her, while reluctantly deciding to follow in her footsteps.
“She had a wonderful journey. Many Norwegians also went to Gran Canaria. Gran Canaria is the island we visit the most and everyone has a connection with this island. She felt trapped and ignored her children in order to escape, but then she built a healing retreat center for women. Now, after her death, she is healing her children too.”
While Norway has been in the spotlight during the Oscar frenzy, Guttormsen hopes the country will make concrete changes.
“What’s happening with ‘Sentimental Value’ is really amazing. It’s never happened in Norway before. The whole industry is excited but also a little giddy about it. I hope this will lead to more funding. So many people are quitting their jobs as filmmakers,” she says.
“Sometimes you see institutions focusing on just one trend, like, ‘We need more viewers,’ or ‘We need more awards.’ Personally, I like to see different filmmakers. For me, the Oscars are not within reach or on the radar. So I hope there’s more space for other things.”
And about grit, which may appear in the future.
“I know I’ll see her again. I’d love to see how she ages, and I’d love to make a movie about it. She might not be in the next movie, but maybe someone from Butterfly will be in it. In my movie, I’m creating an entire universe. That’s my world.”
