The Training of Camille - Session 2

Camille took the beating well. It was her first beating. The first session I did not beat her like this, not in the unceasing way I was doing it now. We just played a bit with the idea, during that first session. Our aim... my aim at that time was to get her expressions right, that was all. In this session I was working on Camille's movements, her reactions, her representation of pain, of the body in pain.

The escene itself, in the film, will take a minute or two. The session lasted more than ten. Ten minutes in which Camille was beaten with a rod. As Margot, MaRe and Rosie had been beaten before, but not with the same intensity or the same goal in mind. In fact they were a preparation for me. They prepared the road for Camille.

As the session progressed I became more active. I didn't limit myself to just beat her. I began to manipulate her body more, to pull her to me and away from me. To pull her hair until her head was leaning back. I hit her legs while holding her head back. I was becoming a tad too enthusiastic. Her willingness to go through this session only encouraged me to go further.

I paused the beating for a short while to get a better view of her, a closer view of her back. To zoom the lens in took me a few seconds, a few endless seconds. I had to do it, oftent in fact, and I hated the idea of disconnecting myself from the action to become a camera man. I was using the same Sharp VHS camera. My amateur camera, but still, I was careful enough to get good shots, as good as the camera and the light conditions would allow me.