Ariane in a traditional tavern on Aeschylus Street, in the Psiri neighborhood
"Oranges, olive trees, cigarettes, cars." Four words, four olfactory sensations with which Ariane Labed she describes the city in which she was born, in 1984, where she lived until she was six years old and then three years as an adult.
Among her memories are the floral notes mixed with the smoke of the omnipresent cigars (note: in Greece it is forbidden to smoke in closed public places, but people skip the rule to the bullfighter).
"The orange trees in bloom I love them, the mix of her sweet and soft fragrance with the exhaust pipes of the vehicles or the meat of the souvlakis”. Of all the countries in the world, Ariane stays with her beloved Greece and mixes and contradicts her.
"Having seen them all, of course," she jokes between laughs. “I have a great connection with this country, very deep and special. Sometimes I try to go to other places and in the end I end up here. There is something that I don't know how to define... it's like being in love, she is stronger than me. And Athens somehow connects with how I feel."
Ariane browses the market next to the Central Market, in Monastirakiy
Ariane has also lived in Germany, many years in Paris and now in London, so we suspect that she being the image of Chloé's Nomade perfume comes to her hair.
"I grew up with the idea that you can travel and live in other places," she tells us, sitting on a sofa in the presidential suite of the NJV Athens Plaza , veteran family-run hotel in the historic Syntagma square.
In first view, this imposing room with a terrace overlooking the Acropolis and the nineties aesthetic of a business hotel doesn't quite suit us as a setting to chat with her. Ariane radiates Parisian bohemia and intellectuality from every pore of her.
But after seeing her move among the furniture of this five-star hotel, vaping nonstop –“I stopped smoking 20 days ago”–, wearing a black sack-type dress and masculine-style shoes, we recognize the somewhat extravagant magnetism of it.
The Pangrati neighborhood, one of the new fashionable areas of Athens
The same one that she exhibits in ** films like Alps (2011) ** –it is highly advisable to google her dance scene, if you haven't been able to see it– ** or the famous dystopia Lobster (2015) **, starring Colin Farrell.
In both it was directed by her husband, Yorgos Lanthimos, now on everyone's lips for the acclaimed Her favorite. Ariane and Yorgos met on the set of Attenberg, a film by Athina Tsangari, who was also a producer on Canino, another critical success for Lanthimos.
In Attenberg both acted and the two have been part since then of what some have called the Greek Weird Wave, a batch of Greek cinema with surrealist overtones, black humor and social criticism, initially with a low budget due to the crisis, and of which Lanthimos is its greatest exponent.
“I came back to Athens after finishing my studies in France and performed at the National Theater with my group”, Ariane tells us about Vasistas, an experimental company that loves dramaturgies not defined by a conventional narrative.
Ariane in the National Garden of Athens, dressed in a total look by Chloé
“I came just when the crisis began here and the rise of the extreme right, when all the Greeks wanted to leave Greece. There was no place for an actress, but it's what she wanted to do and I did it. Something violent but at the same time very energetic floated in the atmosphere, everyone was on the street. The artists were very active, it was exciting. After university in France this was like a jump to life, to a somewhat dark one. I believe that it made me grow a lot and helped me reaffirm what I wanted, in the midst of chaos. The crisis was, in that sense, something positive for me, but it has been a long and difficult process. Many friends have had a very bad time and even today, still”.
A circumstance that, he assures us, the deep-rooted culture of welcoming the foreigner has not changed, which comes from Ancient Greece, when they thought that anyone could be a foreigner at some point and that behind a man could be the gods. "That concept of generosity remains, but a lot of people have an understandable sense of injustice."
Now Yorgos and Ariane are based in London and, curiously, he, who lived in Greece all his life, assures that Ariane misses Athens more. But the couple is very busy spreading their particular conception of the visual arts around the world (and an incorruptible style on the red carpets of half the planet).
“I have no particular link with any country, I like being a foreigner,” Ariane assures us. "I feel more comfortable being 'outside'. In a way, I feel more at home when I'm not home, ”she finishes.
Terrace of a traditional tavern in Monastriraki
Of course, this chaotic and somewhat decadent city of Old Europe, where taxi drivers try to hit you every now and then – be careful if you see that they don't put the meter on – many motorists drive without the regulation helmet and the most wonderful ruins and the most fascinating orthodox churches mix with the least cute shops in the world, she suits Ariane like a glove (without any demerit, quite the opposite, of her Parisian allure).
To allege Ariane's mix of cultures and nationalities as a justification for her attractiveness would be falling into the cliché, but the parallelism of her fascinating personality with that of the Greek capital is inevitable. Her, the actress refuses to choose a neighborhood.
“The good thing about Athens is that, in a way, she is small, she can walk to many places. For example, to exarcheia , the anarchist, student and politically involved area. then there is kolonaki , the bourgeois area, more chic, which is another world. There are many places that I love in these areas but, Even in the most touristic enclaves, you can find very quiet nearby streets where you can have a coffee without people around you. That's why it's so hard for me to decide which is my favorite neighborhood, what conquers me is precisely that combination of different atmospheres. That is what makes Athens special.”
And that is precisely what we feel when we taste some typical tapas in Dexameni, away from the tourist bustle and surrounded by green, before taking a walk around Psiri alternative stores either the trendy cafes of Pangrati, an emerging student neighborhood where design buds, vintage spirit and good music prevail, especially at sunset.
Ariane walking down Ailou street
We walked with her at sunset Mouseion Hill, where the Philopappu Monument is located. From this spot to the southwest of the Acropolis, you get one of the best views of the famous archaeological remains of the (literally) upper part of the city.
“I used to come here a lot when I lived here a few years ago, bringing a friend's dog for a walk. It is not very touristy and I love it”. Maybe she has a dog? “No, but it's great to have friends with dogs and with children. I like having dogs and children around.” She adds between laughs: "What a comparison ...!".
When she thinks of destinations to escape to, she recites: Tinos, Amorgos, Folegandros... “These Greek islands have different faces: a wilder side and another with small villages. Also, there you find beautiful churches in the middle of nowhere. they drive me crazy its landscapes, that incredible architecture inside the rocks and I love your energy. I'm lovin 'it that feeling of being surrounded by the sea. That wherever you look you can see it, be so connected with him”.
Traveling by boat is one of his passions and, partly for this reason, she gets excited remembering her role as the protagonist in the film Fidelio (2014), which tells the story of Alice, a woman who works as a mechanic on a freighter.
"I adore her! Very much! When the director, Lucie Borleteau, told me about the project, she was super excited. A woman who works on a ship, traveling… It is not the usual environment for women and the contrast of this gigantic machine, which is almost alive, with one of the purest landscapes there is, the sea, is fascinating”.
A cat on a table in a Pangrati restaurant
In her filmography, Ariane has shown great courage as a performer, although, when asked about the hardest thing she has experienced as an actress, full nudity or titles like the gloomy and disconcerting Malgré la nuit (2015), about the porn industry, or La escala (2016), about the decompression period of some soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
The most demanding film that she has made, she explains to us, is Assassin's Creed, the video game adaptation that she co-starred with Michael Fassbender in 2016, for physical exertion.
“Anyway, you tend to forget that something was hard when you've finished it and I usually stay with the positive side of things, ”she adds. A luck, we aim.
"I try. It's hard for me, but I try. I usually choose what I do, I am very demanding and I work with interesting people and projects with which I feel involved. I don't like working with pain."
The Acropolis, captured by Ariane with the second-hand analog camera she bought in Monastirakyi
We share lunch with Ariane and the rest of her team at the NJV Athens Plaza restaurant, which allows us to discover two important things about her: he loves Greek food (and knows it well) and is very interested in what others have to say. Especially if they express their love for theater, music or any artistic discipline.
Listening to her detail her experiences on stage, we wonder if she is a method actress. “I like to prepare and then be intuitive and visceral during the shoot or the play. I prefer not to intellectualize situations. I don't like the idea of talking or thinking too much on a film set. Not that the directors talk too much. In my opinion, to jump into a scene you should never think twice, of course, to reach that state, you need a lot of preparation.”
Who would you like to direct her in her next movie? “Oh my god, wait. I have a list: Alice Rohrwacher, (Wonderland, 2014), Kelly Reichardt, (Certain Women, 2016), Claire Denis (A Sun Within, 2017). I would also like to repeat with the first director I worked with, Athina Tsangari. And here ends this promotional section for women! ”, She exclaims in an ironic tone.
Her commitment to feminism is beyond question. “Of course I feel totally identified. Not only in this sector, in general”.
Nevertheless, her experience in Hollywood has not been so different from that in Europe. “In filming it happens as in real life, each one is from a different place, from Australia, North America, Spain… it's great, like a microcosm. Depending on the budget the experience changes somewhat, but I don't see so many differences or maybe I don't want to see them because I don't want to work differently”.
Greek tapas in Dexameni square, in the Kolonaki neighborhood
Currently her first short as a writer and director It's in post-production. “It's about femininity, the difficulty of communicating, sexuality and what it means to take control of your own life. I think it's a feminist film. I hope so. That is what I want".
Being the image of a maison like Chloé is a milestone in the career of an actress, But with great power comes great responsibility. “If she thought I was a role model for other people she would be terrified. But that woman, the image of Nomade, is not me completely. I approached her as a character, although she certainly is an inspiration.”
She doesn't do any kind of apostolate on social networks, since she doesn't use them at all – “Better don't write that, it's not something that firms usually love...”, she jokes – but she is proud to be part of a campaign about women and for women.
“It was a pleasant surprise, it is a firm that I admire and with which I connect. I represent a woman who does not care about borders, open to the world, to people, capable of taking risks. And the best thing is that there is no man who has to allow it. It is not good to generalize, but often the beauty in these ads is associated with seduction. This is not the case".
The filming of the spot was also a gift: her first trip to India. "The colors of Jodhpur are incredible and I was impressed by the way they dress in the villages, even to work in the fields they wear precious fabrics, makeup and jewelry."
She is no longer as 'backpacker' as she was a few years ago –“I would no longer go to a destination without having planned a bit”–, and She always travels with one or two books, a swimsuit – “You never know!” – her laptop, a notebook and a pen.
“If I have ideas I like to write them down”. A confession? “ I spend a lot of time in airports but I don't like them, they are the same everywhere. Too global. And you can't smoke. Don't put that either..."
Ariane walking down Ailou street
WHERE TO EAT
Galaxy, Hilton Hotel: Spectacular international cuisine with beautiful views and DJ sessions. The sushi is exceptional.
Cookovaya : Seasonal, homemade and local. Five chefs guarantee this modern and cozy establishment close to the emblematic Hilton.
Vezene: In the same area as the previous ones, this bistro offers a casual and exquisite approach to the Greek culinary tradition.
Birdman (Skoufou, 2): Ariane loves this yakitori tavern from chef Vezene, another one of her favorites.
Oinopoleion: Cozy traditional tavern in Psiri. Good wine and homemade food at a very good price.
Or Thanassis: This authentic place full (and what does it matter) of tourists is a classic.
Dexameni ( Plaza Dexamenis) : Good, nice and cheap. An essential in the Kolonaki neighborhood.
WHERE TO DRINK
Kaya (Voulis, 7) : Ariane says that the coffee in Athens is better than the one in Paris! Check it out (standing up) here.
Chelsea Hotel (Proklou & Archimidous) : In the up-and-coming neighborhood of Pangrati, for drinks at night with the best music.
social canteen (Leokoriou, 6-8) : Alternative music and a good atmosphere until the wee hours of the morning, in the Psiri neighbourhood. East.
WHERE TO BUY
Zaharias Records (Ifestou, 20) : This CD and vinyl store in a passageway of the Monastiraki flea market is where you can get lost for a while.
Remember Fashion (Eschilou, 28) : Incredible second-hand clothes and rock legends (who used to dress there when they went on tour), in Psiri.
Views of the Acropolis from the Sense restaurant of the AthensWas hotel