Movieline

The Verge: Alicja Bachleda

Some roles change an actress's career, and then some roles change her life. Neil Jordan's fairy-tale thriller Ondine did both for 27-year-old Alicja Bachleda, who stars in the title role as a mysterious young woman caught in the net of the Irish fisherman Syracuse (Colin Farrell). Revived and stabilized, she is thought by both Syracuse and his physically ailing daughter to possibly be a selkie -- the mythical sea-woman creature of Irish folklore. Ondine's gifts for singing fish into Syracuse's net and treating the sick girl only compound the suspicion; their increasing closeness sets up a romance both on- and offscreen (Bachleda and Farrell became an item on the set, having a son together in 2008), not to mention a quintessentially Jordan-esque meditation on a woman who isn't what she appears to be.

Opening Friday in limited release, Ondine marks the Mexican-born, Polish-bred Bachleda's biggest Stateside breakthrough to date. She was previously seen in the multinarrative sex-slave-trafficking drama Trade; prior to that Bachleda climbed through the Polish acting ranks while sustaining a singing career on the side. (She has released four albums to date.) Movieline caught up with Bachleda during her visit to the Tribeca Film Festival, where Ondine had its NYC premiere.

I was a little worried for a while this was never come out, so--

What? Really? Why?

Well, your original distributor went out of business, and then--

Oh, right. I was spared that drama. I wasn't really on the inside. But I was always sure that this movie would see the daylight.

Fair enough. So Ondine is basically an international intrigue by way of Irish folk tale. How did you get yourself familiar with the history here -- and reconcile both elements?

They were quite entwined. Being there on the set, I kind of enjoyed absorbing the energy of the city. which was very specific. I never really experienced that before. People were extremely nice, and very real -- if I can say that. Very honest. Very authentic. And you can sense the history, you can see the tremendous appreciation for nature. Speaking of the sea itself and fishermen, they were really beautiful people, and I was so impressed by them. And being on the boat, I think, "What am I doing? What is an actor compared to someone who comes out here and battles the elements every day?"

Does that provoke a heightened sense of responsibility at all? To uphold the reality and the myths of these lives?

That was quite challenging. I got to meet a few people who would actually swear that they met -- or they knew someone -- who saw some woman who would appear all of the sudden, stay on land for seven years, and then disappear and leave everybody and everything behind. That was quite interesting to know. And as well, yeah, maybe there was a little bit of a responsibility on my shoulders for trying to become that creature that people can believe in and who can carry the story.

You've mentioned that Polish filmmakers are reluctant to cast younger actors, or at least that older actors tend to play a lot younger than they are. What's the hesitation?

I can't really tell you. All I know is that there's a huge emphasis on acting school -- on theatrical school that accepts only a few people. And they make them from scratch. They treat them as material that they can flex and bend, and it's fantastic for many. But sometimes it kind of steals the freshness from many actors. But because there's such a cult of school itself -- and look, I found it great; there are many great theatrical actors in Poland -- you'd see those actors playing very young characters. For the story, it didn't really make sense. But because they were so used to seeing those trained actors perform, it was kind of like an unspoken deal that you could accept that as realistic. So I don't know. The faith in school is great, and child actors don't have that experience behind them.

It sounds like the emphasis is on character acting, which is the complete opposite of most American instruction.

Not really. Polish actors are very versatile, and they can play anything -- even a baby. I don't think it's that. I'm really trying to explain that the reason they didn't want to trust a child -- or didn't want to when I was growing up -- was that a child doesn't have a school behind them. It's harder to work with them and accept what they say. There are some concepts to acting, too, that just fit better after school and everyone knows what they're doing, or which tool to use and all that. And that's why I was very curious. I was raised on American films, and I'd seen all those movies about children. And they were are so authentic -- like The Goonies, you know? I'm sure they were actors, but they made it very real and great. I was very fascinated by that method.

How did leaving Poland change your approach to acting?

Well, my first experience was when I was 8 years old. I did movie after movie, and then I did theater for a few years. The acting was actually play for me; it was a lot of fun. I was surrounded by my friends, by actors. We were all 10 years old and having the best time of our lives. Then it kind of transitioned into a job -- a way of living. Then acting in Germany, for example, it was a bit different. The language was quite an obstacle; I wasn't speaking German first at all. I'd been given a part where I'm actually a lead, and I'm considered half-German. So I had to step up a bit and do it. So going abroad and acting in films, I decided that even if it's less comfortable for me as Alicja, it's probably better for my development as an actor because I have to face new obstacles -- like the language and different cultures.

And films like Trade and Ondine feature really intense roles, too. Is that just a coincidence, or is that your more natural tendency?

I'm definitely willing to go there for parts, but I'd have to say it was a coincidence. I got the part in Trade at that stage of career when I [was] happy to have a script in my hands that is valuable and represents something ambitious. The part is more complex than just running with a gun and shouting -- which I'm sure is fun. So whenever I get that opportunity, I don't think, "Oh that's great, but she's not too physical. She needs to be more intense." It just happened to be there; for both of those parts, it was very important.

Working with Neil Jordan has to be like a school in itself, right?

Yeah, especially because he wrote the script. It was his story. Of course I had that fright of being able to fulfill his vision, and then observing him and seeing how flexible he was with me and other actors -- how willing he was to listen and to change things for me. It was great. I really appreciated the process of rehearsing. We had a day where we would just sit down and go through the lines and say, "You know, this doesn't feel real to me. It doesn't feel natural." And he would change it. So that was quite surprising and lovely.

You've also spoken about the "divine emotions" encountered on this set. Can you elaborate on that at all?

That's hard to explain. I don't want to sound pathetic or anything, but yeah. The closeness of nature played a great part in deciding some changes in my life. Whether that was a decision toward some people I was surrounded [by] and I felt I didn't need [certain things] anymore, or whether I thought I was who I was because of this time that was filtered through me... It's complicated. I'm trying to make sense of it. But I really get a closer look on myself. And I've decided that I'll take more time to take care of all my passions -- to take care of my acting, my writing, my painting, my singing -- and appreciate that. I'll appreciate what's been given to me. So it's things like that: Moments of clarity that I had quite early on in my life, I believe. It was great. And I have to say, the place where we were shooting -- southwest Ireland -- is a very magical place. There's just this energy to it that you have to go to to actually understand it. It's very special.

I overheard you saying something fantastic about working in the Spanish language -- about loving its lyricism and musicality. Do you intend to pursue more roles in that vein?

I don't know. I never thought of pursuing it, I just hope it will happen, or that maybe it's meant to be. But maybe I should! Maybe I should go out there and say, "Guys, I can speak Spanish!" I mean, there are so many great Spanish actresses; I'm not sure I can compete. On the other hand, I would love to act in Spanish. But right now I'm focusing on American films because I'm there. My son lives in L.A. So that's for now; we'll decide what happens in the future. But this is something I've decided to give a shot. And in the near future it might be nice to do something in Polish for a change, which is quite different, but will feel very natural to me.

It's nice to have options.

Yes. I have those options in Poland, for sure. I'm just waiting for a really good script.