Rona Hartner
by Georgina Oliver
Romanian actress puts a spell on Paris

Currently shooting James Ivory’s latest production — an adaptation of Paris-based expat Diane Johnson’s novel “Le Divorce” — a 29-year-old Romanian actress with German roots has put Paris under her spell.
The epitome of gypsy chic (or should that be “cheek”?) — with her sparkling eyes, dark disheveled ringlets and wicked smile that veers from "Come hither!" to "You gotta be kidding!" in a split second — Rona Hartner has played a variety of heroines from Shakespeare’s Ophelia to the Queen of Sheba. However, the part that put her on the map was her appearance in Tony Gatlif’s gypsy saga “Gadjo Dilo.”
In Jean-François Stevenin's road movie à la française "Mischka," Hartner stands out in the role of Joli-Cœur, a mini-skirted former rock star who takes to hanging out with a bunch of manouches.
In real life, she’s quite a character. One minute, you’re standing in the street — at the door of a walk-up on boulevard de Clichy — wondering if she'll turn up. Then, in a flash, she's all over you... in a bright red fake fur jacket and slanted beige fedora hat. Could there be magic in that bear hug? Suddenly, you feel like you’re in a motion picture. She nods at the shopping cart she's dragging behind her. "Mind if we drop this off at the launderette?" On the way back, Rona takes you somewhere you've never been before. You enter what turns out to be chapel, dedicated to Saint Rita, lit with candles aligned in tiny multicolored glass jars... She signs herself and whispers: "Rita's the Saint of impossible wishes." Outside, she explains: "I always pay her a visit, when I'm hoping for something really important,” before saying "Let's go to my place!"
Her place — “I rent this... I’ll soon have a real house” — is a room with a saxophone and a profusion of orange, green... paintings and drawings propped up everywhere, reflecting further aspects of Rona Hartner’s creative energy. She hands you a bowl of tea — “un mix! Green tea, ginger, caramel... a bit of everything!” — and tells you about her upcoming projects. She’s in “Le Temps des loups,“ Michael Haneke’s new film, out next month. And, on April 30, she’ll be “guest tzigane” at a soirée hosted by DJ Click at the Batofar club/light boat moored opposite 11 quai François Mauriac (M° Bibliothèque). Initially on the theater track in Bucharest, Hartner sets the record straight — “Everybody always wants me to be a tzigane. I like them, but I’m not one.” Clearly, she’d rather be type cast, than not be cast at all... And, her optimism is infectious!