'The Childhood of a Leader': Interview Intéressante - "Brady Corbet Parle de Tyrannie, Triomphe et 35mm"

From Edfilmfest:

BRADY CORBET TALKS TYRANNY, TRIUMPH AND 35MM

We did an interview with Brady Corbet ahead of the EIFF UK Premiere of The Childhood of a Leader to find out what the film is about, why it took a decade to finish it, and why he chose to shoot it on 35mm.

Brady Corbet was inspired to write this story after reading a book written by a relative of Winston Churchill. He read it around the time America went to war with Iraq and says he found it “endlessly fascinating”. He became very interested in foreign policy and how it had changed, and felt quite haunted by the book, so he wanted to do something with it. It was at this point he began writing the initial story, but halfway through he began to doubt whether it could be made. Cost was a big issue because of the period of time that the movie was set in so the story was stopped in its tracks.

Some time later, Corbet met Mona Fastvold – a Norwegian filmmaker and actress - who “breathed life” into the story, and he subsequently fell in love with. A decade later, The Childhood of a Leader was finished and his confidence in the film regained. They embarked on an expedition to find the perfect filming location that they could take over and turn into their own studio. Finding themselves in Hungary, just outside Budapest, they focused on using buildings such as old institutions, boarding schools and old hospitals, with a view to using as much of the original structures as possible. The film is set in France so in order to create the appropriate atmosphere, they ordered in lamps and tapestries straight from Paris.

Corbet’s favourite bit about the film is child actor, Tom Sweet. Corbet explains that his stipulations were quite complicated: he needed a boy aged between 7-9, who was beautiful in a somewhat effeminate way, who could act, and who could get a grasp on spoken French. Corbet describes Tom as “a triumph”, and having been in the limelight at a young age himself, he has a lot of respect for Sweet.

The highlight of the film – apart from the casting of much-loved Robert Pattinson - was the musical accompaniment: the orchestral scores of Scott Walker. Corbet said he chose Walker’s music because he is his all time favourite composer. Walker had created the score for 1999 film Pola X so Corbett was familiar with what he could offer. He also knew that Walker was producing some majestic albums but hadn’t written a film score in about 15 years. A lot of the themes that Corbet focuses on in the film, particularly tyranny, are similar to the themes that Walker had written about in the past, so he thought the subject of the film would be of particular interest to him – and he was right. The music for the film is completely chilling, adding to the build up tension throughout. Corbet loved it so much that he decided to screen the film with a live orchestra.

He shot the film on 35mm because he finds the up-rise of digital odd. He describes analogue film as being a “strange tool to take out the box. There's grain, texture, richness, life, beauty. The blacks are different. It’s the difference between oil and watercolour.” When I asked Corbet what sets this film apart from the rest, he simply stated: “it’s unusually uncompromised”. An attribute he generally seeks out in films but rarely finds. He describes The Childhood of a Leader as a small miracle of a movie, and a piece of work that he is incredibly proud of.

Via Edfilmfest:

BRADY CORBET PARLE DE TYRANNIE, DE TRIOMPHE ET DE 35MM

Nous avons interviewé Brady Corbet avant l'avant-première UK au EIFF de The Childhood of a Leader pour découvrir de quoi parle le film, pourquoi il a mis 10 ans à se faire et pourquoi il a décider de tourner en 35mm.

(...) L'histoire se situe en France afin de créer l’atmosphère appropriée, ils ont commandé des lampes et des tapisseries en direct de Paris.

Ce que Brady préfère dans le film c'est le jeune acteur, Tom Sweet. Corbet explique que ses demandes étaient assez compliquées: il avait besoin d'un enfant âgé de 7-9 ans, qui devait être beau avec une certaine féminité, qui pouvait jouer la comédie, et qui pouvait se débrouiller en Français parlé. Corbet décrit Tom comme “un triomphe”, et ayant été lui même sous les feux des projecteurs très jeune, il a beaucoup de respect pour Sweet.

Le moment fort du film – en dehors de la présence du très apprécié Robert Pattinson au casting - était l’accompagnement musical: la musique orchestrale de Scott Walker. Corbet dit qu'il a choisi la musique de Walker parce qu'il est son compositeur préféré depuis toujours. (...) Beaucoup de thèmes sur lesquels Corbet s'est concentré dans on film, particulièrement la tyrannie, sont des thèmes sur lesquels Walker avaient déjà travaillés dans la passé, alors il a pensé que le sujet du film devrait particulièrement l’intéresser – et il avait raison. La musique du film fait totalement froid dans le dos, participant à faire monter la tension. Corbet l'aime tellement qu'il a décidé de faire une projection avec un orchestre live.

Il a tourné le film en 35mm parce qu'il trouve la montée du numérique bizarre. Il décrit les films analogiques comme étant un “outil étrange pour sortir de la boite. Il y a un grain, une texture, une richesse, de la vie, de la beauté. Les noirs sont différents. C'est la différence entre la peinture à l'huile et l'aquarelle.” Quand j'ai demandé à Corbet ce qui distinguait son film des autres, il a tout simplement répondu: “il est étrangement sans compromis”. Un attribut qu'il recherche souvent dans les films mais le trouve rarement. Il décrit The Childhood of a Leader comme un petit miracle, et un travail dont il est incroyablement fier.

 Traduction Pattinson Art Work

http://www.pattinson-art-work.com/