Oscar-winning “Son of Saul” and “Sunset” director Las Ronemes talks about the Venice competition personal. In “Orphan,” he recalls the story of a father, who as a 12-year-old boy, who had to face the secrets of his family.
“He learned that his father wasn’t really his father, and the man who knocked on their door wasn’t what he expected,” Nemes recalls. “My father grew up with this personal trauma, and in addition to that, World War II shaped his life in such a dramatic way, which bothered him.
“Orphan” is produced by Pioneer Prods, Good Chaos, mid-March media and AR content. New Europe Film Sales sells films along with charades.
He found a universal theme in the story – “It’s almost typical” – compared it to the dilemma of Oedipus and Hamlet. However, Nemes was uninterested in intergenerational trauma when he told the story of Andor, a boy with a strong mind, set in 1957, just a few months after the Hungarian uprising failed.
“This child was born on the last day of World War II. His life reflects all the systematic oppression of the 20th century in Europe. I think we are still in the same historical cycle. Many of that effects are still unfolding or about to unfold.”
“I feel very deeply about the connection between an individual and his or her time. Films tend to suggest that an individual can do more. I think we are limited. There is a deep tragedy at the heart of an individual, a subject of historical forces beyond their understanding,” he says.
Nemes built his career looking for a film language that suggests that “things that are past are not the past.”
“The parallels with World War I at ‘Sunset’ and the collapse of Europe when the film was released had already echoed (2018). You could feel this intensity of our society.
From “Come and Sea” to “The Empire of the Sun,” there is a long tradition of watching war through the eyes of children, from Neem’s “more beloved” Spielberg drama. That led him to create a “both hard and soft” universe.
“You can’t separate softness from its severity. Some call it magical realism. I call it “magical socialism,” he smiles.
“I’m always looking for hope – even “Son of Saul.” Even in the darkest places, you can be an “orphan.”
Nemes is not yet ready to make modern films, he says.
“It may sound ridiculous, but my biggest concern is technology. It has invaded our lives. I am happy to do that because I have to find the right angle and the right subject, but I certainly think I am very relieved by what has happened in the past.”
In the meantime, he developed “Moulin” about French resistance hero Jean Moulin, and filmed in September starring Jill Lelouch. Nemes spent most of his childhood in France.
“It took place in 1943, so we’ll go here again. But it’s not a Holocaust movie. It’s a resistance film. It shows how he was caught by the Germans and how it all unfolded.” He is also trying to make a film in English “for quite some time.”
“For some reason it has proven to be very, very difficult, probably because I’m always trying to control my material. This system is very reluctant to provide enough control to the director.
Hungary’s political situation remains unstable, but Nemes is looking for “the big picture behind everyday concerns.”
“What does it mean at a civilization level?” I can always make bigger trends, bigger trends, and films than everyday politics,” he says.
“When so many people went to see “Son of Saul” in Hungary, the general trend was to slander the Holocaust rather than fully embracing the past, which created a change in the minds of the people. To some extent, the internet is all about immediacy, immediacy, and immediate anger and conflict. A personal journey for them too. ”
