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Aug 26 2014
Fatih Akin Explains Why He Pulled 'The Cut' From Cannes & How It's
Influenced By Terrence Malick & Martin Scorsese
The Venice Film Festival kicks off tomorrow, and among our 10 Most
Anticipated Films of the fest is Fatih Akin's "The Cut," but it's
arriving on the Lido with a bit of baggage. Earlier this year, a minor
stir resulted when the filmmaker pulled his movie from the Cannes Film
Festival citing "personal reasons." It was inevitable Akin would be
asked about the decision, but as it turns out, the explanation isn't
quite as controversial as you might think.
"We showed the film to Cannes and Venice at the same time. The
reaction of Venice was very enthusiastic and Cannes was a bit much
more careful, like they always are. So I was nervous, and I followed
my instincts," the director explained to The New York Times. "But I
couldn't talk about my decision in the press because Venice asked me
to wait until they made their own announcement. The people in Cannes
never rejected the film but I had the feeling that it wasn't what they
expected from me. Because it's historical, because it's in English,
it's not minimalistic, I'm not sure. But I cannot fulfill other
people's expectations. I have to fulfill my own."
And so, that leads to the next question --what can we expect from this
movie, which closes the filmmaker's "Love, Death and the Devil
trilogy"? Previous descriptions have cited the influence of Sergio
Leone and Charlie Chaplin, and Akin elaborates on the tone and texture
of his movie which follows an Armenian blacksmith who searches far and
wide for his two daughters after they go missing following the
conflict with Turkey in 1915.
"'The Cut' is not just a film about the material, it's about my
personal journey through cinema, and the directors who I admire and
who influence my work. Elia Kazan's 'America America' is a very
important influence. So is the work of Sergio Leone, how he used
framing. It's also an homage somehow to Scorsese. I wrote this film
with Mardik Martin, Martin Scorsese's very early scriptwriter who
wrote 'Mean Streets' and the first draft of 'Raging Bull.' Because he
was Armenian, I discovered him on this project, and he helped me write
it. And we spoke a lot about obsessional characters in Scorsese
films," Akin said.
"The film deals also a lot with my admiration for Bertolucci, and
Italian westerns and how Eastwood adapted Italian westerns," he
continued. "And the way we try to catch the light, always having it
behind us, is very inspired by the work of Terrence Malick. So this
film is very much in the Atlantic ocean, somewhere near the Azores
--for a European film it's too American, for an American film it's too
European."
Here are some new pics from the film.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/fatih-akin-explains-why-he-pulled-the-cut-from-cannes-how-its-influence-by-terrence-malick-martin-scorsese-20140826
Aug 26 2014
Fatih Akin Explains Why He Pulled 'The Cut' From Cannes & How It's
Influenced By Terrence Malick & Martin Scorsese
The Venice Film Festival kicks off tomorrow, and among our 10 Most
Anticipated Films of the fest is Fatih Akin's "The Cut," but it's
arriving on the Lido with a bit of baggage. Earlier this year, a minor
stir resulted when the filmmaker pulled his movie from the Cannes Film
Festival citing "personal reasons." It was inevitable Akin would be
asked about the decision, but as it turns out, the explanation isn't
quite as controversial as you might think.
"We showed the film to Cannes and Venice at the same time. The
reaction of Venice was very enthusiastic and Cannes was a bit much
more careful, like they always are. So I was nervous, and I followed
my instincts," the director explained to The New York Times. "But I
couldn't talk about my decision in the press because Venice asked me
to wait until they made their own announcement. The people in Cannes
never rejected the film but I had the feeling that it wasn't what they
expected from me. Because it's historical, because it's in English,
it's not minimalistic, I'm not sure. But I cannot fulfill other
people's expectations. I have to fulfill my own."
And so, that leads to the next question --what can we expect from this
movie, which closes the filmmaker's "Love, Death and the Devil
trilogy"? Previous descriptions have cited the influence of Sergio
Leone and Charlie Chaplin, and Akin elaborates on the tone and texture
of his movie which follows an Armenian blacksmith who searches far and
wide for his two daughters after they go missing following the
conflict with Turkey in 1915.
"'The Cut' is not just a film about the material, it's about my
personal journey through cinema, and the directors who I admire and
who influence my work. Elia Kazan's 'America America' is a very
important influence. So is the work of Sergio Leone, how he used
framing. It's also an homage somehow to Scorsese. I wrote this film
with Mardik Martin, Martin Scorsese's very early scriptwriter who
wrote 'Mean Streets' and the first draft of 'Raging Bull.' Because he
was Armenian, I discovered him on this project, and he helped me write
it. And we spoke a lot about obsessional characters in Scorsese
films," Akin said.
"The film deals also a lot with my admiration for Bertolucci, and
Italian westerns and how Eastwood adapted Italian westerns," he
continued. "And the way we try to catch the light, always having it
behind us, is very inspired by the work of Terrence Malick. So this
film is very much in the Atlantic ocean, somewhere near the Azores
--for a European film it's too American, for an American film it's too
European."
Here are some new pics from the film.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/fatih-akin-explains-why-he-pulled-the-cut-from-cannes-how-its-influence-by-terrence-malick-martin-scorsese-20140826