the humour. which is as dry as the desert. That comes ottt ol people being where they probably shouldn‘t be. And certainly this film is about an isolated community. people struggling in a place where they really haye no right to be.
"l'o me the major point was that it was so far out in inhospitable countryside. So (‘aptain Stanley lone ol' the lead characters] and his wile can't go anywhere. they just had to stay there. The answer to Stanley's problems. really. is to quit his job and go somewhere where he and ltis wile should be. Iled probably haye quite a nice life. And the same goes for the other characters as well.
"l‘he Iilm is hugely researched on Johnny‘s pan. .lohnny wanted a different take on the way Aboriginals are usually treated in :\tlstt‘;tlitttt Iilms. He wanted a dillerent take to the liberal View thrust upon the Aboriginals. where they just allowed IltL‘lIIsL‘l\e.\ to be wiped out. The indigenous actors were pleased to be in a film w here they got an opportunity to light back.'
On sound
‘:\s well as writing the script to The I’mpmi'ti'rm I also composed the soundtrack with \Varren Iillis. There is an enormous ll'CL‘tlUltt when you
have the themes giyen to you. so the writing ol’
it is taster than a Bad Seeds record. If you‘ve got the themes in front of you it‘s just a matter ol' making some music that energises the lilm or adds a lyrical quality or whateyer. Haying said that. Warren had a massive input into the soundtrack. he played most ol~ the stuff on it.‘
TWO OTHER WESTERNS NOT TO MISS
‘ I The Great Yokal War Infamous Japanese Cult director Miilse Takeshi's epic fantasy Western follows a Chosen boys fight against the monsters and ghosts of Japanese folkIOre As you might expect. this is dark and Violent stuff GFT. 7,45pr7i. Sat 18 feb I Seven Swords ISIII Hark's Oing Dynasty set tale of martial arts prohibition and noting townsfolk is at its heart a Western of epic proportions. GFT. 8pm, Fri If Feb
On violence
"I'here was certainly an attempt. from the stait. to say this is going to be a \iolent lilm. And I guess part ol' the esciting thing about writing this script. for me. was delaying those inevitable acts of Violence for as long as we could get away with. Some lilms these days make me sick. because they are basically just relentless body counts. I don't think this is like that at all there are genuinely sensitiye moments. and intelligence to the script and the dialogue. lior the type ol' lilm it is and the period it‘s set in. I personally lound the \ iolence quite restrained.
‘I actually have a problem with Violence on the screen. A lot ol it I find tiring and boring. almost as boring its sex on the screen. But an attempt was made here not to exhaust the audience through having to sit through some sort ol' horror show. blood and gtlts. loi' two hours. So the \'l()IL'Ill episodes are yery necessary for the thrust ol the story.’
On landscape
‘(‘ompared to other parts of Australia. in Queensland [where the film was shot] there‘s a bleakness. but it's yery beautil'ul too. That was the surprise to me. from seeing the thing on paper and then actually seeing the lilm. It is faithful to the script on one leyel. but I wasn‘t prepared for how beautilul the lilm actually looks. The way the landscape is described on paper was much more brutal and hard.‘
On collaboration
"I'his is our third screen collaboiation together alter (i/iris‘ls rift/iv ('ii'i/ Dr'url and '1}: [law (1an Hair Not. I guess in all these films there is a sense that morality is a luxury that we can al'l'ord in less l'raught times. In extreme situations. morality becomes a very grey issue.‘
GF'I', Tue 21 Feb and on selected release from Fri 10 Mar.
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HISTORICQL
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BRAVO, JIlllE
Abel Ferrara’s film Mary is a dramatic reinterpretation of Mary Magdalene’s story. Juliette Binoche talks exclusively to The List about finding the faith.
‘When we met. Abel Ferrara didn't expect somebody who understood speCific words in the gospel. I don't smoke. drink. or anything. and at first. I wondered how we could find a common language. We were both surprised. What I love about Abel is his energy. The shooting was a little chaotic because he is looking for the truth. and doesn't know how to get there. Even when he goes through dark places. he keeps innocence. He has a trustful way of plunging into a scene; and he trusted me.
‘I had studied the Gospel of Mary Magdalene discovered in early Christian manuscripts. texts that put Mary on the level of the other apostles. It's difficult to bring the feminine element into these religions and to put an important woman next to Jesus. The Mary Magdalene who came down in history may not have been the real one but these stories changed through the years. and the search for Mary becomes a search for the woman in that anCient SOCiety.
‘The women | play are often very passionate. I feel this enables me to feel the burning of acting and the consuming of being — it‘s one reason I think I'm attracted to the stage in particular. It‘s my way of expressing that I'm alive and i just want to open my heart and go for it. Even though I‘m scared sometimes. it‘s my way to embrace life. in a way. I think acting is about forgetting yourself in order to give the best of yourself. It's passing through you more than you‘re creating it. You're not the flower. but the vase which holds the flower.’ I ClflOWOf/(l Rent/raw Street, Wed 22 For).
THREE HISTORICAL DRAMAS NOT TO MISS
I The World’s Fastest Indian The charming, if overlong. story of Burt Munro who travelled to Salt Lake. Utah to race his 1920 Indian motorcycle. GFf. Tue 21 Feb.
I Plerrepolnt The festival's closing film is a Simple drama looking at the life and times of one of the last two hangmen in Britain. Cinewor/d Renfrew Street, Sun 26 Feb.
I Zeppelin! The 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster story is retold in this compulsive German melodrama. GFT, Thu 23 Feb.
If) Feb—2 Mar 2006 THE LIST 19