Press conference for the premiere of Children of Men. Translation thanks to Guillermina September3
- director Alfonso Cuaròn, leading man Clive Owen,
leading actress C.H. Ashitey, and screenwriter Timothy Sexton at the
press conference of the Venice Film Festival. Cuaròn:
On violence The film is about hope and how hope lies in the children. It wasn't an effect we'd planned.. We read
the script with Michel Caine and immagine and thought of a time in
the future in which the story could happen, and we chose 202.. Later,
we identified the topics on which the film would centre and we arrived
at the conclusión
that immigration was one of the main sigues. Then, we created a time
setting with Timothy. Clive would be 20 in our times, he would be
an activist and would attend social centres.The story takes place
20 years later. |
Press conference of presentation of Children of Men at the Venice Film Festival. Translation thanks to Steph 3 september - Are present : the director main Alfonso Cuaròn, actor and actress Clive Owen and C.H. Ashitey and the scriptwriter Timothy Sexton Alfonso Cuaròn What is introduced in this film is a vision very realistic . The UIP
has understood very quickly what was the deal. They have helped me
a little in my researches. they always had confidence in me , also
when I have twisted. Questions to the actors Clive Owen: The most difficult thing: Probably to play a character who is exactly at the opposite of the conventional hero. Normally the main character , at a determined moment transforms itself in the hero of the history and saves the world. Theo instead is much detached, passive, if it depended of him , he would not be involved, and this give birth to a protagonist truly unusual. It's been difficult to play its reluctance and its way to act, only made of reactions to things which fall on his head like rain drops . CH Ashitey The most difficult thing I am new to this world, for me all was difficult. The psychological characterization was the lesser thing that preoccupied me, because the character of the personage was very defined in the scenario, but the physical performance was much more a source of trouble. For me it was more difficult e to understand how a pregnant woman could feel and cross these vicissitudes, because I have never been pregnant in the real life. It's been complexbut I received help from everyone , more evidently from the women on the set . A Cuaròn: the choice of music In some way already the scenario suggested this music. We have listened while we worked and then we have adopted it. In reality we did not want a film based on music and in this optic we had the support of the music adviser naturally A Cuaròn: On the link with the science-fiction We did not want to realize a science fiction film. We wanted to acclimatize it in the present. What we wanted was to make understand what is happening to you in front of your eyes. Indeed, I had the images of the Somalia and Pakistan that I wanted to use… A Cuaròn: on the violence We did not want to exalt the violence. For this the protagonist never carries a gun. And the only time that he kills is done in a way not spectacular and decidedly by pure instinct of survival. A Cuaròn: How the idea of the film is born We had this idea in a small apartment of London in winter. And anyone
knows it knows that in London in winter it is easy to imagine the end
of the world. A Cuaròn: The characters escape in a machine that not part; what does this choice mean The machine that part has not been intentional in order to give the idea of the human dimension of the history, working with a personage whose abilities are limited. ; He's never shown at the level of a leader because he has not the possibility, to make all what he must and he wants to do, and this is reflected in the course of several elements in the film, like the fact that to escape he wears flip flops … Clive Owen This film exits from the usual outlines in which the actor it is on the scene and everything shown finds its own explaination . Alfonso is not the type of director who decides a role and tells you how to play it. It creates an atmosphere, one history and you extension in means of an action. This is why it becomes a more cinematic experience. To Cuaròn: On the subject of the film and its relationship with the children The film speaks about hope and more precisely the hope in the children. By extension also , the ideology prevents the communication between the persons. The ideology has become a faith and this is a problem. A Cuaròn: Why the blood on the television camera It was not an effect that we had programmed. There are scenes that
we spent Timothy Sexton We tried to introduce our world imagined without having the characters
to explain the story. We have created a heavy world, with a very raw
vision . Cuaròn This is why we have included the Europeans in the field of shelters, for giving this idea to you. What we wanted to make to understand is that what you see in the film is the truth: often we forget that we are privilieged and that we live in a bubble of comfort , while the greater part of the populations of the world lives in these conditions. And it is very symbolic that the only woman in a position to give birth is an immigrant African, not a western woman full of glamour. To Cuaròn: What is the meaning of Michael Caine's character ? With Michael Caine we have watched the script and assumed that , given the future in which that story could be possible, and have chosen the years 2020. Then we have identified the subjects that would have been at the center of the film, and reached the conclusion that immigration was one of the main problems. Then with Timothy we have created a temporal space. Clive , in the current time , would be 20 yearsold , would be an activist and would attend the social centers. The history happens 20 years after. Michael Caine also was an activist, but in years 60/70. Its house is a paradise hidden in the madness, where it can be made use of the nature and the culture of the past. To Cuaròn: References to the Bible In the PD book James there are Biblical references. We have tried to hold these religious references far away from us, but it is impossible for Occidentals like us to prescind completely from the identification of some symbols of the Christian culture. Draft of archetypes: These representations make deeply part of our culture, and it's normal to connect sure elements to the Holy Bible _________________
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