INDEX
Seeking Connection even with Murderous Character
-I see, that is an interesting story. On the other hand, in terms of the gangster part of gangsta rap, ‘RHEINGOLD’ is a traditional gangster film about childhood friends who become gangster buddies. Are there any gangster movies that you refer to, or are there any fave gangster movies that are ingrained in your consciousness even if you don’t refer to them?
Akin: I would have to say Edward Yang’s ‘A Brighter Summer Day’ (1991). Also, my turning points were Mathieu Kassovitz’s ‘La Haine’ (1995) and Taylor Hackford’s ‘Blood In Blood Out’ (1993). For something from when I started my career as a filmmaker, it was the Turkish film ‘The Bandit’ (2018 / produced in 1996), directed by Yavuz Turgul.
-I didn’t know about ‘The Bandit.’
Akin: You should check it out. The young gangsta actor in ‘The Bandit’ plays the “uncle” in ‘RHEINGOLD’ (*Ugur Yucel plays the underworld boss-like Jero), so there’s a direct relationship there.
-I see that you did, I’ll check it out. I think the appeal of your films, like ‘RHEINGOLD’ is the strong sense of human passions, no matter what the subject matter. What kind of human emotions and figures do you feel strongly attracted to in your films?
Akin: When I showed an early version of the film to a good friend of mine – he is the type of person who will tell you clearly if he thinks something is not good enough – he said, “This is a work that portrays people well. He was very happy to hear that. I was very happy to hear that. I don’t know what part of human beings I am trying to portray, but I always want to portray them as realistically as possible, and it is necessary for me to have sympathy for the characters in my films. Without that, I can’t make it.
It’s not a story where you sympathize with the main character because he saves the cat and he’s a nice guy, but you try to find just one thing that connects you to the character, even when he’s a murderer, like in ‘The Golden Glove’ (2020), for example. You can’t behead a woman in her room like he does, but maybe you can have a drink with her and talk to her. If he hears that she has committed a murder, he might say, “You should probably go to the police. In this way, I build relationships with the characters as I make each film. I am proud to say that this process makes the characters believable to the people watching the film.
‘RHEINGOLD’
On Friday, March 29, 2024, the film will be shown at Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho, Cinemart Shinjuku, Bunkamura Le Cinema Shibuya Miyashita, and other theaters throughout Japan.
140 min / Dolby Atmos / 2022 / German, Kurdish, Turkish, Dutch, English, Arabic / Germany, Netherlands, Morocco, Mexico
Director/Screenplay: Fatih Akin
Cast: Emilio Zakraya, Khaled Razadi, Mona Pirzada
Distributor: Bitters End
https://www.bitters.co.jp/rheingold/#modal
