Director Fatih Akin, who won major awards at all three major film festivals at a young age and has garnered significant attention in Europe, has often depicted dramas involving immigrants and refugees among various subjects. As a second-generation Turkish immigrant, he has vividly portrayed the current situation of immigrants in Europe while reflecting on his own experiences.
Akin’s latest work, ‘RHEINGOLD,’ is the film adaptation of the autobiography of Kurdish rapper Xatar, whose real name is Giwar Hajabi. Born to a musician father in Iran, he turned to a life of crime after his parents sought asylum in Europe, eventually getting arrested on suspicion of gold bullion robbery. However, he debuted as a rapper with songs recorded in prison. This overly dramatic life story created a sensation in Germany. The film begins by portraying the harsh reality of refugees and then unfolds various aspects, including gang-related and music-related themes, but Akin masterfully brings it all together as a “modern myth.” While Hajabi is not depicted as an innocent character, but rather as a gang member involved in crime, it’s precisely because of this that the struggle of an immigrant surviving stands out vividly.
I spoke with director Fatih Akin about ‘RHEINGOLD,’ which became his biggest hit. From his perspective as a hip-hop enthusiast and even discussing his favorite gangster films, his warmth and passion for his work were palpable.
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Approaching the Film like Playing Jazz
– ‘RHEINGOLD’ is first of all an exciting film as a story. What was it about Xatar’s life that attracted you?
Fatih Akin: I was fascinated by the fact that Xatar’s life was so varied, as if he were a cat with nine lives. I found his autobiography very strong, and I was also fascinated by the changing genres.
At first it started out as a refugee drama centered around his parents, then it became a coming-of-age story about growing up, then it became a gangster story, then it became a music story. I was attracted to it as a story, but at the same time I found it challenging as a filmmaker. I try to make a different film every time, so this time I wanted to do something that crossed genres within the film.
Born on August 25, 1973, in Hamburg, Germany. His parents were Turkish immigrants. In 2004, he won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for ‘Head-On,’ in 2007, he received the Cannes Film Festival Screenplay Award for ‘The Edge of Heaven,’ and in 2009, he earned the Jury Special Prize at the Venice International Film Festival for ‘Soul Kitchen,’ achieving the remarkable feat of winning major awards at the world’s top three film festivals in Berlin, Cannes, and Venice in his thirties. His latest work, ‘RHEINGOLD,’ has grossed nearly $10 million, marking his biggest box office success to date.
-As you mentioned, it is interesting that ‘RHEINGOLD’ is a film that combines different elements such as gangsterism and music into one film. But wasn’t it difficult to bring these different elements together?
Akin: It was like playing jazz. It was a musical experience for me and a fun one. I knew what I was doing even though the genre I was shooting in changed from scene to scene, but this time it was a larger crew, so I think it was difficult for all the crew.
In a way, it was also a “period piece,” so we had to recreate the atmosphere of the 1980s and 1990s. There were many locations and sets that had to be designed. We had to consider the spoon-feeding of the past and the present, but if we tried to change the details, we would have had to make major changes. This was the biggest challenge of all, and it was a site that tested our concentration and our ability to maintain the core of the project without wavering.
Synopsis: A biographical film about the real-life German rapper Xatar. Ziwa Hajabi was born to musician parents who were persecuted by the Islamic Revolution. Protected by his father, a famous musician, he defected from Iran to Germany. Growing up as an immigrant, he trained in a boxing gym to make it on the streets and became famous with the nickname “Xatar” (“katar”: “danger” in Kurdish). While his interest in hip-hop leads him to dabble in street crime.
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Frustration is an important part of creating culture and mythology.
-The director has depicted immigrant and refugee stories in many of his films. Does the director have a strong desire to tell the world the situation of immigrants and refugees through his films?
Akin: Yes, I do. I am a second-generation immigrant myself. So I think that part of me will be present in all my films. I have been making films for 30 years, and during that time, the importance of immigrant and refugee issues has never been lost. It is a theme that is so relevant to the world we live in.
My family immigrated to Germany in the 1960s when the country was rebuilding and needed more immigrant workers, and now people fleeing the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine and the Taliban are moving here.
Germany is so short of workers that, for example, if you have a clogged toilet, you have to wait three months to call for repairs. The same is true for doctors; it takes three months to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist.
The situation has changed dramatically from the Germany of the 1980s and 1990s, where I grew up. So the need for foreign labor has never been greater. Nevertheless, the presence of immigrants and refugees has given rise to a right-wing movement, and the movement to get rid of these immigrants is becoming more and more intense. So there is a contradictory drama there. As a filmmaker, I may be sensitive to such things.
-Does the director think that music and film can help immigrants and refugees to survive in European society?
Akin: Yes, I think so. Especially, the hip-hop music depicted in this film is an oral history, and it started when African Americans talked about poverty in their neighborhoods in the 1970s.
At the time, they were rapping about the frustrations of living as a minority in a majority-centered American society. I believe that this culture was adapted and took root around the world. Not just copy and paste. It is not a literate culture that requires a high level of education, but an “oral history” aspect that allows immigrants and refugees to share their experiences through their own words.
Interestingly, even wealthy white kids in Germany listen to that kind of music. I am interested in that. It means listening to the music of people from different social backgrounds and classes. Of course, there is a thrill in the transmission of the reality of crime, violence, and gangs, and I think young people are attracted to that.
Akin: But what is interesting there is that the language of the German youth is quite influenced by the vocabulary of hip-hop. Moreover, the German language itself has been transformed by such influences, since the immigrant rap has Arabic and Turkish words in it.
As I mentioned earlier, I think of hip-hop as a music that expresses frustration, and I had that feeling when I was young, but I had forgotten about it. When gangsta rap came out in Germany, I felt that I was too old to understand it emotionally. But in the process of making this film, I remembered those frustrations. How serious those emotions are and how they are an important part of the culture. And how they are the driving force behind the creation of myths. I felt it all over again. Young people today are creating their own language and culture not from Wagner, but from hip-hop.
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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
