FILM OF THE WEEK
INTERVIEW | preview: Jacob Thuesen's Erik Nietzsche - de unge år (Erik Nietzsche - The Early Years) |
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| Written by Boyd van Hoeij | |
| Friday, 13 July 2007 | |
 Jonatan Spang as the title character in Jacob Thuesen's Erik Nietzsche -- de unge år (Erik Nietzsche -- The Early Years). Photo: Per Arnesen/DFI, all rights reserved. While it is not clear whether Lars von Trier is back on track for the production of his horror project The Antichrist after a much-publicised bout of depression, what is clear is that another project of his is moving forward -- even without him. Fellow Danish director Jacob Thuesen (Anklaget / Accussed) is in fact currently putting the finishing touches on his film Erik Nietzsche -- de unge år (Erik Nietzsche -- The Early Years), based on a semi-autobiographical screenplay by Von Trier, who is credited on the project as... Erik Nietzsche. Erik Nietzsche -- de unge år tells the story of an inexperienced and shy young man called Erik Nietzsche (played in the film by Danish actor Jonatan Spang) who decides in the late 1970s that he wants to become a film director. When he is admitted to the Danish National Film School, he finds himself caught in a web of angry and unhelpful tutors, strange fellow students and a mass of unwritten rules he does not comprehend. Erik is intelligent, falls in love -- perhaps this is not so intelligent -- and sometimes finds his surroundings exhilarating, though increasingly he feels like a foreigner in the film industry, merely observing the absurdities that occur around him. Part of the absurdities include trade union disputes and self-assured women who refuse to make a commitment. The film is billed as a "drama full of comedy" that supposedly offers "a sharp portrait of [the] conceited but entertaining world of film". The film is narrated by Lars von Trier and directed by Jacob Thuesen, who was a film editor before making his debut as a director on Anklaget (Accused). His credits as an editor include work by Susanne Bier, Niels Gråbøl, Jørgen Leth and von Trier's own cult TV series Riget (The Kingdom). Thuesen replaced director Lone Scherfig (Italiensk for begyndere / Italian for Beginners) during preproduction on Erik Nietzsche. On his main character, the director has said: "Initially [he] is a sensitive soul with a passion for film and the cinematic language. When Erik is admitted to the film school it is almost like a prison sentence. The school is an institution in every sense. There is amazingly little contact with the outside world and during the three years which Erik spends at the school he is deflowered in more ways than one. "As a result Erik develops from a naive person into a cynical human being. For me this coming of age aspect is the essence of the story. I think it is the universal angle that will speak to audiences from all walks of life including people who have no interest in the world of film. I doubt any of us can honestly say we haven’t lost some of our innocence over the years". Von Trier, in an interview with British newspaper the Guardian, said of himself during his film school period: "I was extremely irritating. I was very demanding. I wanted to know about the techniques of film but the teachers taught a lot of nonsense". The film co-stars David Dencik (the transsexual from En soap / A Soap), Therese Damsgaard, Mille Hoffmeyer Lehfeldt, Søren Pilmark (Kongekabale / King's Game), Troels Lyby (the lead from Anklaget), Søren Malling (also from Anklaget), Dejan Cukic (Klopka) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Henker / The Headsman). Cinematography is handled by Sebastian Blenkov, who also shot the dark and claustrophobic Anklaget for Thuesen as well as the recent dark -- but brightly coloured -- comedy Adams æbler (Adam's Apples). The period setting will be the domain of production designer Søren Gam, who previously worked on Per Fly's trilogy Bænken (The Bench), Arven (The Inheritence) and Drabet (Manslaughter). Though an initial domestic release date had been fixed for the end of August, Erik Nietzsche is currently without a fixed release date. Did a selection by the Venice Film Festival (which starts August 29 and only has world premieres in competition) cause the fixed release date to disappear? The full line-up of that festival will be announced on July 26. related links:
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