Intervju med Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Thailand har valgt ut Pen-Ek Ratanaruangs siste film Headshot som sin kandidat til Oscar for beste fremmedspråklige film 2012. Bli nærmere kjent med filmskaperen i dette intervjuet.
«To me, the term ‘genre film’ doesn’t mean anything. I don’t even know how to pronounce it.»
The award-winning auteur Pen-Ek Ratanaruang is probably best known for his beautiful dramas Last Life in the Universe (2003) and Ploy (2007).
His latest film, Headshot (2011), is a crime story about a hitman, quite different from his earlier films. Diversity is something that has always been important to Pen-Ek. As a teenager his family moved from Thailand to New York, and growing up in two very different cultures has shaped him in many ways.
– Living in New York City in the late 70's and early 80's opened my eyes to arts, cinema and music. I learnt that there were other kinds of movies besides Hollywood. Before I moved to New York I had no interest in cinema. I was far more interested in sports and women. Even when I later became interested in cinema, what got me interested in the European art films were the women. Godard, Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni, all had really attractive women in their films.
Despite his growing interest in cinema, Pen-Ek never saw himself directing films. But when a friend asked if he wanted to try his hand at directing, he was too curious to turn down the offer.
– A lot of success then followed in the next 4 years of my career as a TV commercial director. Then I wanted to try something longer than 1 minute or 30 seconds. I was curious if I could do it and if I would enjoy it. So I stopped everything in my life and sat down to write a script. The film turned out not so good, but I found that I enjoyed the experience so immensely that I knew I would continue. So, curiosity has inspired me to become a filmmaker.
Although his first films received some recognition, it was his fourth film, Last Life in the Universe that was to be his big international breakthrough. Pen-Ek considers the film as a change and a step up in his career. On this film he worked with the well-known cinematographer Christopher Doyle (In the Mood for Love, Hero, etc) and the famous Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano.
– On Last Life in the Universe I was given a condition where I could not continue making the type of film I had been making previously. I was given a cinematographer and a star I didn't really know, and both of them had a higher status than me. I decided I would try to make the film in a different way since this would be the opportunity. I would try to make a more obscure, more atmospheric type of film that focused more on the emotion rather than the story. I had no confidence at all while making that film that it would work, but somehow I was not afraid. I thought it could be my last film, but so what.
Pen-Ek’s latest film, Headshot, is more of a genre film. However Pen-Ek does not consider genre to be important when making a movie: – To me, the term ‘genre film’ doesn't mean anything. I don't even know how to pronounce it.
Pen-Ek is currently working on a documentary about democracy in Thailand, a touchy subject given the tense political situation. But he is not worried about the future of cinema and states that «the only thing that would stop me making films is when I no longer have any interest in it.»