- Title: Paul Greengrass talks '22 July' drama and Steve Bannon
- Date: 5th September 2018
- Summary: VENICE, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 5, 2018) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER-DIRECTOR, PAUL GREENGRASS, ON WHAT THE VICTIMS' FAMILIES WANTED, AFTER CONSULTING WITH THEM, AND HOW HE DEALT WITH THE VIOLENT SCENES, SAYING: "They did not wish the events to be sanitized. They more than anyone else understood that, you know. On the other hand
- Embargoed: 19th September 2018 14:44
- Keywords: Paul Greengrass 22 July Norway's deadliest terrorist attack Oslo Anders Behring Breivik Utoya mass shooting
- Location: VENICE, ITALY/ VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: VENICE, ITALY/ VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA0048WCP7WT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: "22 July" is not just about Anders Behring Breivik's murder spree on that day in Norway in 2011, it's also the story of what happened afterwards, director Paul Greengrass told a news conference in Venice on Wednesday (September 5) - hours before the film's world premiere.
But Greengrass, renowned for visceral action sequences in films such as hostage drama "Captain Phillips" and the Jason Bourne series, does not shy away from putting the terror explicitly on screen.
He said he consulted with the survivors and the bereaved families about the film and they had asked him not to "sanitise" the violence, but also treat the tragedy with respect.
"So I tried to depict the attacks, first of all, not at excessive length, in a contained fashion," Greengrass said.
"There are only a few fleeting moments of graphic violence ... By far the preponderance of that sequence is suggested violence. Now of course it has the power to shock and disturb, but I think a fair viewer would say that it was handled with restraint."
The film focuses on teenager Viljar Hanssen, played by Jonas Strand Gravli, excited to be at the annual summer camp organised by the Workers' Youth League, a group affiliated to the Norwegian Labour Party, where the kids play sport and discuss politics.
Hanssen is shot several times by radicalised Breivik, played by Anders Danielsen Lie, but survives, despite the bullet fragments in his brain.
Danielsen Lie said in order "to understand the power and the danger of radicalization" we have to try and understand why Breivik did the things he did, and that is was "very dangerous to turn it into a taboo" and not give his character a narrative voice in the film.
The original idea for the film was about the migrant crisis, admits Greengrass, but reaction at the time led to the growth of radical nationalism in Europe at the time.
Events on July 22 in Norway changed the film's direction.
"What happened in Norway felt to me like an inciting moment in this issue, a moment where you could see with clarity what was happening and more importantly, because in Norway you have the story of how Norway fought for her democracy," he said.
Asked by Reuters at the news conference whether right-wing views expressed by President Trump's former aide, Steve Bannon, in Errol Moriss's "American Dharma" - which is screening out of competition at the festival, could incite other extremist acts, Greengrass said:
"The problem is not Steve Bannon. The problem is those of us who don't agree with him finding arguments that ... must have more sway than his."
"It's our response to globalisation that is as much a cause of this problem as the populist reaction to it and until mainstream politicians ... until there are articulations of arguments that carry popular consent. This problem will get worse."
"22 July" is one of 21 films competing for the Golden Lion that will be awarded at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday (September 8). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None