On conventions, familiarity, strangeness and limbs
“Completely conventional movie making doesn’t make sense to me. Why would anyone want to do a film that someone else could have done? Unless you want a commercial film. An art-house film wants to say: I am a little different from what you’ve seen. And I will not bore you, trust me. Art-house movies should experiment more. We have less expectations to contend with. So make something interesting and personal. How can we cut a scene to contain different emotions? How can we twist a theme, make it both familiar and strange? But the more stylized or quirky your movie, the more natural the acting has to be. There has to be something to connect with, an anchor that you can relate to and that drags you into a strange world. Because if there is a certain point of departure that seems understandable, then the movie can twist and turn you, from this gravitational point onwards and take you out on a limb. But you need something to lure people to the limb first. Actors are one of the strongest anchors in movies. So they have to be very real. I am only conventional in the picking of my actors. I only choose the very best; it is that simple. I have used some of the best European actors in my films.”
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(Boe gave a fabulous Tóxico Workshop in 2008. We were supposed meet again, a month ago, in Copenhagen. But, alas, life had it otherwise. Hopefully soon. Plus a new Tóxico interview. His thoughts on cinema still swim in our heads.)