Interview

Colour, 35 mm
USA, Netherlands, 2007, 81 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Interview was one of three films that controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh planned on making English versions of  with Hollywood actors. After his tragic death in 2004 the project was picked up by independent American filmmakers – in the case of Interview, by actor and director Steve Buscemi. Under his own direction he portrays a cynical war correspondent, Pierre, who fills in for a fellow journalist to interview soap opera star Katya (Sienna Miller). The initially palpable collision between two entirely opposing worlds becomes gradually more complex as both participants in the interview reveal their internal worlds to one another, or impeccably pretend to. The answer to the question of who is actually doing the confessing does not come even with the final shocking revelation. The dangerous games of words interposed amid outstanding dialogue owe their impressiveness to the superlative performances of the two actors in the film, which plays out on one evening in one room.

About the director

Steve Buscemi (b. 1957, New York City) has acted under the direction of such icons of American independent film as Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes), the Coen brothers (Fargo), Tom DiCillo (Living in Oblivion), and Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs). His performance in Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World (2001) earned him a nomination for a Golden Globe. Buscemi personally introduced his highly acclaimed directorial debut Trees Lounge (1996) at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary in 1997 and it was then released in Czech cinemas. Buscemi’s prison drama Animal Factory (2000) found its way into Czech video distribution. Filmgoers at last year’s Karlovy Vary festival had the opportunity to see the talented filmmaker’s third feature film Lonesome Jim (2005).