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The Crossing, Unit 7, Tulpa
Three distinct visions |
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| 14/12/2012 |
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La Traversée, Unit 7, Tulpa; Jérôme Cornuau, Alberto Rodríguez, Federico Zampaglione; France, Spain, Italy: three countries, three stories, three filmmakers with three distinct cinematic visions. Here is what they had to say about their films.
Hypnotism
The journey into the subconscious of The Crossing as told by the film’s screenwriter Alexandra Deman.
“Writing this story was a challenge. It can be interpreted on two levels: as a thriller and, in the end, on a subject and subconscious level. Writing the screenplay was a long process, there were various limits and we had to invent the character’s backgrounds, placing the flashbacks in the right moments. The film’s theme is psychological manipulation that allows one to relive their personal anxieties in order to painfully uncover and defeat them. I was inspired by the work of Milton Erickson, an American therapist who used hypnosis to cure traumas, and the film The Usual Suspects. In terms of directing, my models were The Shining, The Sixth Sense and The Driver. By and large, however, Jérôme Cornuau shot in a way that followed the story and fed the suspense.”
Autumn leaves
Alberto Rodríguez speaks on making his latest film, Unit 7. “Rafael Cobos brought actual documentation of a group of police officers that, in 1992 before the World Expo, were assigned with stamping out drug trafficking from the streets of Seville. The city center was very close to the Expo grounds and was completely cleaned up. When there’s a big event, the means justify the ends. 1992 was the turning point, the moment in which the country presented itself to the world. Our point of reference was the film L.627; we tried to present the policemen as street sweepers in autumn, cleaning leaves from the streets. This type of film is usually told from the point of view of a good cop, whereas we had to humanize the bad cops so that the audience could identify with them. We tried in every way possible to reach a balance between action and character and we rehearsed with the actors for four weeks, so that when we started shooting they’d forget about the camera.”
Gloved assassins
Federico Zampaglione relives his horror-influenced childhood with Tulpa, and the help of the versatile Claudia Gerini.
Federico Zampaglione: “Apparently, certain Tibetan monks can build their own tulpa, the materialization of the metaphysical part of each of us, an entity that can take on various forms, not always good ones. I grew up with this genre, in Italy they used to make mysteries that tended towards horror, with gloved assassins, damsels in distress and a murky erotic connotation. This is a return to those roots, to a crazy and mad way of filmmaking, in the wake of masters such as Sergio Martino, Lamberto Bava, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci.
“In terms of shooting techniques, my approach was contemporary, as was the music, which was composed by my brother. Collaborating with Dardano Sacchetti on the project was great; he can immediately create a connection with that era and has a unique sense of the macabre. He thinks in terms of murder, that’s his starting point; and my destination. Being on set with barrels of blood and special effects made me as happy as a little boy, it was the ideal continuation of the world in which I lived as a kid. If I didn’t make this genre of films, I wouldn’t be a director. It’s a laborious, stressful job, and after a while everyone hates you! Being a musician is much more relaxing.”
Claudia Gerini: “I think I inspired Federico from the get-go, with my pale, somewhat mysterious screen-queen features. I saw this project come about and grow, it’s like our child, besides being my first really daring role. I like taking on challenges and transforming myself, a different version of myself. I like the character’s double life: by day she’s a person like any other without a private life, by night she frequents these clubs.”
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