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#3 A PORTRAIT OF A GENERATION AT VENICE DAYS
04/09/2006
Falkenberg Farewell, which one of the actors says has a veracity rate of about 42%, remarkably matches form and content. What presents itself as a scrapbook is in fact a collection of memories from the happy youth of the director and his hometown cronies mixing old 8mm videos, photographs, music, and digital images and supporting the 'narrative' (or lack thereof) with titles and a voice-over-read diary.
The fact that Jesper Ganslandt did not wait to be 'midway upon the journey of life' to gather his own Wild Strawberries is revealing: this last Summer together of five old friends is actually presented as the big turning point of a life, when childhood is already behind us and an uncertain future is awaiting and the present is spent idly wondering 'Should I stay (and rot like the people at the bar or their own parents, whom we all meet in the film) or should I go (and be like everybody else who moves to the big city)?', an alternative reflected by the binary composition of all scenes, where the characters (as well as the horses and birds) appear two by two to weigh possibilities, complain about the absurdly dull present, and pass time uselessly playing just like in the old days —but without the same enthusiasm.
As one of the characters says, the Messiah should come in two months, so they might as well wait, and perpetuate their idleness as long as possible, as least this Summer —as John says, 'I'm not here to fucking paint'— despite their parents' anxiety, as if an escape gate to stasis were to present itself which they 'can't be bothered' looking for —an expression used by one of the guys when they choose not to steal anything from the house they initially intended to rob, an episode which emphasizes the fact that the heroes are at a standstill.
Unlike David, the most nostalgic of all and the only one who knows a decision must be made, Jesper does not pack up his diary, his gun, and his life (and thus become one with his past) but wraps up a truly interesting work which gives him a promising future as a director.
Why a film?
It is true that I have no academic background in cinema, but I thought a film was the best medium to use all these different materials —videos, music, etc— to put together a moodpiece, a collection of emotions, and to play at blending fiction and reality. Now I want to keep making movies, and I know I want to take a new direction, but I really do not know what my next work is going to be about.
Do you see Falkenberg Farewell as the portrait of a generation?
I guess, I want to think so, but I am also convinced that everybody, at any age, could identify with this story, because it is about searching for something —for a purpose, for oneself.
Is David's suicide a choice regarding the future or the past?
The past. David lives in his memories and sees no future for himself so he decides to end his life while he can and expects his friends to understand and respect that choice. In fact, that Summer, he re-lives his life backwards. For some of the guys, this suicide does not particularly affect the story, but I chose to make that happen because it does —did you know that Falkenberg has the highest suicide rate in Sweden?— and because it interrupts everyday life.
Bénédicte Prot (Cineuropa)
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Falkenberg Farewell Interview |
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