Speaking at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival, Danish-Norwegian director Joachim Trier said some things that should be heartening to us all. An Academy Award nominee for the romantic dramedy The Worst Person in the World (2021; Kasper Tuxen), he’s also known for three films with cinematographer Jakob Ihre: Reprise (2006), Oslo, August 31st (2011) and Louder Than Bombs (2015). His most recent project – Sentimental Value (Kasper Tuxen) – won this year’s Cannes Grand Prix. He knows of what he speaks.
“I need final cut. I’ve had it since film one. To me, it’s a moral implication of taking responsibility for what the actors give a director – if they show their emotions, their bodies, whatever – we created a movie and I carry the responsibility of what they bring to the final product. No one that sits in some studio capacity and invests money should decide that, in my opinion. That’s not how art is made. I have a moral responsibility towards the cinematographer, maybe being away from his or her family for months on end to work on the vision that me, as a director, and all the others in the team created. To have an external power of financial interest come fuck around with that material diminishes the trust between us and the group.”
“If you look at film history, a lot of the films that commercially worked have also been made by directors that are deeply involved in the script process, deeply involved in the editing and has had a sense of control – the achievements of personal expression is at the core of some of the most successful films, financially.”
If only the powers that be at the studios felt the same way. Hell, they should give Trier’s philosophy a shot if only because the results couldn’t help but be better than what they’re producing in the present system!
Hear hear!!