Tom Tykwer will soon be opening the 75th Berlin Film Festival with “The Light,” a timely tale in which a deeply dysfunctional German family is saved by its Syrian housekeeper.
The German-language film, which Tykwer describes as a “hardcore political” statement, will kick off the Berlinale on Feb. 13 in the turbulent lead-up to the country’s Feb. 21 general elections. Much is at stake with the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which champions tough new rules pertaining to immigration.
“The Light” stars Tykwer’s regular collaborator Lars Eidinger and close friend Nicolette Krebitz as Milena and Tim, the 40-something parents of irate 17-year-old twins. Tala Al-Deen (“Tatort”) portrays Farrah, their housekeeper, who he says “has her own agenda.”
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The kaleidoscopic drama, which Tykwer calls “the older sister” of his groundbreaking thriller “Run Lola Run,” marks the directors’ return to the big screen – and to present-day Berlin – after four seasons at the helm of hit period series “Babylon Berlin.” It’s also the third time Tykwer’s opened Berlin, after “Heaven” in 2002 and “The International” in 2009, though these were both not German-language films.
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Below, Tyker speaks to Variety about how “The Light” germinated from his personal life as a parent, why it’s inherently political and shares his thoughts on the AfD.
You’ve been immersed in “Babylon Berlin” for a decade. What was the genesis of “The Light”?
I wanted to make a movie about us now. I was dying to get back to present day, because I realized that present day needs big-screen experiences that throw us into this mess that we live in to confront us with questions and possible answers, and detours and conflict. And the major conflict that I’m living is that I’m a parent. Like most of my friends, I have children who are saying, “How did this happen? How did we get here?” And then you reply, “Well, we really tried to do some good things.” And they go, “Well, what have you done for the past 20 years?” That is when you realize that we missed out on a lot. It feels awkward, it feels slightly dark, but at the same time, there is a reawakening of courage and empowerment that I’m feeling. I want to join forces with our children’s generation and see whether we can get this ship back on track all together.
It’s the third time you’ve opened the Berlinale, but it seems symbolic that it’s the first time you’ve done so with a German-language film. It’s also centered on a Syrian immigrant on the eve of the German elections, when tough new rules pertaining to migration are in the spotlight. What are your thoughts on that?
Well, this is what happens with art. You create something with a group of people that really believes in it, and then, suddenly, when it comes to the surface, it seems as if we waited for this moment to have a movie that responds to a new chapter that is now opening at the Berlinale. I feel like I’m also starting the next chapter in my creative life. And I feel like Tricia [Tuttle, Berlin Film Festival artistic director] and her team have a very similar desire. They want films that really grab and challenge the audience, and yet are related to the place where the festival is rooted in. Which is, of course, Berlin.
As you know, there was controversy last year when members of the AfD were first invited and then disinvited from opening night. Do you have a position on that?
Of course, you should not be unclear about it. You should say either “yes” or “no.” You should decide before you make a statement. It’s something we need to really figure out here. We need to figure out, how do we handle this complicated situation? But I’m not saying that it’s easy to figure out. A film festival is a public space. But if you are in charge of it, you should put your stamp on it also in positioning yourself. You can’t show super progressive films and then welcome people that are attacking all the ideas those films are fighting for. I think you need to make choices.
In other words, if I’m getting this right, your stance is that members of the AfD should not be invited on opening night to see your film?
I didn’t say that. I was suggesting a process of thought. Look, I’ve made a movie that is so clearly making statements. I’m an artist, and I think my duty is to make clear statements. I don’t like to mix this up because I’m not part of that process. As long as I feel the process has been profound, I will accept and respect every conclusion that they come up with. But the movie I’m showing on opening night is hardcore political. And it’s the profoundest statement I can make in regards to many positions that are related to the problems of this invitation game.
Below is a statement issued this week by the Berlin Film Festival on this thorny issue:
“It is a good tradition that the festival informs about its guests of honor and special guests and does not comment on other festival invitations. The Berlinale does not make the invitation list public. What the festival can promise all guests: We offer them an inclusive space in which our values are lived and respected.”
Back to the film itself. “The Light” clearly has lots of visual flair. There’s plenty of amazing camera work. Talk to me about its kaleidoscopic aspect.
There is a basic plot at the center of this film with this family that’s in turmoil, and then gets sort of confronted by this “crazy” woman. But around this core there is a wild hurricane of events and influences and emotions and ups and downs and critical scenes that reflect the way life is for me right now. Life has become mad. I feel mad in a sense that its intensity is really different from even just 10 years ago. The way that public life and private life have become this weird union, closing in on each other. How public we are, even if we’re just solitary people, through all the social media? And of course how social media influences politics and how politics use social media now. All this has become a really intense bubble in which we live. And, of course, we have to kind of embrace it because it’s not going to go away.
The way to address this, the possibilities to really make this work for us in life needed a representation in filmmaking. My life does not feel at all like a one-note experience. It’s polyphonic; mega symphonic; hard rock; chanson; and 12th note music all together. Everything, everywhere, all at once. That’s life at the moment. So even though I wanted to keep the character development and how people relate to each other very clear, I needed an adequate representation of this explosiveness. I only recently realized that, unconsciously, “The Light” has become the older sister of “Run Lola Run.” I suddenly remembered that “Lola” was my other Berlin experience where I also said, “OK, the possibilities of life need to be reflected in the possibilities of filmmaking.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
