“When you stand totally still, you’re practically invisible.” That is the point of reference from which Norwegian-born Jens Lien made his short film Shut the Door. The director tells about the film, which is available on the DVD Funny Films of the North.
Why can’t the front door close? In Shut the Door, the main character loses his mother and afterwards and in some magical way he can’t close the front door and several strangers start moving into his apartment.
Realistic and mystical elements are combined in Jens Lien’s short film Shut the Door that is included on the DVD Funny Films of the North made by Rushprint in cooperation with three other Nordic magazines.
Jens Lien is a former rock musician, who has studied at The London International Film School. In a positive way, he has drawn attention to himself with his films. He has directed the feature film The Bothersome Man that won the competition La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes in 2006.
He has just finished the feature film Sons of Norway about a punk rocker and his hippie father. It premiers at Toronto Film Festivan in September.
SURREALISTIC TOUCH
– Jens Lien, how did you come up with the idea for the film, and under what circumstances did it come into being?
– The film is written by Per Schreiner. We worked together on several projects at the time. I loved this idea, it had a surreal touch I connected too. This young man, so totally unable of facing life alone, gets invaded by everybody, because he doesn’t manage to protect himself. And as the voice-over says: “When you stand totally still, you are practically invisible”. In a way, you are the sum of every move you make. If you don’t make a move, you are practically nothing.
– Why did you choose to shoot the film completely without dialogue?
– I like a style where the visuals play a bigger part in showing emotions.”
– The facial expressions of the actor in the film are amazing. How did you find and cast him?
– We had a long casting session as I always tend to have. We had several good ones. Trond Fausa Aurvåg, who is playing the part, was kind of new at that time. He had acted in a commercial. I really liked his way of doing this part. He has an unique ability to act deadpan. And it turns out hilarious and vulnerable.
PAYS HOMAGE TO ANDERSSON
– Are you inspired by any specific artists or works?
– I am inspired by many. We talked about Kafka a lot when we prepared the script. But other directors that has inspired me are Buñuel, Cassavetes, Lynch, Kubrick. I got to know Roy Andersson’s films at that time. His films really made a great impression on me. The film was very much influenced by him. You can call it an homage.
– What was the greatest challenge about making this film, artistically as well as practically?
– To find the location was a challenge. We couldn’t afford to build one in a studio. For a long time we were looking for an apartment that could fit. Then my grandmother moved out of her flat where she had lived for 60 years. She was nice enough to let us shoot there. Her old wallpaper is amazing. I gave the actor the key and he went up there and stayed for a while. After that he became the character.
NORDIC DEADPAN HUMOUR
– In what way are you using humour in Shut the Door?
– I love to work with deadpan humour. Physical humour. Small movements and acting that comes across absurd and funny. For instance, the way the main character moves his finger when he doesn’t manage to lock his front door. We see it in a total shot from behind, but still this small detail says a lot about the character’s thoughts and it is funny at the same time. I love black humour. I think you can dig deeper into the truth with humour. You can see the whole thing from a certain perspective and at the same time get emotionally involved with the character.
– Do you think that there exists a particular Nordic humour?
– Yes, I think so. It is a deadpan humour that you can find in several film makers. Stiff, non-verbal, very black and mostly about men. It must reflect our way of seeing ourselves up here.”
– How do you regard the result?
– It was a very good production to work on. I think I managed to get my ideas and ambitions across. We applied for founding several times but was rejected many times. But our belief in the project made us continue to fight to get the founding and make the film.
– What do you think of the current state of Norwegian film?
– I am looking forward to this autumn. The last year has been terrible for Norwegian film. One bad film after another has been released. The audience has fled. This autumn I know about several projects that at least have some ambitions about making quality films.
By Mads Suldrup and Thomas S. Sejersen / Filmmagasinet Ekko
“When you stand totally still, you’re practically invisible.” That is the point of reference from which Norwegian-born Jens Lien made his short film Shut the Door. The director tells about the film, which is available on the DVD Funny Films of the North.
Why can’t the front door close? In Shut the Door, the main character loses his mother and afterwards and in some magical way he can’t close the front door and several strangers start moving into his apartment.
Realistic and mystical elements are combined in Jens Lien’s short film Shut the Door that is included on the DVD Funny Films of the North made by Rushprint in cooperation with three other Nordic magazines.
Jens Lien is a former rock musician, who has studied at The London International Film School. In a positive way, he has drawn attention to himself with his films. He has directed the feature film The Bothersome Man that won the competition La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes in 2006.
He has just finished the feature film Sons of Norway about a punk rocker and his hippie father. It premiers at Toronto Film Festivan in September.
SURREALISTIC TOUCH
– Jens Lien, how did you come up with the idea for the film, and under what circumstances did it come into being?
– The film is written by Per Schreiner. We worked together on several projects at the time. I loved this idea, it had a surreal touch I connected too. This young man, so totally unable of facing life alone, gets invaded by everybody, because he doesn’t manage to protect himself. And as the voice-over says: “When you stand totally still, you are practically invisible”. In a way, you are the sum of every move you make. If you don’t make a move, you are practically nothing.
– Why did you choose to shoot the film completely without dialogue?
– I like a style where the visuals play a bigger part in showing emotions.”
– The facial expressions of the actor in the film are amazing. How did you find and cast him?
– We had a long casting session as I always tend to have. We had several good ones. Trond Fausa Aurvåg, who is playing the part, was kind of new at that time. He had acted in a commercial. I really liked his way of doing this part. He has an unique ability to act deadpan. And it turns out hilarious and vulnerable.
PAYS HOMAGE TO ANDERSSON
– Are you inspired by any specific artists or works?
– I am inspired by many. We talked about Kafka a lot when we prepared the script. But other directors that has inspired me are Buñuel, Cassavetes, Lynch, Kubrick. I got to know Roy Andersson’s films at that time. His films really made a great impression on me. The film was very much influenced by him. You can call it an homage.
– What was the greatest challenge about making this film, artistically as well as practically?
– To find the location was a challenge. We couldn’t afford to build one in a studio. For a long time we were looking for an apartment that could fit. Then my grandmother moved out of her flat where she had lived for 60 years. She was nice enough to let us shoot there. Her old wallpaper is amazing. I gave the actor the key and he went up there and stayed for a while. After that he became the character.
NORDIC DEADPAN HUMOUR
– In what way are you using humour in Shut the Door?
– I love to work with deadpan humour. Physical humour. Small movements and acting that comes across absurd and funny. For instance, the way the main character moves his finger when he doesn’t manage to lock his front door. We see it in a total shot from behind, but still this small detail says a lot about the character’s thoughts and it is funny at the same time. I love black humour. I think you can dig deeper into the truth with humour. You can see the whole thing from a certain perspective and at the same time get emotionally involved with the character.
– Do you think that there exists a particular Nordic humour?
– Yes, I think so. It is a deadpan humour that you can find in several film makers. Stiff, non-verbal, very black and mostly about men. It must reflect our way of seeing ourselves up here.”
– How do you regard the result?
– It was a very good production to work on. I think I managed to get my ideas and ambitions across. We applied for founding several times but was rejected many times. But our belief in the project made us continue to fight to get the founding and make the film.
– What do you think of the current state of Norwegian film?
– I am looking forward to this autumn. The last year has been terrible for Norwegian film. One bad film after another has been released. The audience has fled. This autumn I know about several projects that at least have some ambitions about making quality films.
By Mads Suldrup and Thomas S. Sejersen / Filmmagasinet Ekko
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