Hans Petter Moland is one of the biggest names in Norwegian film. He has made the large scale, American-Asian refugee drama The Beautiful Country starring – among others – Nick Nolte and Tim Roth. Last year he made the darkly humorous drama A Somewhat Gentle Man that attracted some attention on Berlin Film Festival.

On the DVD Funny Films of the North – made by Rushprint in cooperation with three other Nordic film magazines – Hans Peter Moland’s contribution is United We Stand, an affectionate satire about the labour movement.

In the film a group of old men, who sing Internationale and use anachronisms such as “solidarity”, go for a hike. They rescue a young woman in need, but end up paying a high prize when they get stuck in the same swamp, they just rescued the woman from. Now the fat is in the fire, and the modern woman … she is long gone.

– Hans Petter Moland, how did you come up with the idea for the film, and under what circumstances did United We Stand come into being?

– The film is part of a series of short films that were weaved into a feature film called Most People Live in China. Nine directors each got a political party to portray. And all of the films had to visit the Statoil gas station that you see in the film.

– What were your intentions with making United We Stand?

– I don’t know. It is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I knew I wanted it to be funny, but the format of a 7-9 minute short film is so challenging. You can tell a lot in the course of 9 minutes, you can use symbolism in ways a feature film often won’t allow. Erlend Loe, who wrote the screenplay, has a wonderful tone of voice in his writing.

– I guess that was my main objective with the film, to convey his tone of voice. And I wanted the tempo of the old men to dictate the pace of the film. So in the opening shot of the film, they park the car and finish singing before they come out. My editor thought I was crazy to hold the shot for so long.

– Are you inspired by any specific artists or works?

– Anyone with a vibrant voice is inspiring. Writers, film makers, musicians … sometimes subtle ones, other times loud ones. But they don’t necessarily inspire me to be either. It is simply nice to feel the presence of someone’s artistic endeavour. To be reminded of how varied the human experience can be. But I do have a soft spot for some of the American films of the 70’s. Terence Malick, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese… plus another 20-30.

OLD FELLOWS
– What was the greatest challenge about making this film, artistically as well as practically?

– Like I said, finding the tone of voice. And it was no picnic either digging a bunch of old men into a marsh in late October. But they all survived and did a terrific job. I would have liked to see a bunch of youngsters go through what these old guys endured. They would have been crying and begging to be set free.

– In what way are you using humour in United We Stand?

– It’s about making people laugh. The characters in the film are not funny. They are dead serious, and devoted to their beliefs. That is funny in a tragi-comic way. It’s tragic that their greatest virtue – their solidarity with their fellow human beings – is not reciprocated. The young appreciates the old men in a superficial and egotistical way, but it totally slips her mind that she has an obligation to help other people than herself. That’s funny to me, but what’s even funnier is that the old men don’t feel they’ve been exploited.

WOODY ALLEN IN LOFOTEN

– What can you achieve with comedy that the tragedy is not capable of?

– Lots of things, things that otherwise would have been tasteless. And making people laugh is not the same as not saying something worth listening to. Or have I totally misunderstood?

– Do you think that there exists a particular Nordic humour?

– Yes. And no. We all are influenced by the geographical circumstances we live in, and whatever else surrounds us. Woody Allen could not have come out of Lofoten. But we are individual voices, and don’t belong to just a social group or a geographical area. We are who we are as unique individuals as well. So what comes out might be tempered by local influences, but the biggest influence is our inner landscapes. Erlend is a unique voice, even if he doesn’t hide where he comes from.

– What reactions do you wish to provoke in the audience with United We Stand?

– Laughter. And a sadness for the ungratefulness of life, perhaps. Life is unfair. We can cry or laugh – or both.

FORGET ABOUT QUALITY CONTROL
– How do you regard the result?

– I regard it as the best Erlend Loe film to date. And I regard it as a godsend. I had a lot of fun making it, and the prize money it amassed at various festivals around the world kept us alive for a year while I was waiting for my money for The Beautiful Country. I never expected to live off a short film for a whole year.
 

– What has United We Stand meant for you personally?

– It reminded me how funny it is to make films. The only pressure was to make a good film. That is pressure enough, but it’s the right kind of pressure. Often other kinds of pressure disturb the process, and not necessarily in a good way.

– What projects are you currently working on?

– A documentary about financial bubbles, and a few feature projects that are not financed.

– What do you think of the current state of Norwegian film?

– Most films made in this world don’t succeed and Norway is no exception to that rule. But at least we’re making films. I think there is too much political meddling in Norwegian films. Since it’s a high risk game, it’s meaningless to apply quality control principals to film making as if we were manufacturing cars or putting together IKEA furniture. The politicians should defend the failures just as much as they applaud the successes. They are both essentially products of a climate where the unpredictable and original is allowed to flourish.

By Mads Suldrup and Thomas S. Sejersen / Filmmagasinet Ekko

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