Pssst, have you heard? FUNZINE-Odeon Film Club will be back. Soon. First up, Zsombor Dyga’s 2009 hit, Question in Details will be screened. We caught up with him to chat about the movie. Oh, and to whet your appetites a little.
Question in Details is a fairly slow, character-centered film lacking a strong, action-packed plot. This genre hasn’t really entered mainstream Hungarian cinema.
True, there aren’t many examples of it here. The project also only started out as an experimental film; there were no big expectations about it. It only turned out later that the movie would be able to talk to a wider audience than we thought. Those up for a tense but human drama won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect things like a car chase.
How do you think audiences here will take it?
I’ve got seriously no idea. The challenge is to put viewers into the cinema seat; if we do, we’re sorted. The number of people going to the movies to watch this film is important for the producers; the number of people coming out touched by it is what’s important for me.
Almost the whole movie is set in a flat. What directional solutions did use to avoid it becoming dull?
This began at the script-writing phase – the biggest challenge for me in this project. I had to feel the proportions, the magnitudes and the timings of the turns plus the dialogues, obviously; they’re very significant in this kind of film. Basically, the whole drift and liveliness of the movie depends upon their rhythms.
The plot’s relatively simple, so there’s a fair amount of pressure on the actors to ‘make the film live’. How did you help them?
The setting, the costumes and accessories and the visual language were all designed to support our actors. Not to mention the sounds and the music. To build up such a minimalist world, you need to understand that even the tiniest detail has an increased importance. It’s like analyzing something under a magnifying glass.
Was night-time filming a challenge?
For me and the crew, it was alright. Been there, done that. The real heroes were the actors, who had rehearsals during the day, shows in the evening, then came to 12-hour-long shoots every night. Respect.
The film’s soundtrack is mainly jazz-based. Why do you think jazz fits it so well?
This is a bittersweet dramedy, and the basic rhythms of jazz have perfectly supported the drift of the film. The humble music of Uptown Felaz contributed a lot to the evolution of the three characters.
Where did inspiration for the script come from?
I was exploring the unnatural situation of a blind date. That’s when I got the idea of one leading to something so sudden and fate-like that it transforms the participants’ lives. I was interested in the psychological dimension, how men and women understand each other; the process of reaching an emotional union.
Have you ever been on a blind date?
Never. I wouldn’t expose myself or the other person to such a trauma. I believe in spontaneity.