Cinemaxx Filmtips Dezember 1999

"In the editing room I cried like mad" 

Your name is mostly associated with dark obsessions and disturbing realities. Are the wild times of "Wild at Heart", "Blue Velvet" and "Lost Highway" over? Does "The Straight Story" represent a return into the lap of bourgeois values?

Don`t worry, I haven`t become tame or low-brow. But there are different aspects to everyone`s personality and at certain stages you show other priorities. I can never tell, what I`m up to next. It might be a black, wild and crazy film again.

What attracted you to the story of Alvin Straight?

I was fascinated by the strong emotion and wonderful slow pace. If you move slowly, you`ll see more. We`re used to being in a constant hurry, days pass quickly, in the evening we don`t remember anything. After reading the script, I was struck by the directness and maybe the "naivety" of it.

What did you do to make the characters appear so natural?

Many actors are from Minneapolis or Chicago, the next big cities in the vicinity. They know the language and the mentality, and that really helps. We lived and worked in small rural cities and could rely on the locals´ experiences, we even filmed at Alvin`s real house. There wasn`t a lot of make-up work neither, everyone - except for  Sissy Spacek - did the make up and hair for himself. Richard Farnsworth even wore his own boots. Nobody could have been more authentic than him.

Your earlier films depicted the extreme, now your vision of American seems to be limited to gentle and nice people.

I know this is irritating to some people. But I`m telling a true story. And the real Alvin Straight met people who supported him. It`s because of this place where one lives like in a big family and you have rely on one another.

America strongly relies upon  family as an institution. What about you?

Family has never been important to me. It took me a long time to realize that it determines our behaviour and our entire life.

"The Straight Story" stirs you to tears. Are you sentimental?

In the editing room I cried like mad. When I chose the pieces of music for the scenes, the emotions returned and everytime I watch the film, I`ve got a lump in my throat. I don`t tend to cry easily, but this story touches a sore point in me.

Interview by Margret Köhler