Interview with KOMA director Ludwig Wust

KOMA is an official selection at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, in competition for the Louve d’or. I was able to do a little electronic interview with the film’s director, Ludwig Wust (Note: if I knew how to make umlauts, one would appear over the ‘u’ in Wust)

SYNOPSIS
Hans, a taxi driver in a small town near Vienna, is turning 50. His wife has arranged a party with friends but as the guests gather, Hans wanders off for some time alone by the lake… and never returns. After paying a prostitute just to talk, he searches for Gertrud, a woman with whom he was able to fully play out his sadomasochistic fantasies. The memory has haunted him ever since. Koma, Ludwig Würst’s first film, dives into the murky, psychological waters of fellow Austrian filmmakers Michael Haneke and Ulrich Seidl, a “cinema of disturbance” (Matthias Frey) where spectators cannot watch without questioning their tolerance for cruelty and violence. Based on a true story, the film’s methodical and meticulous attention to detail makes every shot the measure of both an apparently calm surface and the barely perceptible ripples of violent undercurrents. Probing the seeming stability of Western culture, Koma unhooks spectators from their lifelines of unquestioned assumptions.

Daniel: In Koma there are long stretches without any dialogue, but there are also talky scenes (like the prostitute’s monologue in the bathroom) that feel almost improvised. Were these rhythms built into the script? Do you write a traditional-looking script, in terms of the format?

Ludwig: For me, starting as a painter (more than 20 years ago), the image is much more important than the words. (the sound is as important as the image!!!). From the beginning I wanted to shoot a “silent film”, meaning that the lead actors wouldn’t have any words to explain their situation. The monologue of the prostitute (which was written by myself “en detail”) is sort of a counterpoint to the whole film. In fact I don’t write a traditional script. I write a treatment and with the actors I start working on developing the scenario several months before shooting. On the set of Koma we were rehearsing for 7 days and then shot the whole film in 8 days!!! This was only possible, because we were well prepared.

Daniel: There are several very long takes in the film. I’m thinking especially of Hans by the water, listening to the birthday message on his phone. What is your philosophy of the long take? Do you have one,or do you just instinctively feel that a particular scene should be long, and shot without cuts?

Ludwig: In general I prefer to shoot scenes without a cut, I’m probably influenced by other filmmakers like Angelopoulos, Depardon or the Dardenne brothers. I find a certain beauty, truth and strength in that way of working. In my next movie NAHAUFNAHME (medium shot) I’ll try a fixed 60 minute (at least!) sequence without a cut. I’m preparing this work since 5 years, the idea came up when I was reading the diaries of Ingmar Bergman. He describes a film he’d love to make with Liv Ullman in a “close up”, in one shot. But Liv refused to do it, so…somebody has to try…

Daniel: You use a handheld camera for ‘static shots’ where most directors would probably use a tripod. Why did you choose to shoot your film this way?

Ludwig: I chose the handheld camera because I wanted a camera view that breathes, it’s not a cold static view, but a pulsive and reactive one…

Daniel: It seems that many filmmakers today want their fiction films to look like documentaries. I’m thinking of the Danish films in the 90s, the Dardenne brothers, and especially the Romanian film 4 months 3 weeks 2 days. It’s not a proper school or anything, but do you see yourself as part of that tradition? Also, how much are these aesthetics a function of economics and practicability?

Ludwig: I agree to that (beside economics), I like the documentary- look, for this I won’t use music in my films, except the music that happens in the scene. I think digital video is the medium of our time, why not use it for storytelling today? I already mentioned it, the Dardenne brothers are one of my favourites…

Daniel: There is a surprising twist at the end of the film. I am wondering if Hans is repenting – taking responsibility for his actions, or maybe freeing himself from guilt – or if he just really loves this woman, even when he was beating her. Is it meant to be ambiguous?

Ludwig: I leave this answer to the audience…I mean his way of acting is quite radical, he takes her out of the hospital.

Daniel: Most people are aware of their own capacity for violence, to some degree, but many will still be surprised by the extreme S&M in your film – did you have to research sadism and masochism to make Koma? And if you did, what was the most surprising or fascinating thing that you learned?

Ludwig: I had to do a lot of research, but while preparing that scene, I found out that I had to conceive it absolutely abstract. I think that people are shocked seeing it, because the image is completely abstract and the real violence happens in their mind (where it hurts the most!) What i’ve learnt? What i’ve known before: I don’t like violence at all…

Interview by D.I. Schachter

Watch the Trailer for KOMA here