‘Be still and die’ – Malkovich as first-century life coach Seneca | – #die #Malkovich #firstcentury #life #coach #Seneca
BERLIN, 20 February (Reuters) – When asked to serve a tyrant, is it better to enter his inner circles and try to curb his whims, or to stand by and enjoy your own integrity while his rages consume the world?
Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes explores this question, both very modern and timeless, after the first-century Roman philosopher learns that Emperor Nero ordered his death on the last night of his life.
Director Robert Schwentke said of his film, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Monday: “All of it politicalpersonal, philosophical dilemmas will come to a head overnight, and it will end with his death.”
Shot on minimalist, theatrical sets in Morocco, John Malkovich’s protagonist is so unsympathetic that he’s so quick-witted that even his impending death can’t stop him from spouting wisdom.
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“He talks a lot,” Malkovich said. “And sometimes it was hard not to think, okay, but to die and, you know, shut up.”
Nero, played by Tom Xander, is brash and childish, ready to kill or humiliate anyone who limits him. He soon turns to Seneca, tiring of his minimal moderating influence.
“There were a lot of opportunities to take advantage of current events and influence my performance,” Xander said.
Seneca’s brutality is less pronounced. He asks his young wife, played by the deadly Lilith Stangenberg, to die with him to give his death and dictums theatrical weight.
In 1989 USA“He was more of a life coach,” says Schwentke, who studied philosophy in Germany before leaving to study film. You know, he was going to have a TV show today,” he said.
Seneca’s bloodless pomp makes his ending funny, even enjoyable to watch. But Geraldine Chaplin, who played the Roman aristocrat, drew on the experiences of his father, Charlie Chaplin, to warn that there are limits to what humor can do.
“My father drew ‘The Great Dictator’ 70 years ago,” he said, referring to the 1940 anti-war satire that outraged Hitler and Mussolini.
“And he thought it would change the world. And it just made people laugh… And that movie was so funny.”
By Thomas Escritt report; Edited by Jonathan Oatis
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Thomas Escritt
2023-02-21 01:57:54
Source – reuters
Translation“24 HOURS”