In Nick Hamm’s film William Tell, it is Claes Bang’s turn to shoot an apple at his son’s head.
“How do you get someone to say yes to that?! We’ve spent a long time talking about that. This is a man who doesn’t want to be part of the war anymore: he’s seen too much.” He’s been pulled back into it, but how do these pieces fit together? “Together until it explodes bloody?” asks the Danish actor, best known for “The Square” and “The Northman.”
“There’s a point where he starts to get a little crazy. He also knows, ‘I can do this.’ But when your son is under that apple, it’s a whole different story.
This iconic scene was the reason Hamm, who was also behind The Journey and Driven, wanted to make a film about the legendary folk hero.
“This scene is the movie. It’s not about someone putting a feather in his cap: it’s an act of political terrorism. It’s about a man forcing another man to publicly execute his son, so he can gain power.”
When writing the screenplay, Hamm returned to Friedrich Schiller’s 1804 play, also to “tinker with it” and tinker with some of its classic narratives.
“In a more romantic version of this story, Teal’s son is a child. I had a real problem with that. A grown man putting an apple on a child’s head? It’s barbaric! Here, there’s confidence from that teenage boy.”
Pang agrees, saying, “His son knows better than Till that he can actually do it, and he’s seen it hundreds and hundreds of times. He’s the least anxious there! Of course, when it’s finally about to happen, he doesn’t look too comfortable.”
While Tell was a Swiss fighting against the Austrians in 1307, Hamm saw in his film a “European story.” “William Tell” is produced by Free Turn Films and Tempo Productions. Germany-based Beta handles sales.
“In Europe, we tell our own stories. Not only do we borrow from Americans. But rarely can we parse a story so European and complex in a way that Europeans understand. Till is a reluctant hero. It makes him much more contemporary than some idiot running around shooting people.” Using a crossbow.
“I find most action films rather empty. I want them, I eat them, I get bored halfway through. But entertainment can be educational. It can be morally and politically complex. If European cinema has a ‘brand’, it’s all about the complexities Human nature.
Pang found himself connected to Thiel’s unusual predicament.
“The dilemma of being put in a situation where you either have to surrender to this aggressor who wants to take over your country, or you have to shoot an apple at your son’s head… I obviously have no experience in that area. But it should always resonate.” So you can translate it into something you can understand. Would you risk the life of someone dear to you? Why would you do that?
But in the end, it’s not just Till’s story, as many of the characters — including his wife, played by Golshifteh Farahani — are fighting their own battles.
“Every character in this movie changes, every character has some kind of epiphany. I don’t take credit for it — that’s what Schiller did — but I rewrote the women. None of them had any agency,” says Hamm, who has not yet finished The Hill. (In the play).”
“I think we have every intention of continuing,” he admits, thinking about a possible sequel. “In a world that’s changing, he maintains his position. When he brings all these people together, it’s celebratory, but also terrible. Because most of them are going to die.”
“It’s flawed,” Pang adds. “The monster inside him has been brought out – he’s not morally clean. We all make mistakes, so you say, ‘He’s gay.’ He would have done something crazy if they hadn’t stopped him. It’s an existential story. They’re clearly protecting that.” “Here in Switzerland, but it concerns everyone.”
“It’s about complicating how we live and work together, and stopping bullying each other,” Hamm sums it up.
“I think it hasn’t been properly explored. Why is he a hero? Why is this story still out there, being drawn or put into plays? There are all these dodgy TV shows and terrible movies, but no one really watches them. Ultimately, it’s about the concept of freedom.” “That’s why Till survived.”