Nearly a year ago, word first dropped that director Fatih Akin would be teaming up with Tahar Rahim for “The Cut.” There weren’t many details at the time, except that the film would cap off the filmmaker’s “love, death and the devil” trilogy started with “Head-On” and followed by “The Edge Of Heaven” (he took a break from the trilogy to helm the frothy comedy “Soul Kitchen” in 2009 and has also done some documentaries in between as well). But some fascinating new word on the project once again has us curious about the movie.
Taking with Cineuropa, Akin reveals that filming on “The Cut” is complete with editing underway, but most fascinatingly, he reveals the silent nature of his lead character. “Tahar doesn’t say a word throughout the film and he is a bit like Charlie Chaplin, but at the same time, he is a typical western character, like Sergio Leone,” Akin explained.
And while plot details still remain elusive, Akin elaborated on the thematic portion of the film and his trilogy, and what draws him to it. “I think wickedness exists within us from the moment we are born. What I found fascinating was exploring the fact that wickedness is a process of transition from goodness and that the opposite phenomenon exists too,” he said. “These are concepts that are very intimately tied to each other. The most beautiful of bodies, for example, can be carrying cancer on the inside, and one same person can be capable of the nicest of actions and the vilest of crimes. I have always thought that humans were in this in between place in the evolution process. We still have to find out whether we will stop living behind borders, separated by religion, nationality…”
Fascinating stuff. No word yet on when we might see the movie, but we’d take a guess that a Cannes Film Festival premiere—where Akin unspooled “The Edge Of Heaven”—isn’t out of the question…
