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Abel Ferrara: 'Pasolini's death is not some kind of fictional event' Abel Ferrara: 'Pasolini's death is not some kind of fictional event'
(about 2 hours later)
Abel Ferrara has a charming chuckle, particularly when confronted with highfalutin statements about his work from nervous journalists. The grizzled, leonine exterior of the 64-year-old film-maker, a native New Yorker of Italian descent now living in Rome, appears to house a kind heart and a generous spirit. This might seem unexpected in the director of Bad Lieutenant and King of New York, with their extremes of physical and emotional violence, but look past the cult status – built on the headlines inspired by 80s video nasty The Driller Killer – and what shines through in his work is a fearless, often painful but always exhilarating exploration of existential and spiritual faith. His more recent films – Mary, 4.44 Last Day on Earth, and this year’s elegantly profane Pasolini, Ferrara’s imagining of the final day in the life of the Italian writer and filmmaker – possess a graceful layering of the political and philosophical, the sensual and the spiritual. Says Ferrara: “That’s what it’s all about, dude – ya gotta have ‘em all.”
Related: Pasolini review – monument to a murdered film-makerRelated: Pasolini review – monument to a murdered film-maker
Ferrara talks quite simply of “getting the shot”. For him, this involves respecting what Brad Stevens in his book Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision calls “the holiness of impulse”, a trust in the emotional authenticity of improvisation. “It begins with trust. The script is an improvisation, rehearsals are an improvisation, and then you get out there ... In 4.44 and Pasolini, Willem [Dafoe] is actually working on the script with us. Then we get to the rehearsal, and that period is sacrosanct. Once we’re on the set we only do it once. We’re not big reshoot guys. Whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen there and then, you just hope all the planets line up.” Abel Ferrara has a charming chuckle, particularly when confronted with highfalutin statements about his work from nervous journalists. The grizzled, leonine exterior of the 64-year-old film-maker, a native New Yorker of Italian descent now living in Rome, appears to house a kind heart and a generous spirit. This might seem unexpected in the director of Bad Lieutenant and King of New York, with their extremes of physical and emotional violence, but look past the cult status – built on the headlines inspired by 80s video nasty The Driller Killer – and what shines through in his work is a fearless, often painful but always exhilarating exploration of existential and spiritual faith. His more recent films – Mary, 4.44 Last Day on Earth, and this year’s elegantly profane Pasolini, Ferrara’s imagining of the final day in the life of the Italian writer and film-maker – possess a graceful layering of the political and philosophical, the sensual and the spiritual. Says Ferrara: “That’s what it’s all about, dude – ya gotta have ’em all.”
Ferrara talks quite simply of “getting the shot”. For him, this involves respecting what Brad Stevens, in his book Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision, calls “the holiness of impulse”, a trust in the emotional authenticity of improvisation. “It begins with trust. The script is an improvisation, rehearsals are an improvisation, and then you get out there ... In 4.44 and Pasolini, Willem [Dafoe] is actually working on the script with us. Then we get to the rehearsal, and that period is sacrosanct. Once we’re on the set we only do it once. We’re not big reshoot guys. Whatever’s gonna happen, is gonna happen there, and then, you just hope all the planets line up.”
If any contemporary film-maker qualifies for outlaw status, it’s Ferrara. He inspires loyalty in his actors and crew, and is utterly without ego about the collaborative nature of his work. “It’s a communal trip, man, everybody’s involved in the piece and the choices we make, from what film we’re gonna make to begin with.” He talks fondly of Nicholas St John, writer of King of New York, The Funeral and The Addiction, among others, in which emotional truthfulness and philosophical inquiry came crashing into cinematic myths. He and St John began making films together as teenagers. “We started making films when we were 16, and then at a certain point he just had enough, you dig? He didn’t dig the business, he didn’t dig the spirituality of the business, didn’t dig the lifestyle; and at the height of his game, of our game, he just said: enough.”If any contemporary film-maker qualifies for outlaw status, it’s Ferrara. He inspires loyalty in his actors and crew, and is utterly without ego about the collaborative nature of his work. “It’s a communal trip, man, everybody’s involved in the piece and the choices we make, from what film we’re gonna make to begin with.” He talks fondly of Nicholas St John, writer of King of New York, The Funeral and The Addiction, among others, in which emotional truthfulness and philosophical inquiry came crashing into cinematic myths. He and St John began making films together as teenagers. “We started making films when we were 16, and then at a certain point he just had enough, you dig? He didn’t dig the business, he didn’t dig the spirituality of the business, didn’t dig the lifestyle; and at the height of his game, of our game, he just said: enough.”
Like Christopher Walken before him, Dafoe has become something of a muse for Ferrara. The actor’s mix of passive vulnerability and poised, panther-like physicality is explored in New Rose Hotel, Go Go Tales, and 4.44. Pasolini sees Dafoe and Ferrara take a shamanic approach to their subject, using the actual locations Pasolini frequented, objects he owned, even clothes he wore. “It’s not like some kind of fictional event, y’know. The restaurants are there, the beach where he was killed is there, it’s all right there. The family shared a lot with us. These objects have a lot of power to them. I mean, it only gets you so far, but at least it gets you so far.”Like Christopher Walken before him, Dafoe has become something of a muse for Ferrara. The actor’s mix of passive vulnerability and poised, panther-like physicality is explored in New Rose Hotel, Go Go Tales, and 4.44. Pasolini sees Dafoe and Ferrara take a shamanic approach to their subject, using the actual locations Pasolini frequented, objects he owned, even clothes he wore. “It’s not like some kind of fictional event, y’know. The restaurants are there, the beach where he was killed is there, it’s all right there. The family shared a lot with us. These objects have a lot of power to them. I mean, it only gets you so far, but at least it gets you so far.”
As for his choice of the Staple Singers’ I’ll Take You There as the soundtrack to Pasolini’s nocturnal adventures, Ferrara says: “It’s from the period. A friend of mine actually met Pasolini once in New York, and all Pier Paolo wanted to do was go see James Brown at the Apollo.”As for his choice of the Staple Singers’ I’ll Take You There as the soundtrack to Pasolini’s nocturnal adventures, Ferrara says: “It’s from the period. A friend of mine actually met Pasolini once in New York, and all Pier Paolo wanted to do was go see James Brown at the Apollo.”
Sadly, UK distributors have not looked kindly on several of Ferrara’s recent films. It has taken the BFI to get Pasolini in to theatrical release, despite its selection for last year’s Venice film festival, and the high profile enjoyed by Ferrara’s previous film, Welcome to New York. To console myself I read the director’s note in the press handout for Pasolini, which takes the form of a poem. “I sit at my teacher’s feet / yearning then hearing the music of the waves / that wash the feet of the / Messiah on the beach at Idroscalo”. That music has sometimes been hard to make out beneath the clamour of the profane, but as his passion becomes compassion, we may be able to discern it clearly. If only we were able to listen. Sadly, UK distributors have not looked kindly on several of Ferrara’s recent films. It has taken the BFI to get Pasolini in to theatrical release, despite its selection for last year’s Venice film festival, and the high profile enjoyed by Ferrara’s previous film, Welcome to New York. To console myself, I read the director’s note in the press handout for Pasolini, which takes the form of a poem. “I sit at my teacher’s feet / yearning then hearing the music of the waves / that wash the feet of the / Messiah on the beach at Idroscalo”. That music has sometimes been hard to make out beneath the clamour of the profane, but as his passion becomes compassion, we may be able to discern it clearly. If only we were able to listen.