07/07/2021 - The actress's directorial debut is a German-French-Dutch-US co-production that will be released in German cinemas by the end of July

German actress Franka Potente (25 km/h [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Muse [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) has been living in Los Angeles for around 20 years now. She has worked with a series of independent US filmmakers and now presents her first feature as a director. Home [+see also:
interview: Franka Potente
film profile], set to be released in German theatres at the end of July (courtesy of Weltkino Filmverleih Gmbh), is an intimate study of the US working class and a portrait of an ambiguous character. We talked to her about the production and her own idea of “home”.

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Cineuropa: How did you come into contact with the milieu you portray in the film? And what fascinates you about it in particular?
Franka Potente: I grew up in a small German town, but there are many points that overlap with similar places here in the USA. Home is a pretty good reflection of the small-town memories from Germany that I then see confirmed here. Therefore, this is a milieu that I have observed over the years, and all of my stories are set in that milieu. I find it interesting to portray characters whose lives are not so packed with things that have the ability to distract. You immediately have a rawer character when they're in that environment; it certainly has greater immediacy. It's about people who are more defined by their reaction to the circumstances they are living in, such as having little money or no friends, or suffering from an illness. It's about people who don't have the luxury of building a facade around themselves.

How did you find the actor who plays Marvin?
I was fascinated by Jake McLaughlin because on the one hand, he had something very masculine and tough, but at the same time, he had something tender about him. What's interesting about Jake is that he comes from a similar social background to the character he plays. He was a soldier in Iraq, then worked as a construction worker until he was discovered for a role. When I got to know him, I realised he was someone who had lots of emotional baggage that he would put into the character.

Even though Marvin has been away for 17 years, he considers the city where he grew up to be his home. What does “home” mean to you?
It's different for Marvin than it is for me. He just has one point of reference and is trying to pick up the threads after 17 years. But he realises that he can't. He goes back and sees there is a lot that is familiar, but also a lot that’s unknown. I feel the same when I go to Germany. My German home is primarily a nostalgic home where my memories live and where there is also a lot of inspiration. That's why it's a big part of me. Los Angeles is my current home. It's the place where I can grow, make mistakes and make the world a little more the way I like it.

The film is about home, but also about guilt and atonement. It’s fascinating that you avoid finding a reason or an explanation for the murder. How did you approach the subject?
Basically, it almost doesn't matter why it happened, either for the survivors or for Marvin. It was also something that happened completely foolishly. I grew up as a Catholic, and even though I am not one now, I continue to be fascinated by the idea that there is a book that is supposed to function as a set of rules. Then, in the church service, there is a certain language that takes you closer to salvation. But outside the church, people behave differently again. This bigotry fascinates me.

How did you conceive the beginning of the film? And what role do the dogs play?
It was meant to show the beginning of the protagonist's journey. He first meets people whom he doesn't know. They are people he approaches openly and who are also open to him. Only then does it get smaller and smaller, and more and more intimate. When he meets the dominant father, the latter knows exactly who he is. Here, it boils down to a kind of competition between the men. Marvin has a masculine appearance that makes people, and especially the other men, aggressive. With animals, it's like they don't judge you. Marvin is a bit rawer and is not afraid of the dogs. I also wanted to show that there is an immediacy between man and animal that does not exist between man and man.

How did you develop the visual concept of the film?
I'm inspired, for example, by realism like in Andrea Arnold's works. But of course, the images are also composed. I worked together with Frank Griebel, whom I've known since Run Lola Run. We agreed that we wanted to work with a gimbal. That's basically a Steadicam for poor people, but it allows you to work quickly under time pressure. In terms of the look, we wanted to have something washed out and monochromatic, where Marvin's red hair would stand out, as would several other individual elements that are a little more vibrant.