"I ran to the graves of Eisenstein, Tarkovsky and Ptushko"

The mystical thriller "Return to Silent Hill" will be released in Russia on January 21. It was directed by Christophe Gan, who is well known to the domestic audience for the films "The Brotherhood of the Wolf", "Beauty and the Beast" and the first film adaptation of the Silent Hill game, released in 2009. The plot of the new film repeats the plot of the second part of the game, which only adds to the intrigue — how will picky fans of one of the most popular franchises in the history of video games perceive this? On the eve of the release of Izvestia, we discussed the film with Christophe Gan and actress Hannah Emily Anderson.

"I realized how much people in Russia love Silent Hill

— In Russia, "Return to Silent Hill" is being released simultaneously with the rest of the world. We have a huge fan base for this franchise in our country, and you now have the opportunity to say something to those who have completed the Silent Hill 2 game and are now planning to go to the movie.

Christophe Gahn: I have wonderful memories of Russian fans. When I came to Russia to present one of my films, Beauty and the Beast (a film starring Leia Seydoux and Vincent Cassel, released in 2014. — Ed.), I, of course, went to a large square near the Kremlin — Red Square. And suddenly I saw a lot of young guys, they were running towards me with a poster of the movie "Silent Hill"! That is, they knew that I would come to Moscow to present my painting, and somehow they guessed that I would go to Red Square! They were standing there waiting for me just to get an autograph on the poster!

At that moment, I realized how much people in Russia love Silent Hill. It was an incredibly pleasant and unexpected experience that stayed with me. In general, I understand that new films about Silent Hill are very much expected in Russia. And I love this passion!

Hannah Emily Anderson: And I just really like that they all love this movie in advance as much as it is dear to me. To be honest, I haven't played the games in this franchise because I'm not a gamer. When they give me something to play, I immediately turn out to be completely clumsy. But I really respect those who have this talent.

— Kristof, you shot this film in Europe, but there are many towns in Russia that could "play" Silent Hill, and you don't even have to build the scenery. Come if you're going to shoot a sequel!

Christophe Gahn: Listen, this is terribly interesting! I just wanted the film to have just such an Eastern European flavor! The first Silent Hill was with a North American one, it was shot in Toronto. But I wanted to do this one in Serbia. It was very important for me to capture this very special feeling of Eastern Europe, you know?

Therefore, you couldn't help but notice that the new "Silent Hill" has a different texture and a different atmosphere compared to the first one. That's exactly what I wanted, it's not a mistake. Because in general, I must say, I am a long-time fan of Eastern European cinema. For example, I adore Soviet fairy tale films. I also really love the surreal films of Czechoslovakia and Hungary. I spend a lot of time of my life watching this movie. It's incredibly atmospheric and attracts me in the strongest way. I was quite consciously trying to put this feeling into the new film.

— You still adore Tarkovsky, don't you?

Christophe Hahn: Do you know what I immediately did when I first came to Russia? I ran to the graves of Eisenstein, Tarkovsky and Ptushko. They are my heroes. I'm not only a director, as you know, I'm a cinephile, a film fan, and I used to be a film journalist, just like you. All these people are my idols. They changed the face of cinema, and I am forever personally indebted to them. And I've been paying off this debt all my life.

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I showed the new film to a few of my friends in Paris first. And one of them came out of the cinema and told me that I had "married" Lucio Fulci with Andrei Tarkovsky, just like that! And that was the best compliment to me. Of course, these are completely different directors, but I understand what he meant. Because there is also an atmosphere of pathology, morbidity, and at the same time such a strange, empty landscape of silence, which is always present in Tarkovsky's cinema.

"What's going on in my head is much scarier than anything you can read or hear on any news."

— It seems that you appreciate not only Russian cinema: the film has many parallels with Crime and Punishment. And the heroine is a little Sonya Marmeladova.

Christophe Hahn: I know what you're talking about. Yes, yes, there is…

Hannah Emily Anderson: And imagine, I don't even know the plot of Crime and Punishment, to be honest. My stepson read this novel just for Christmas because he loves classical literature. I should ask him about the plot and the characters. I mean, I keep hearing that name, and I know it's a great thing, but that's all there is to it. That's it, I'll definitely read it after our interview!

— Hannah, what did you think about when you read the script?

Hannah Emily Anderson: To begin with, I didn't realize at all at that moment that I would be playing several heroines at once. It was a big surprise, of course. I'm a fan of the first movie, I saw it in the cinema when I was 15-16 years old. So when I was reading, I was mentally transported back to that time. This feeling was so strong that I had to take breaks from reading. But the text itself was very dense, and I immediately connected to all the many characters that James, the main character, met.

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— But his relationship with Maria is an obvious retelling of Hitchcock's masterpiece Vertigo, where the hero, by the way, was played by James Stewart, that is, also James, see? And Kim Novak played two heroines. Were you inspired by this movie? Have you reviewed it?

Christophe Gahn: It's just my favorite movie. In general, of all times and peoples. Yes, for me, James's relationship with the two Marys is something very close to what happened in Vertigo. There, James Stewart searches for Kim Novak and is convinced that she is dead. So when he finds her again, he doesn't recognize her. In the plot of Silent Hill, this motif is played out, and it is logical that it is read.

Hannah Emily Anderson: Christophe gave me a list of films before filming and told me to watch them before starting work. I love it when directors do that. And there was, of course, "Vertigo." That was the first time I saw it. And, by the way, I didn't realize that there's one actress playing two roles. And when I realized, it really shocked and inspired me. And I tried to bring that into our film.

— One of the main problems of the horror genre today is that the newscasts are much scarier. How to make a movie in such a situation?

Hannah Emily Anderson: Sometimes it seems to me that what's going on in my head is much scarier than anything you can read or hear on any news. Do not underestimate the possibilities of our imagination. I sometimes like to listen to real-edge podcasts to explore my fears in this way, but I have to stop periodically: I imagine too vividly what they are talking about. But when we were shooting "Return to Silent Hill," I was completely immersed, it was necessary. And I was really scared because I'm a very sensitive person. And when the shooting is over, you still need to be able to find a way to let it all out of yourself and let it go.