--- In terrencemalick@yahoogroups.com, "j.meismer" <j.meismer@...>
wrote:
>
> Here's an article on Malick's talk at the Rome Film Festival. It's
in
> Italian but the machine translation is pretty easy to make sense of:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2b7dtb
>

If anyone cares, the article below described what went on:
http://www.allaboutfilm.com/filmmakers/terrence-malick-interview.html

October 24th, 2007

"Terrence Malick is extremely shy and you must not attempt to make
direct contact with him. You must pretend you are eavesdropping on a
private conversation."

I am sitting in the middle of the front row in the "Petrassi" hall of
the Auditorium in Rome, Italy, where Terrence Malick is about to give
an interview as part of the Rome Film Festival – his first interview
since 1973, and in all likelihood a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
for film lovers the world over. Terrence Malick has dazzled the world
with four movies of exceptional cinematic splendor and sensitivity,
and yet has always refused to be interviewed or photographed, which
only heightened his legendary reputation.

Seeing Terrence Malick in real life has a special meaning for me;
watching The Thin Red Line was a major spark in my own decision to
make films. The two hosts brief us before Terrence Malick's entrance
on stage.

"It took me a long time to persuade Terrence Malick to give this
interview, and he finally agreed on condition that we would not
discuss his movies, but would focus on his favorite Italian films
instead," one of the hosts said.

Having given a stern warning that no video or audio recording is
allowed, and that stringent anti-piracy invigilation will be carried
out during the interview, the hosts disappear behind the curtains.

The air is thick with anticipation; the impact of Terrence Malick's
movies is matched by his reluctance to appear in public and be
filmed.

The silence is broken when the two hosts escort Terrence Malick onto
the stage – one on each side. Terrence Malick is wearing a dark coat,
still buttoned up. The auditorium breaks into a rapturous applause.
Malick seems disoriented and unsure of where he is, taking cautious
steps towards his seat on the stage, perhaps thinking this interview
wasn't such a good idea after all. The ovation shows now signs of
abating and Malick taps his heart in appreciation.

Malick is here for one reason: to show us clips from his favorite
Italian movies, and to tell us why he finds them inspiring.

The first clip is played – a scene from a movie by Totò. An
experienced thief, played by Totò, is attempting to teach the art of
safe-breaking to some young acolytes. The lights go up and the
interview begins in earnest.

"This was the first Totò film to reach the United States ," Malick
tells us. "I am a big fan of Totò – his face irradiates a special
love, gladness, and happiness, just like Roberto Benigni. Benigni is
the true heir of artists like Totò and Charlie Chaplin."

The next clip is from a film by Pietro Germi. An old-fashioned
Italian father decides to lock his daughter up for not complying with
his marriage plans; the scene's tone blends drama with comedy.

What does Malick like so much about this movie? "It's the gladness,
the innocent quality it exudes…its humor is a celebration of
innocence, of the type we don't really see anymore."

Next up is a scene from Federico Fellini's The White Sheik: a
provincial girl comes to town looking for the so-called white sheik –
a local charlatan who likes to dress up in fancy exotic clothes. The
slick fraudster wraps the clueless girl around his little finger in a
scene that mixes humor with surrealism, in vintage Fellini style.

"Again, the warm sense of humor and the sheer innocence of the scene
greatly appeal to me…I feel for the provincial girl, the innocent
character who is expertly swindled by the fraudster who calls himself
the white sheik."

The scene takes place in a gorgeous Italian pine-and-scrub forest not
too dissimilar from the wilderness of Southern California, and
Fellini's camera lovingly dwells on the trees and vegetation that
frame the scene. One cannot help comparing the scene to the abiding
affection for nature displayed in Malick's movies, especially "The
Thin Red Line."

The analogy is not lost on the hosts, who bring up the
subject. "Absolutely," Malick replies. "The ultra-realistic way in
which nature is presented in that scene, with so many trees and
birds, really appeals to me. It adds even more innocence to the scene
and effectively symbolizes the purity of the girl and of her
perception of the world, which has not been tarnished yet. The hyper-
romantic natural setting symbolizes the hopes that provincial people
have when they move to a large city."

The white sheik is played by Alberto Sordi, king of Italian comedy
between the fifties and eighties. "He was great," Malick
volunteers. "His face glowed with joy and innocence, just like
Chaplin, Benigni, and Totò…he makes you become a child again."

A unifying theme begins to emerge with clarity: Terrence Malick loves
innocence and anything that celebrates it. Innocence is a theme that
Malick will continue to mention repeatedly in the interview.

By this point Malick has unbuttoned his coat and is completely at
ease. The truth is that we are all anxious for him to comment on at
least one clip from his movies, and luckily this is part of the
program after all: we are shown a clip from Badlands and one from The
New World.

The scene from "Badlands" is the one in which Martin Sheen's
character kills Sissy Spacek's father. It involves the clever use of
a mirror. "It took ages to set up that shot and make sure the
mirror's placement was exactly right," Malick tells us. "There's no
way I would spend so much time on it if I were to shoot it now."

Malick also tells us that "Badlands" features his one and only
appearance as an actor. "This actor was supposed to show up at 9:30
in the morning for a small scene. We waited, the hours passed, and he
didn't show up. In the end we couldn't afford to keep waiting, so I
put on the cowboy's hat and performed the part myself."

"I prefer working behind the camera," he added with a smile.

We are all having a lot of fun listening to Terrence Malick. He is
just like the movies he makes: warm, clever and extremely articulate.

The final clip is from his latest movie, "The New World," starring
Colin Farrell. The scene is the one in which the British colonizers
meet the locals, in what is nothing less than a meeting between two
worlds. The scene features Steadicam shots gliding over tall grass –
a strong reminder of similar shots in The Thin Red Line.

"Original music had been written for this scene, but in the end I
opted for a piano piece by Mozart, which had the right kind of
innocence for the scene."

One of the hosts delves into Malick's early career. "Is it true that
you worked for The New Yorker before starting your filmmaking
career?"

"Yes. I was sent to Bolivia to do a piece on Ernesto "Che" Guevara,
but frankly I did not understand what was going on." He laughs.

Terrence Malick will now attend a screening of Sean Penn's film Into
the Wild, being shown as part of the festival in another screening
hall. He gets up and is escorted off the stage as quickly as he
appeared. The few people who try and get an autograph are politely
turned away by the hosts, and as promised at the beginning, no one
gets to ask any questions. Nevertheless, it is abundantly clear to us
that attending this interview is a one-off opportunity - a true
singularity.

It is equally clear to me that although Terrence Malick may seem
cloistered from the world, there is no question that he is also
deeply in love with it.