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 printable version
MORE THAN A LIFE
INTERVIEW
LUKE HOLLAND
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More Than a Life is an incredibly moving film. Director Luke Holland explains what motivated him to film his brother's terminal illness and how the rest of his family reacted to it.
BBC Four: During the film you say that this is a story about life and not about death. Why do you think that?
Luke Holland: I always wanted to make a film that Peter would see. This was a film that was going to save my brother's life rather than one that would become an eloquent obituary. As Peter says in the film "Life will always be too short." Peter was somebody who lived life to the full and I hope that his energy and dynamism comes off the screen. It's also the idea that people live on after their deaths in the memories of those who love them. Peter is going to be much loved as a result of this film and he's going to be better known that he was during his life.
BBC Four: The film has an interesting structure, which isn't chronological. What was the thinking behind that?
LH:I wanted to get out of the way very quickly the information of Peter's death, partly because I didn't want to construct a drama out of the fact of the death. It seemed to me that the drama of his life and the drama of his illness, the way in which he took on the illness, were at least as interesting as his demise. The extraordinary thing is that even while we were cutting it, and it's certainly true when you watch the film, every time he comes back on in real-time, he is reanimated and comes alive again.
BBC Four: Given the subject matter, what pitfalls were you wary of?
LH: Offending my family. I've travelled extensively in my filmmaking but this was the first time I brought my filmmaking home and I didn't want to produce a film that was simply an affectionate portrait of somebody I loved very much. I wanted to produce a film that also spoke to people in universal terms and took a few risks. And the risks that I was taking were causing offence to members of my family who were not at times supportive of the venture.
BBC Four: Were they reluctant for you to start in the first place?
LH: No. But at different points in the unfolding narrative I got different reactions from various family members. One or two of them didn't want to be party to an obituary. I didn't want to make an obituary but in some sense they saw their participation as contributing to a narrative which would only have one ending. We all knew that Peter had a terminal illness, which was likely to plague his life. On the other hand Peter had always won his battles and we perhaps naively assumed he would win this one.
BBC Four: You've said that the film helped you deal with Peter's illness. Did other family members see it this way?
LH: They saw it in different terms. We each react to a crisis like this in our own way. I think Peter had many motives for suggesting I make a film and I credit him with the idea. I remember him coming to me saying, "Make a film about this. It will give me something to concentrate on and it may help others." As I say in the film I think it will help others and it gave me something to concentrate on. It also meant I could rationalise to my own immediate family the amount of time I was spending with Peter. I've been fortunate in choosing film subjects, and this one's no exception, that coincided with my own enthusiasms at that time.
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