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features /  film interview
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lemming interview
lemming interview
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Director Dominik Moll takes it to the edge.

German-born director Dominik Moll says, “I like working on films without too many characters so that I can really concentrate on something that is smaller. It’s like working on chamber music rather than a big orchestra.” No wonder Lemming is a stark character-driven narrative piece starring Charlotte Rampling and the resplendent Charlotte Gainsbourg, and not an adaptation of the popular computer game. In fact, Moll claims he only became aware of the existence of the game when he decided to search for Lemming on the internet to make sure there were no other films with the title.



The 44-year-old describes Lemming as, “About Alain (Laurent Lucas), a home-automation designer who is obsessed by control. In order to be happy he has to control things. Little by little the whole thing starts with the discovery of a lemming under the kitchen sink.” Lemmings of course do not live in France. The popular legend is that they go on kamikaze missions every summer trying to swim away from Scandinavia. But Moll uses the Lemming in the same way that François Ozon uses a rat in Sitcom – as the impetus for a series of increasingly bizarre and supernatural events. Lemming is at its best when the two Charlottes start morphing into one and terrorise Alain. The visual style and use of doppelgängers is indebted to Hitchcock and Buñuel.



Moll went to film school in Paris, which explains how he came to start making movies in France rather than Germany. Like his last film, Harry, He’s Here To Help, the plot revolves around a simple theory. He explains, “When your character is down – kick him. That is something I quite like.” The reliance on schadenfreude in his work means that another popular saying seems to encapsulate the spirit and presence of the director: you can take the boy out of Germany, but you can’t take Germany out of the boy. And who in their right minds would want to.


Kaleem Aftab 27 April 06
Lemming, on selected release 28 April 06.
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Lemming post 1
comment by RubbyChuckers    Apr 28, 2006
None of the reviews I saw mentioned this, but I was surprised by how funny Lemming is. There's flashes of Bunuel's twisted social manners and surreal imagery that are shocking and quietly hilarious. It's got some wonderfully chilling moments, and racks up the tension nicely, keeping you guessing. Well worth a look, even if it's just for the insider knowledge on lemmings.
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