‘Love Eternal’, the second feature from Irish filmmaker Brendan Muldowney following his haunting ‘Savage’, will be released in cinemas in Ireland today. Based on the Japanese novel ‘In Love with the Dead’ by Kei Oshi, the feature follows a lonely young man who becomes obsessed with death and tries to understand life by coming closer to death.
The feature was filmed in Co Cork with some production and post in Luxembourg, and stars Polyanna McIntosh, Robert de Hoog, Amanda Ryan, Emma Eliza Ryan and Declan Conlon. It has screened at the Galway Film Fleadh, the Dingle Film Festival and at Berlinale among other festivals. The film won the Dublin Film Critics Best Irish Feature Award at JDIFF and also won the inaugural Fresh Blood Award at the Black Bear Film Fest in Warsaw.
Below, IFTN talks to Muldowney, who wrote and directed the film, about his new feature:
‘Love Eternal’ is based on the Japanese novel ‘In Love with the Dead’, and reinterprets the original story while maintaining its key themes. Can you tell me about the writing process behind ‘Love Eternal’ and how you adapted the novel to a contemporary context?
”We decided very early on that it would be set in a non-specific country. This was not to solve the different problems that come with co-productions shooting in two countries, but was more to do with the tone and mood of the novel which was imbued with an ethereal and surreal atmosphere.
“The characters [of the original novel] lived in a big house by a lake (his father was an architect). The woods were this darkly magical place lit by twilight, and it was based on real woods in Japan at the base of Mount Fuji where there have been many suicides, Aokigahara, also known as the Suicide Forest or Sea of Trees. The boardwalk made me think of a children's TV show called ‘Balamory’, with the candy coloured houses along the seafront. It felt very much like a fairy tale, albeit, a very dark and disturbing fairy tale. The novel also had some very Japanese themes such as suicide and “hikokamori”, which is a Japanese phenomenon where teenagers decide to opt out of life and become self-imposed hermits.
“So I felt that by transposing it to a slightly magical “nowhere land” that it would help ease the themes into a European setting. It actually helped with co-production specific problems such as driving. Most of our driving shots were in Luxembourg where they drive on the right side of the road and even with locked off roads it made it easier. We also used a left hand drive car and I didn't have to worry about strange looking road signs.”
As with your previous feature, ‘Savage’, this film also explores a unique male psyche. Was ‘Love Eternal’ intentionally connected to ‘Savage’ in this way?
“No, not at all. I’d even go so far as to say that it isn't “exploring the male psyche” as such. Yes, Savage was very much an exploration into that area but the character of Ian in ‘Love Eternal’ is more of an existentially lonely person who is trying to make sense of life. He just happens to be male, but I think it could work equally well if the characters were female. We all deal with death, and what it means to live and love.”
As both writer and director of the film, what were some of the bigger challenges in producing ‘Love Eternal’?
“As a director, the main challenges were dealing with a co-production which shot in two countries with a changeover in some of the crew etc. Things like location recces were particularly difficult, because we could only spend brief periods there in prep, and those visits were intense as they were packed with casting, recces, meetings with costume designers etc.
“As a writer, the main challenges were dealing with incredibly dark and edgy subject matters, and trying not to make it sensationalist or exploitative.”
The film has garnered critical acclaim, featured in film festivals all over the globe, secured distribution deals, won awards, and now will be released in Ireland. What has meant the most so far?
“Well the film has screened at over sixty film festivals worldwide which is very gratifying. Highlights include opening the Sitges Film Festival’s New Visions section, and the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea was amazing, and a fascinating place to visit. It is great to see the film connecting with an audience.”
‘Love Eternal’ has both a darkness and surreal sense of hope to it. How do you hope the film will be received?
“I am well aware that it is an odd film, in a good way. I think that its oddness may mean that its reach to the audience or people who might connect with it might be a slow process (it’s a small release). What I mean by that is that I think it will still be finding its audience for many years as it is discovered. I just read a review by Stephen Totterdell for Film Ireland where he ends the review by quoting Roger Ebert – “I'm tired of films that are for everybody, which really means they are for nobody”. He goes on to say that the film is for him and that it works very well for him. That is a wonderful thing to read and makes the whole endeavour worthwhile.”
See the trailer for ‘Love Eternal’ here:
