LUCID FORGE

Noel Mitrani has succumbed to mild obsessions, and it will play a theme in his life as well as a theme amongst the films he will and has already directed. This Montreal artisan, a prolific addition to Canadian cinema, took the time to sit down with me the other day to discuss the world of his mild obsessions, primarily his film On The Trail Of Igor Rizzi, Elia Kazan, 35mm and the 1970s.

Having previously delved into short films, On The Trail of Igor Rizzi is Mitrani’s first full-length feature film. As any mild obsession would indicate, Mitrani was determined to make his film—so much so that the $50,000 budget was completely funded by Mitrani’s own finances. He also wrote, directed and produced the film. The script took three to four months to write and the shooting schedule was only a month. When asked how On The Trail Of Igor Rizzi unfolded so quickly, Mitrani is easy to reply, “you would be amazed at how quickly you finish a film with a $50,000 budget. Many of the scenes were done on the first take.” Don’t be fooled by Mitrani’s efficiency though, he managed to get a considerable amount of high quality film produced within the financial and time constraints.

One key factor in that quality of On The Trail Of Igor Rizzi, is Laurent Lucas (Lemming), the French actor who has become a virtual cinema auteur, and played the main character Jean-Marc Thomas. Being both a Montreal francophone and a Parisian Frenchman, from childhood to adulthood, it has been an easy task for Mitrani to navigate the film world of both countries. Laurent was a dedicated friend of Mitrani, enough to jump onboard Igor Rizzi with no compensation, but an excellent character arc; a rare piece of filmmaking where more is said by actions and movements than dialogue. Mitrani tells me he was trying to show the remorse of the character Jean-Marc, not just say it in dialogue because, “sometimes you can lose the character in dialogue.”

On The Trail Of Igor Rizzi is about Jean-Marc Thomas, an ex-soccer player whose money has been swindled out of him at the height of his fame. An avalanche of misfortunes falls upon him as he loses the love of his life and everything he’s worked for. In a state of grief and disillusionment, Jean-Marc travels to Montreal which is the hometown of Melanie (Isabelle Blais), his lost love, in order to be closer to her. Amidst a rolling narrative throughout the film, we see that Jean-Marc did not feel the importance of his relationship with Melanie until it was too late. He must resort to theft in order to survive and ultimately is commissioned to kill a man known as Igor Rizzi. A cold Montreal winter is the frigid landscape for Mitrani’s debut film and the fitting place to demonstrate a man left alone with his remorse.

If Mitrani can make such an exploratory film as Igor Rizzi, I had to ask him how it felt as a first time director of a full feature, to also be producer and scriptwriter. Did he disagree with himself often, perhaps? On the contrary, Mitrani expresses extreme pleasure at juggling all three tasks on set. He explains:

“When I made a decision it was final, I never had to go through other people and waste time; these three aspects simply became one. As a first time director you are held very accountable for your actions and must explain them all, when sometimes you just know it will work but can’t explain the reasoning behind it. Each time I created a scene the producing was in the directing and when I was writing the directing was in that. My vision was my own; I enjoyed that aspect a lot.”

It wasn’t just the details in producing, directing and writing that Mitrani took on, but the details of filmmaking which were just as important to him as well. Mitrani shot his entire film on 35mm, an intriguing way to make a film these days as digital is so accessible and much easier to do on a low budget. However, digital was no challenge to Toronto born Mitrani. He explicates:

“Igor Rizzi was an emotion picture. I love 35mm, it has a hypnotic feel to it, and tells the story better.”

Would you do a film in digital? I queried. His response:

“Digital is not the answer to all filmmaking problems, or all ways of storytelling. Digital converts ugly to fine, of course what you are trying to convey in the story should determine what medium you use. After all, you can still shoot a film in digital and make a bad movie.”

Mitrani is not a purist. He understands the direction filmmaking is going, but he somehow perceives it unnecessary to follow the same current as everyone else.

“In Montreal there is a lot of discussion about the vision of Montreal filmmaking now that Hollywood is seeping in. Movies were much more personal before. For me it is all about cinema. In Canada an audience can go and see a big budget movie and then go and see Igor Rizzi. Now the audience is more responsive to all levels of filmmaking, and the audience decides for themselves what’s good and what’s not.”

Whatever style of filmmaker Mitrani is, what is apparent is his talent. Mitrani was awarded the Best Canadian First Feature Film award from the Toronto Film Festival last year, a huge honour for his dedication to the craft of film. “It is a well respected award and now I have found it is easier to get some doors open. I realize that it gets the door open, but I have to work hard to stay in the room,” Mitrani explains.

The root of Mitrani’s desire to be a filmmaker goes back to his childhood where he was influenced by two more of his mild obsessions. Both Elia Kazan and 8mm were discovered by a youthful Mitrani in the 1970s. Mitrani knows more about Elia Kazan, the famous director of On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire, than most people. In fact, give Mitrani five minutes to tell you about Kazan and he might be inclined to talk for half an hour on the subject, but when asked what his fascination with the 1970s is, Mitrani has an easy answer:

“I found 8mm at the age of eight years old and my world from then on was seen through the lens of a camera, so everyday life, the cars, the styles of the 70s just seem so familiar to me. But also, that’s what intrigued me to filmmaking, the ordinary lives of people when I looked through that lens as a child.”

Whether Mitrani does his next film on 35mm, or digital, or even 70mm, or whether it will be about the 1970s or present day, what will take place is another microscopic look at life and human emotion that only a mildly obsessed person could create. Mitrani has written his second full feature script and is working hand in hand with the progressive distribution company Atopia to make this next film. It will star French actress Irene Jacobs (The Double Life of Veronique) and Mitrani is currently looking for a Canadian or American female lead to play against Jacobs. Mitrani will be shooting it this summer.

Noel Mitrani’s favourite film is The Arrangement by Elia Kazan and Mitrani’s favourite book is A Life by Elia Kazan.

Read A Review of Noel Mitrani's Latest work [Here]