The Salvation was written by Levring and his long term collaborator, Anders Thomas Jensen. It has been described as being ‘imbued with a Nordic temperament’. But surely it’s a western through and through with a hero who happens to be Danish? “A Scandinavian will recognise that ‘Nordic temperament’ better, explains Levring. “We are brought up with Scandinavian sagas, the Nordic sagas, these very Viking tales about death, life, brotherhood, love and revenge. They are simplistic, straightforward and brutal stories and they inspired us. It’s not manifested in the film in terms of ‘it’s at that point there or at this point here’, it comes in moments, in a specific viewpoint; there is darkness in it.”
The film pays homage to the great directors of westerns, to John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, Howard Hawks and Sergio Leone as well as Japanese director Kurosawa. “It’s fantastic to do this – a childhood dream,” Levring says. “I wanted to put my soul into it, make a classic western that I used to love. There are small things that made it my film within the framework of the story rules. There are quite important references to other westerns. We’re not looking at character, it’s not a psychological film,” he continues. “There are two kinds of westerns – the psychological and the mythic. The mythic is my type; it’s bigger than life, more than a myth. The Salvation is not a dialogue-heavy film. We wrote it – and the dialogue was much longer. With a western you have to condense everything, make it into something not realistic. Everything had to be shortened. It’s a different style of writing.”
There’s an intensely heightened aesthetic to the film, scenes of deep chiaroscuro, a distinctive palette and a measured focus that’s unique. “All the good westerns are very visual,” says Levring. ”It’s an important aspect of storytelling, creating the mood of the film with the visual style, you are bringing the audience to the way you want them to see this world. The men and the women, their faces, all had a little bit of enhancement. I was also production designer – with the interiors, the houses, I wanted to do something that felt realistic. I spent a long time with every detail of the film.”
The Salvation was shot in South Africa after Levring found that both the United States and Australia were too expensive. “In a western the landscape is like a character, part of the visual style. South Africa sounds like a compromise but I needed to shoot the film in the right place, with the right landscape, and also somewhere where there is already an industry in place; we needed horsemen, stunt people.”
Was Mikkelson Levring’s first choice for the lead role? “Oh yes. Because we’re a tiny country and there are not that many actors of stature and calibre. I knew him already for a long time. He had always wanted to do a western. He’s a very physical actor; he loves to ride! And he brings much more to the film, he’s a loyal person, he’s behind you – he works very hard and he’s still hungry as an actor – a real wonderful man.” Which elements of the film in particular had Levring had been carrying around for years? “Quite a few specific moments. There is one scene where the priest/ sheriff talks about walking down that ‘wrong path’. I had that scene in mind many years ago.”
What does Levring hope audiences will take from the film? “That’s the hardest question to answer. Films are never messages. There are emotional moments you want people to go through, it’s not something you can write or tell – you film it. The specifics of this film – it’s a revenge story. What happens to people when you go down that path, what’s the price of revenge? The most important thing is the sensation when you watch the film, the emotion of going through this story with this man Jon. You go down that road with him, trying to understand and see this the way he does. Have I got a right as a Dane to make a film that takes place in the US that involving US history? But US history is also some of my history as a Dane: in the 1870s a lot of Scandinavians went to America. There were some lovely films about that – The Immigrants. I could have done a film about the immigrant experience but then you go into the realistic world. I’ve tried to make a more mythological film, while keeping in touch with the European viewpoint.”
The Salvation has been picked up by theatres worldwide and will open in the States in February. Is the western out of Levring’s system now? “I don’t think it’s something I’ll do again. In the ’40s and ’50s every second movie was a Western. You do it as an act of homage, for people who love westerns. It was really a fun movie to do.”
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
