The LuxFilmFest offers the opportunity to showcase films before their official cinema release. Viggo Mortensen’s latest oeuvre, “The Dead Don’t Hurt”, which he directed, wrote, and starred in, will be shown in Luxembourg for the first time on Saturday evening.
Mortensen’s big commercial success came when he was cast as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy at the turn of the century, but the Danish-American is not just an actor - he is also an acclaimed musician, author and director. He drew upon his vast wealth of experience to create “The Dead Don’t Hurt”, a 19th-century Western period piece set against the backdrop of the American Civil War.
Of the inspiration behind the film, Mortensen told RTL he aimed to make a film in the classic Western genre. “The cinematography, the details, the historical moment, all respecting this classic genre, but with an important difference - a woman is at the centre of the story.”
The woman in question is Vivienne, played by Luxembourgish actress Vicky Krieps, and the film serves as both drama and love story, as Vivienne’s husband Holger, played by Mortensen, goes off to war, and she is left behind.
“We were keen to show how the story unfolds for her, and I wondered: what does a girl like Vivienne feel as a child? As an adult? What is she thinking, when husbands, fathers, sons go off to war?” explains Mortensen.
In addition to his writing, acting and directing credits for the film, Mortensen also composed the music, finishing the soundtrack before shooting even began. He says this was vital for the rhythm of the film. “The music helped me plan. It made filming certain scenes easier, helping with the duration of the scene, the rhythm, everything.”
“The Dead Don’t Hurt” will be screened on Saturday 9 March, before its general release in cinemas this May.
RTL report (interview in French):
