15/11/2024 - We caught up with the German filmmaker to talk about his film, which sees a professor of Islamic studies and a potential bomber engage in a verbal duel

In Martin Reads the Quran [+see also:
film review
interview: Jurijs Saule
film profile], Martin (Zejhun Demirov) visits a professor of Islamic Studies to tell him about an attack he has planned. Can the professor show Martin a passage from the Quran that says it is wrong to kill people with bombs? That is the question at the heart of the debut feature by German director Jurijs Saule, shown in competition at 25th Lecce European Film Festival, where we met him. 

Cineuropa: Why, as a Jew, did you choose to delve into Islam in your first feature film?
Jurijs Saule: I wanted to make a movie that would be important for society. The idea came to my colleague Michail Lurje in 2016, I spoke with him afterwards and we worked on the screenplay together. We thought it was necessary to speak about it because lots of people and TV shows were discussing whether the Quran was good or bad, which means whether Muslim people are good or bad. It’s an awful discussion but, from an artist’s point of view, it’s also kind of funny to discuss whether a religious book is good or bad. Everybody knows the Muslim or Christian religion, but one thing is to know it and the other thing is to feel it. That’s why I wanted to make a movie to let the Christian audience feel like I felt. Because as a Jew, I also had doubts, but it really is the same as every other religion. That’s why I put lots of Christian symbols and music in the movie.  

What kind of research did you make for the film? Did you study the Quran?
I studied some pages. But most of the research was made by Michail, he talked to some Islamic scientists. For me, the important thing was the question: do I believe in God? And how much do I believe in God? To make this kind of movie you have to believe in God and show some respect. I started to believe more when I questioned myself. I’m still not religious but I believe in God, so it was more research about myself, about how much I can respect this religion.

How would you define the character of Martin?
He’s a phone shop worker and a family man. Martin is looking to forgive the Muslims and God. For him, it’s their fault, the fault of the religion, but at the end he feels God through his daughter and he forgives everybody. The movie is about forgiveness even if in the film he makes all the opposite choices.

In the film you use the camera in a very dynamic way. What was the idea behind that? 
We have two characters with different points of view who are showing their arguments at every second, so there’s no moment of silence when the camera can show the psychology of the character. I didn’t want to show the story of Martin, but I wanted to show the daughter, that’s why this concept was necessary: to show the psychological feelings of the character and his past through the camera. I wanted to show how the daughter would behave if she were here and listening to this conversation. Sometimes she would be very interested, sometimes she would go too close to the professor to show him that maybe he is wrong, she would annoy him. That’s why sometimes we see the professor has to push her back, because she is like the finger in the wound, it’s painful. 

What about the choice of the main actors and your work with them?
In the first version of the script, the professor was Muslim, but then we thought it would be interesting for European audiences if it were a European/German face, and it was obvious it had to be a famous actor. Ulrich Tukur is well known and was very good for the role. Finding Martin was more difficult, I had to watch thousands of photos and showreels, and Zejhun Demirov was the best. We worked together for two months, we spoke about family, God, politics, and his role of course. I showed him lots of different pieces of other movies. After that, the three of us rehearsed a lot for two weeks in the university.

What have been your main references for this film?
I thought about the atmosphere of Interview by Theo van Gogh, from 2003: it’s incredible how exciting it is only thanks to the dialogues. And a 1983 Russian movie from my favourite director, Marlen Khutsiev, titled Epilogue, with also shows two characters in a flat, a father and his son-in-law; only two men speaking and it’s where you can really feel the heart of the director.

What would you like the audience to take away from the film?
Cultures can understand each other. This war between Muslims and Jews, even before 7 October – of course I had this in mind as well as the war in Ukraine. It was very emotional for me when I was writing the script, this dialogue between two people who don't want to talk to each other but they still can do it – this is important for me, and this is my message to people: you still can talk.