Swedish writer-director Lukas Moodysson is much beloved internationally for films such as “Show Me Love” (1998), “Together” (2000) and “Lilya 4-Ever” (2002). His filmography also includes the mostly English-language drama “Mammoth” (2009) with Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal, and “We Are the Best!,” (2013), a delightful adaptation of his wife’s graphic novel. His new film, “Together 99”, marks a sequel to his second feature.
Why did you want to revisit the characters of “Together” 24 years on from the original film?
I wanted to make a movie about the passage of time, but also about the feeling of time standing still. A movie about people’s dreams that die while they also continue to live on.
I don’t know, probably a stupid idea but it turned into a wonderful film. I love it. Many great things start with stupid ideas. In the film they have the stupid idea to have a reunion. It is a disaster but a good disaster. Some good things come out of it.
Would you ever want to revisit characters from some of your other titles such as “Show Me Love” or “We Are the Best!”?
Maybe “A Hole in My Heart.” Or maybe “We Are the Best!” when they are 60-70-80 years old.
Speaking of revisiting the past, would you ever want to direct another English-language film?
Read the full interview here.