Greed is good? Not in Anke Blondé’s “Dust.”
Premiering in Berlinale’s main competition, it sees two 1990s Belgian entrepreneurs, Luc and Geert (Jan Hammenecker and Arieh Worthalter), who suddenly lose everything when their many lies are about to be exposed. Panicked, they try to cover some of their tracks before the police arrive.
“If you look at them from the outside, they are an image of success. But I look them right in the eye,” says the director.
Most people would find it difficult to empathize with the rich and the powerful. Not Blondé.
“I wanted to like them. I knew some would be surprised by that: ‘These two villains? Two men who have failed and lost a lot of people a lot of money?’ I’m not saying I sympathize with people like them overall, but I was trying to figure out how greed made them this way.”
As her power-hungry characters go through the five stages of grief, denial is the hardest one to let go of.
“When people in a power realize they might lose it, they cling to everything to maintain their status. That’s pretty much what’s going on right now because, if we look at those who rule the world, they’re misleading others so they won’t fall from their pedestals,” she says.
Produced by Dries Phlypo for A Private View and sold by LevelK, the story was written by Angelo Tijssens (“Girl,” “Close”) and is loosely inspired by real-life events.
“It has as much to do with real events as ‘Titanic’ had with the actual sinking ship. Angelo hasn’t spoken with the actual people either, but we used these events to comment on humanity and our culture in West Flanders,” clarifies Blonde.
“I truly believe that where you come from influences how you cope with things. Belgium has been conquered so many times that we’ve become very modest. You’re not really allowed to be ambitious. They tell you: ‘Don’t fly too high because you will fall’.”
This is exactly what happens to her once-triumphant protagonists. Once they hit rock bottom, they start reaching out to those they’ve been ignoring.
“When people lose everything, when they lose power, the only things left are their roots, families and their background. If you fail, you basically want your mommy. The irony is that they’ve cheated so much over the years that the thing that grounds them is no longer there. They’ve failed their families and friends, and they know it.”
They still have each other, however.
“It was important to offer hope they will actually take responsibility. At the beginning, the stakes are so high because they are on top. Then, they keep falling and falling, until they’re all the way down in the mud. Literally. But their friendship emerges as a very important theme, and that’s just the way Angelo writes. You discover so many twists.”
Not to mention plenty of very dark humor.
“Humor is the ultimate tool for telling dramatic stories. It’s a coping mechanism, for me as well. Other directors read the script, but Angelo said: ‘You were the only one who was laughing so much’,” recalls Blondé.
Influential people can often feel untouchable — just like gods.
“Until they [come too close to the sun] and melt down like Icarus,” she deadpans.
“What’s happening with people in power these days is crazy. It’s totally absurd, much more absurd so than the movie we made, so having a bit of a laugh at them is also nice. It has all became very, very now, even though it’s set in the 1990s during the tech boom. We’ve heard a lot of no’s when developing this film, but I kept on believing in it. I even had an earring made that said: ‘Dust’.”
In West Flemish dialect, “dorst” (thirst) sounds similar to “dust.”
“Every time I was at an industry event, I would wear it. And it worked! I guess I’m becoming superstitious, because I will get more jewelry for my next project.”
“Dust”
©A Private View/Toon Aerts