"Sweet Thing" directed by Alexander Rockwell The NY independent scene of the 80's and 90's was a magical time [Director's Interview Vol.158]

“Escape from Inferno” taught us about American poetry

Q: The film quotes Van Morrison's songs and passages from "Peter Pan," but it also has a strong influence from Terrence Malick's " The Great Inferno " (1973). The film uses the same Carl Orff music as "The Great Inferno," and the scene where the children break into someone else's house is also an homage, right?

Rockwell: I think my whole ego was created by movies. It was in a movie theater that I was first molested by an adult. On the bright side, I would watch movies all day in the theater, and when I went home and went to sleep, I would dream about movies. At one point in my life, movies were my life.

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"The Great Passage" is a film that introduced me to the poetry of America that I had not noticed before. I saw it in Paris when I lived in Europe for about two years, and after returning to Japan, I was completely captivated by the American innocence and barbarism that the film portrayed. I'm not such an enthusiastic fan that I like all of Terrence Malick's works. I think he's like the Pope of the Inferno world. But "The Great Passage" and " Days of Heaven " are masterpieces that everyone can't help but be impressed by.

Q: The name of the boy who interacts with the main characters' siblings is Malik. Is this a reference to Terrence Malick?

Rockwell: No, no! Enough about Terrence Malick! (Laughs) But who knows? I thought Malik was a beautiful Arabic name, so maybe it had something to do with it. Either way, ' The Inferno Games' was a powerful experience.

I hope the people who watch the movie make it their own.