Even if there are people with special training, things like ``Die Hard'' don't actually happen. Director Anthony Maras "Hotel Mumbai" [Director's Interview Vol.41]

In 2008, an indiscriminate terrorist attack that shocked the world occurred at a five-star hotel in India. Directed by Anthony Maras, this film is based on the moving true story of nameless people who fought against guns with their hearts. He is an up-and-coming Australian director who was selected as one of Variety Magazine's ``10 Film Directors to Watch in 2018.'' We spoke to the director regarding the release of this film.

Index

• The audience can put themselves in it. That's the power of movies
• Deep-rooted prejudice against religion and race
• What kind of heroism did I want to portray?

The audience can put themselves in it. That's the power of movies

Q: Please tell us why you chose "Hotel Mumbai" from among the many subjects (incidents) to make into a movie.

Anthony: It all started when I saw a documentary called ``Surviving Mumbai'' that covered the incident. The life-or-death situations, pain, and relief experienced by the survivors of the incident were detailed. I was also very impressed by how people of various races and positions helped each other and tried to live together as one. I was inspired here a lot.

Also, my parents were refugees and had life-or-death experiences, and I grew up hearing their stories. Because of that, I may be more likely to react to stories that mean the difference between life and death.

Q: Please tell us about the significance of making a film based on an actual incident.

Anthony: The audience can put themselves in the situation of an actual incident. I think that's the power of film. If you want to know the facts and background, you can read books or watch documentaries, but of all the means of expression, movies have the most power in conveying a subjective perspective. I think there are.

Also, you can show the perspective of people of different races and positions than yourself. That is the power of cinema, and was a major motivation for making this work.

Q: It was very impressive that you didn't see the young terrorists as stereotypical bad guys, but focused on their facial expressions.

Anthony: There's no question that they're terrorists, and they certainly terrify people with the fear of guns. But they're also human. I wonder what their intentions were, and I wonder if they were also afraid.

It would be easy to draw an easy-to-understand "bad guy," but instead, I tried to first understand who they were and what made them do what they did.

Deep-rooted prejudice against religion and race