Sundance Special

Revisiting Houston: Sundance Festival selection comes home for closer scrutiny

Houston, the movie, is coming home.

The film, a German/American production which was shot in the Bayou City and El Campo, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January to an appreciative audience. As I wrote after seeing it at the festival in Park City, Utah, it's a moody, meditative piece about an alcoholic German headhunter (played by Ulrich Tukur) who is sent to Houston to recruit a reclusive corporate CEO and loses his grip on reality.

The reviews were mixed — it's not exactly the feel-good movie of the year — but I liked it more than most because it doesn't resort to the stereotypes that are often used to portray Houston and Texas.

Houstonians will get a chance to judge the film for themselves this weekend at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with screenings Friday through Sunday. Director Bastian Günther will attend the Friday night screening and mingle with filmgoers at a reception afterwards. (The film previously had its Houston premiere at the H-Town Multicultural Film Festival in June.)

Interesting techniques

From a filmmaker's perspective, the movie uses some interesting techniques. Günther purposely shot the movie on 35-millimeter film, using hard-to-find lenses in Los Angeles and Europe, to give it a dreamier quality and represent the lead character's confused state of mind. It's a technique that is rarely used in the digital age; one crew member told Günther the last time he had worked with 35-mm film was when the Coen brothers shot No Country For Old Men in Texas six years ago.

"Everybody is shooting digital now. But (35-mm) gives such a nice atmosphere," Günther said in Sundance at a party after the premiere. "And the concentration of the whole team during the shoot was much higher because they know that money is running through the camera every second so everybody is focused. You can't just shoot random stuff. You have to be prepared to make the film."

"It is a very political film that tells a little bit about our modern way of life and how we live and how fucked it is sometimes."

In writing the movie, Günther said he was inspired by Apocalypse Now, which in turn is based on the classic Joseph Conrad novel, Heart of Darkness. "It's a classic set-up for a journey into your own darkness," he said.

He also looked to seminal New Hollywood movies made in the 1970s, including Two-Lane Blacktop, Zabriskie Point, The Deer Hunter, The Last Picture Show ("a great Texas film") for inspiration.

"All these films inspired me so much because they were very political, but in a very artistic way. I think this is what our film is too. It is a very political film that tells a little bit about our modern way of life and how we live and how fucked it is sometimes."

In an Q&A with my colleague, Jane Howze, before the Sundance Film Festival, Günther explained why he picked Houston as the focal point for his film.

CultureMap: What is the underlying story for Houston?

Bastian Günther: I spent several years doing research for the film, and met with different German headhunters. They gave me some insights and tips as they talked about their work. In terms of the city of Houston, I knew that the main character, the headhunter in the film, needed to make a big journey because it’s also a journey into his inner soul.

So, I was looking for a business city in the U.S. where it’s hot and humid in the summer, and which is connected immediately with business or energy. My wife is American and suggested I check out Houston or Atlanta, so four years ago, I came to Houston to do some location scouting.

After a couple of days in Houston (we stayed at the Hyatt Regency downtown), it was immediately clear to me that I needed to shoot in Houston. It’s so visual and interesting with no zoning, all the highways, downtown, the ship channel, etc.

It really fitted my idea of the film and how it should look. Of course, the heat and humid climate was good for the character and how he feels. Houston is almost its own character in this film, which is why I titled it Houston, because it’s an antagonist in the film.

CM: And how did the Houston Film Commission play into the filming?

BG: The Houston Film Commission, particularly Rick Ferguson and Alfred Cervantes, were so helpful. I think Alfred drove me around one or two years before we shot the film to show me Houston and El Campo. Rick really helped us get permission to shoot in the Hyatt Regency downtown because initially hotel management was not wild about the idea of having a film team there, which I totally understand, since we make noise and some teams leave behind a mess and destroy things.

But I just needed this hotel. Metaphorically, this hotel really mirrors the main character’s confusion — the hotel is 20 stories and almost looks like a parking garage from the inside.

CM: What other landmarks are featured in the film?

BG: After the main title of the film shows up, the next image is a big Texas style monument at the Ship Channel. We also have a lot of highways and driving in this film. The downtown area was cut out a lot, although there is a pink building next to the Hyatt Regency where we have some crazy shots. And of course there is the Houston Art Car Parade which is in the film.

CM: How did you feel about Houston, the city, after spending so much time here?

BG: I like Houston very much; it’s very different from Austin where I live part-time. It’s crazy in a way, but I liked that Houston has so much art and no zoning. Houston looks different from other cities. It’s very visual. I loved shooting there and could take pictures all day.

I liked the Houston Art Car Parade, which is in part of the film now. The people were great. We didn’t shoot during the Art Car Parade but we found 40 to 50 people to come out and recreate a little part of the parade for the film, and I’m so thankful that these people wanted to be a part of it. I had a very good experience in Houston shooting my first feature film in the U.S. I think Houston looks great on the big screen.

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This article was compiled from two previous CultureMap stories, Houston is ready for its close up: City is the star of a hot Sundance film — with a German twist and From Sundance to the art house: Houston movie dispels Texas stereotypes and gets picked up worldwide.

Director Bastian Günther found Houston to be the perfect location for his movie.

Sundance Film Festival, Houston, January 2013, Bastian Gnther

Photo by Emily Lundin

Director Bastian Günther found Houston to be the perfect location for his movie.

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Movie Review

Sheriff Bob Odenkirk is back in over-the-top new action movie 'Normal'

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Bob Odenkirk in Normal.

Screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first three John Wick movies, has essentially had a blank check to do what he wants in the movie landscape since 2014. In recent years that has meant writing the action series Nobody for Bob Odenkirk, who has turned from a comedian into an unlikely action star in his sixties. Kolstad and Odenkirk are teaming up again in Normal.

A film that tries to evoke Fargo in multiple ways, Normal finds Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk) serving as a temporary sheriff for the small town of Normal, Minnesota after the previous sheriff died. Knowing he’s just a steward until a new sheriff is elected, Ulysses takes a live-and-let-live approach to the job, letting the deputies (Ryan Allen and Billy MacLellan) do the grunt work and trying to stay out of everyone’s way, including Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler).

A bank robbery attempt by two non-citizens upsets his best-laid plans in more ways than he can imagine. Not only is he forced to confront a crime not often seen in a town like Normal, but the robbery uncovers secrets that turn the film into an all-out bloodbath. Soon, almost everyone in town becomes involved in what comes to resemble a war, along with — you guessed it — Yakuza henchmen from Japan.

Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Kolstad, the film is a slight twist on the everyman-turned-hero character Odenkirk played in the two Nobody films. While Ulysses is in law enforcement, he prefers to use words instead of weapons, and it’s only when he’s pushed to the brink that he crosses that line. Naturally, his skills are beyond what anyone would expect of him, allowing him to match up well with people half his age.

The film is not a comedy in the traditional sense, but instead aims for laughs by catching the audience off-guard with its ultraviolence. Some characters are dispatched in shockingly unexpected ways, with one of the only natural reactions to the jarring nature of their deaths being laughter. That’s not necessarily the case for other killings, which range from blasé to sadistic, and the only reason they count as entertainment is because the filmmakers have primed the audience to accept them as such.

After a relatively solid setup, where Wheatley and Kolstad seem to take their time getting to know the main characters, the second half of the film is pure action that dispenses with good storytelling. Like many action movies, there are double crosses, surprise revelations, and more, but the filmmakers don’t seem to care about making sense of any character arcs. All they care about is delivering mayhem, and they succeed on that front.

Odenkirk has perfected the mild-yet-intimidating nature of his action characters, and it is satisfying to see him get the better of those who have done him wrong. He doesn’t run or jump like fellow 63-year-old Tom Cruise, but — with the help of fast-paced editing — he still makes for a credible action hero. The only other actors of any note in the film are Winkler, who’s a nice presence with his sardonic personality, and Lena Headey, whose small role doesn't match up with her experience.

You have to have a certain mindset to enjoy a film like Normal, but if you can abide its over-the-top bloodiness, it’s a serviceable action film. Few would have expected Odenkirk to take on these kinds of roles at this late stage of his career, but he’s making the most of his opportunities.

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Normal opens in theaters on April 17.

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