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AN INTERVIEW WITH JOSEF HADER, WOLFGANG MURNBERGER, WOLF HAAS
by Peter Krobath
A Kind of Evil Fairy Tale
Wolf Haas, Josef Hader, and Wolfgang Murnberger tell Peter Krobath why this sequel detective
movie based on the adventures of Simon Brenner is more graphic and in-your-face than the first
one, why Salzburg is the kind of place where it doesn't take much to be considered the dregs of
society, and what it feels like to be the most successful boy group in the Austrian film scene.
Peter Krobath: Four years ago the trio Wolf Haas, Josef Hader, Wolfgang Murnberger introduced
the character of Simon Brenner to the big screen in the highly successful film debut Come, Sweet
Death. Now the same people are making another movie with the same character. What obstacles
do you anticipate?
Wolfgang Murnberger: It was clear from the start that we didn't want to just repeat the same
successful pattern. We wanted Silentium to be distinctly different from Come, Sweet Death, which
is why we focused more on the thriller element this time.
Wolf Haas: It's important to stay alert, to ask yourself how the film can be different than the book,
how the second film can be different from the first? That makes the work process slow and
tedious because the important things don't occur to you until you start to write. The theoretical
considerations that precede the writing process are just a framework you can build on. It isn't until
you get down to actually writing the screenplay that you understand that what appear to be
trivialities often turn out to be crucial. A lot of times the three of us are more surprised about the
outcome than anyone. Otherwise it would be like a child's coloring book where everything is
already set from the beginning.
Peter Krobath: Why is Silentium much more graphic and in-your-face than Come, Sweet Death?
Josef Hader: Come, Sweet Death tells the story of an ambulance company that kills its own
patients. That's somehow not very realistic. By contrast Silentium deals with things that are
absolutely rooted in our daily life.
Peter Krobath: One can't help noticing that Simon Brenner's character has moved down a few
rungs on the social ladder. For example, when he investigates in the homeless scene, he doesn't
even have to change his shirt to be accepted as just another street person.
Wolfgang Murnberger: We felt that this story was more realistic and therefore we made the
characters more realistic. We tried to show stronger, more complex personalities, we didn't want
to give such a clear-cut picture of good and evil, but to leave things a little more open.
Peter Krobath: Is that also why the typically laconic Brenner jokes were more discrete this time?
Wolf Haas: Regardless of the subject matter we were still interested in the serious aspect.
Brenner is a character capable of transporting both. After the first film we were at a crossroads
where we had to decide which direction we wanted the screen character Brenner to take, more
the comedy or the realistic category. It's always easy take a sarcastic approach, but apparently
www.silentium.at