RAINER
EGGERinterview
WELCOME HOME
A / D 2004.
1) Why did you accept/apply for this role?
Migration is one of the major questions in European society and politics. There are only few feature films that deal with this topic. I appreciate that Andreas Gruber has tried to raise questions of deportation and migration in this film.
2) One reason why your characters are grotesque is that they think highly of their official authority. Did you see these cops as caricatures? (what do you think makes them ridiculous, and therefore funny)
I don’t
think the characters are caricatures. People like the policemen
Rösler and Samhaber exist in real life. We laugh about their belief in
authority, their narrow-mindedness and stubbornness. In Accra they behave
like policemen on Austrian soil. For example, Major Ampofo's (Abdi Ghouhad)
gentleman-like behaviour is far from the cliché they would expect of
an officer of an African country. During each encounter, people in Accra,
are portrayed in a subtle manner and are far from caricaturization.
3)These racist fellows gradually change during their adventures with their 'prisoner'. How would you describe this evolution?
Samhaber and Rösler are very different. Samhaber represents the average opportunist in his profession. Rösler is more hardened and tough. He lives his life as if he were constantly in survival training. His racist behaviour is obvious. Samhaber behaves more politically correct, but back in Austria he shakes hands with the minister: he is and remains a conformist. Isaac seems to know everything about Schengen deportation practices. He stands for somebody who knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. The character development of these three figures can be likened to a movement that goes in a singular direction, but from different points of view. All three want to get back to Austria, which spurs them on to become a team in the end.
Interview by Cineuropa
Translation by Erika Doucette