Markus Schleinzer: “It is too simple to present people guilty of pedophilia as monsters”

The filmmaker  Markus Schleinzer and the whole crew of the film Michael, a story about the relationship between a pedophile and his young victim, were interviewed by the press this Sunday. Excerpts.

The director talked about the relationship between Michael and Wolfgang, the two characters in the film:

“I was interested in showing how the relationship, even though it is perverted, is so very essential to Michael. The young boy is at the centre of his life. He is his companion, his partner. He tries to organise a normal existence for him around this situation”.

Michael Fuith, who plays the role of Michael, explained how he approached his role:
“When you approach a role like this one, you have got to be afraid. I was terrified when I read the script. I did not know how to approach the character. I read up on it and I found a similarity in all these incidents: the silence, the taboo. It is there to protect those who are guilty. So it was important that I become the incarnation of this silence”.

Markus Schleinzer returned to the question of how to handle this taboo from behind the camera:

“I do not think that this film is an attempt to contradict the way that the press handles this kind of incident. On the other hand, I wanted to approach the theme from a different perspective because I find that it is too simple to present people who are guilty of pedophilia as monsters”.

The filmmaker finally explained how he worked with David Rauchenberger, who plays the young victim:
“Nowadays children are much better prepared to deal with these questions. That is why I asked David to imagine what his relationship could be with this man, but also how he could escape or take revenge”.

Interview comments gathered by B.P.