We received a request to review the film The Rage but opted to interview the film’s director, Alrik Bursell, to discuss the production of the film. Bursell states, “Given the climate, this might be a hard movie for people to watch but I think it’s more important than ever to be aware of the relationship between sex and violence and the passion that can come out of anger. The movie has a message, some audiences pick up on it and some don’t but I think overall the movie tends to spark a conversation and get people talking about the film and these issues.”
We had an awesome opportunity to discuss The Rage with Alrik. Check out the interview
Hi, Alrik! Thank you for granting the interview. You mentioned that The Rage is a different fil for you. How so?
Well, all the majority of the short films I’ve made in the past have been science fiction or horror related and The Rage is the first psychological thriller that I’ve ever made. On top of that, it has very little to no dialogue and we have a very intense sex scene, which is the first time I’ve ever shot a sex scene or a nude scene for a film.
You are telling a highly emotional story about sex, anger, and violence. Do you think the audience will accept the film?
I guess that’s the million-dollar question. When my co-writer/producer L. Jeffrey Moore brought this project to the table we saw it as a way to challenge ourselves as filmmakers and try to visually articulate some very real emotions that people dealing with being cheated on going through. I think our hope is that while the audience will be repulsed by the violence that it will help clarify our message and that people will end up relating to the emotions and feelings the film conveys.
You mentioned that this is your first sex scene. You wanted to do something that was powerful, raw and didn’t look like every other sex scene before it. What makes it powerful and raw?
Well through the use of sound and by pulling away from the music for the sex scene, I was intending for that to make the scene feel more raw and real. The way the actors move together during the scene in juxtaposition with the camera movement I think creates a bit of intensity and really brings you into this moment between Oscar and Sylvie. Of course, the nudity helps with that rawness as well, I guess the audience will have to decide if we achieved at creating a scene that has that raw and powerful feeling.
There is nudity and violence in the film that isn’t for the faint of heart. Why do you believe you needed that much realism for the scenes?
First off, since in the original script that Jeff wrote, the sex scene is so emotional and full of feeling, it felt like it was important to get that right and I didn’t feel that the scene would have the same power if we didn’t have a strong sense of realism for the sex scene. To me, that meant full nudity and attempting an act of lust that felt unbridled and raw. As for the violence we were attempting to visually represent the feelings that Oscar is going through as he drinks at the bar and then encounters Sylvie. To me, the visions of Kate bringing the knife to Oscar’s head represent how he feels and what the act of Kate cheating on Oscar means, that the act of infidelity is akin to physically abusing your partner. That’s why when he begins to engage with Sylvie, we see the visions of him abusing Kate, until the end moment when we see the vision of Oscar strangling Kate, while Oscar and Sylvie have their climax. In the end, the lustful sex with Sylvie doesn’t solve anything. As we see the final vision of Kate strangling Oscar, as he is reminded of what she did, we know that Oscar is still being killed inside for her act of infidelity.
I know that’s a very long answer but I think in order for the message of this film to get across, you need the violence and the nudity to really communicate these feelings and concepts to the audience.
You wanted to bring awareness to the sex and violence in a relationship. To be clear, are you referring to some relationships, or do you believe the propensity for violence exists in “any” relationship?
Well, again, all the violence in The Rage is metaphorical, visions of the internal feelings of Oscar displayed visually for the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the character and the stories. So while I’m not saying that violence can exist and manifest physically in any relationship, I am saying that these feelings and emotions do exist in all of us. Jeff and I believe it’s better to be aware of and discuss these feelings and emotions, rather than bury them deep inside and pretend they don’t exist.
Your wish is to spark a conversation on these topics. Why do you believe it’s important to do so?
As we all know recently there has been a big revelation of the abusive, and sometimes violent, sexual acts that have been going on inside the film industry (as well as other industries) for years. Jeff and I feel like The Rage is an important film to help spark more conversation around this issue and remind viewers that sex/violence exists in everyday relationships as well as these abusive situations.
We also don’t exactly know how audiences will react to The Rage and we are excited to hear what people take away from the film and what it all means to them.
You continuously hone your craft. What keeps you inspired?
There are constantly new ideas or concepts that pop into my head (or that are presented to me) so I’m constantly being inspired to bring the next story to life. In addition to being a filmmaker I am a huge fan of movies and while there are so many amazing artists making amazing TV series, movies and web series right now, I have new stories to tell that will blow audiences away.
I’ve written a number of outlines, scripts and other ideas that are just sitting waiting to be made and I am driven to keep working on my first feature film so I can put myself in a position to get all those other films made when the time is right.
Thus far, what has been the best experience working in the industry?
As a director working with New York Comedian Capone Lee on my second short film Brother was quite a highlight. We had an amazing crew on that film and the physical and visual effects we did were a ton of fun.
As a producer, I worked on a short film called A Good Man directed by Bailey Kim and the final sequence for that film (which L. Jeffrey Moore is also in) is one of my favorite things I’ve ever been a part of, its perfectly thrilling, uplifting and then twisted all in that order.
As a production coordinator I worked on Francis Ford Coppola’s last feature film Twixt back in 2011 and working with Francis and his team is an experience I will never forget.
Lastly, I wanted to shout out to all the San Francisco Bay Area film crew, I’ve worked with a ton of them and we have such a great community of filmmakers and I’m honored to be a part of it.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
I am currently in pre-production on my first feature film The Alternate, which is a sci-fi/thriller about a cameraman who discovers a portal to another dimension where all his dreams have come true. I just signed on producer Jeffrey Allard (EP of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remakes) and we are currently raising funds for the film set to shoot in the fall of 2018.
For more information, you can check out www.bursellproductions.com/the-alternate and if you are interested in being involved as an investor you can send me an email directly to alrik@bursellproductions.com.
I should also mention that I co-host a podcast about filmmaking called Making Movies is Hard, which is all about the struggle of making films as an independent filmmaker. We are almost done with our third year of doing the podcast so there is a ton of interviews with other filmmakers and lots of discussions on how Timothy and I approach our films.
Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would do ___________.
I would make a rock and roll space action film. It would roughly be about a band trying to get from one gig to a new last-minute gig on another planet while trying to outrun some bounty hunters. Oh and one of the members of the band is a bounty hunter herself, hence why they have a bounty on their heads. So think Guardians of the Galaxy meets Scott Pilgrim meets Atomic Blonde.
I also just want to keep making movies, so my biggest goal is to be able to make my second feature once the first one is done, Space/Rock/Bounty Hunters or not.
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