Son of Saul’s László Nemes: ‘Our civilisation is preparing for its own destruction’
The director of the Auschwitz-set Oscar-winner senses dark times ahead – and believes blockbusters are partly responsible. Is that why his second film, Sunset, is so baffling?
The day before we met, László Nemes went to see a superhero movie. He didn’t last long. “I found it unwatchable and false, boring and self-referential, a world of ideal people who don’t behave as humans but more like machines.”
He smiles. It’s tea-time in the Islington, north London branch of Caffè Nero and Nemes gently explains that such films infantilise viewers in two ways. The plots let them defer responsibility for the fate of the world to demigods; the way they are shot – lots of signposting, everything carefully controlled – offers a false sense of omniscience.