Complete silence. A tall ship is at sea on a windless night.
Ever so slowly, the sounds of a gentle breeze and a creaking bow
can be heard. Sometimes, life at sea can be a quiet, contemplative
affair.
Scenes like this one, which opens the new film “Master and
Commander: The Far Side of the World,” have earned Australian
director Peter Weir a reputation for being a filmmaker of
incredible sensitivity. A retrospective of his body of work hosted
by the American Cinematheque, starting this weekend, further
displays his ability to capture highly emotional human stories
better than almost anyone else.
Films set to be screened at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles
like “Witness,” “Dead Poets Society” and
“Fearless” exemplify the kinds of stories that have
benefited from Weir’s delicate touch. Left in the hands of
another director, it is not hard to imagine Robin Williams’
devoted teacher becoming a little too self-righteous, or Jeff
Bridges’Â emboldened plane crash survivor seeming cheesy
and over-the-top.
So it may come as a surprise to fans of Weir’s films to
discover that his next film, being released next week, five
full years after his last outing, “The Truman
Show,” is a swashbuckling adventure set on a British naval
vessel in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars. What should not come
as a shock, however, is that beyond its setting and packaging,
“Master and Commander” is really just as intimate and
human a story as any other Weir has brought to life.
“Peter Weir is a genius,” pronounced “Master
and Commander” co-star Paul Bettany without the slightest
trace of insincerity. “He is one of the greatest filmmakers
of all time.”
Bettany (“A Beautiful Mind”) has good reason to
gush. It is on the relationship between his character in the film,
Dr. Stephen Maturin, and Captain Jack Aubrey, played by Russell
Crowe, that Weir places the weight of the story. The result of this
focus is a film about a complicated friendship that highlights the
acting chops of Bettany and Crowe, rather than just the action and
visual effects of a big-budget period movie set on the ocean.
“The process of working with Peter is probably better than
the legend, but the legend of working with Peter was very
attractive,” Crowe said at a recent press conference. Crowe
cited Weir’s legendary technique of blasting mood-appropriate
music on the sets of his films as one of his favorite things about
working with the filmmaker.
“Sometimes his music choice was just spot on, every man on
the deck would have his hair rising on the back of his neck in
anticipation of “˜action,'” Crowe said.
Weir admitted he spent even longer than usual looking for his
next project before deciding to take on “Master and
Commander,” which is based on the lengthy series of novels by
Patrick O’Brian. But that doesn’t mean the director
will now be happy to just churn out a film for every book in the
series.
“I’ve never been interested (in sequels),”
explained Weir. “I always find that it’s an experience
I’ve had and I look for something fresh.”
Regarding plans for his next film, Weir remains secretive.
“I’ll tell you this, it’s nothing to do with
the sea,” he said.
Go to www.americancinematheque.com for details on the Peter
Weir retrospective starting Friday.