Spirituality, parentage, commitment are at the heart of the new series of Danish writer Adam Price. Arte, who co-produced it, airs its first season from Thursday, November 29th. The ten episodes are already available on arte.tv
Did you like Borgen ? This series centered on a female Prime Minister, in Denmark, dedicated Danish fiction to the world. Adam Price, its creator, returns to France with Au nom du père (or Ride Upon The Storm ).
This co-production of Arte with the Danish public broadcaster DR has been staging a family of pastors for generations in Denmark. In this secular country, the Lutheran Church remains the state religion. Johannes Krogh, the father (sublime Lars Mikkelsen) aims the post of bishop of Copenhagen when opens the first episode. August, his youngest son, is also a pastor. Idealist, he undertakes as a military chaplain in Iraq. Christian, the rebellious elder, is looking for "the side of Buddhism. "
A rivalry to the Cain and Abel opposes the heirs of the head of the family, fervent believer but also alcoholic and temper, under the gaze of a deceived wife whose dedication beats the wing.
It is about belief (s) but also doubt, love and jealousy, commitment, Islam (a little) and Buddhism, in this new jewel from the North of Europe. The anachronism of the priests' collars in modern Copenhagen contributes to its formal beauty. And as in Borgen , the intention is intensified by a dive into the intimacy of each character. Without taking sides. Neither for those who believe in heaven, nor for those who do not believe in it. Adam Price is great!
Adam Price: "Democracy is a conversation between people"
How was born In the name of the father ?
The main idea came while I was writing the last season of Borgen . I am not a believer myself, but I have always been interested in religion. I really wanted to talk about it in a drama series.
Why ?
To stimulate debate The more we encourage dialogue, the less we are tempted to kill each other! Hal Koch, a great Danish theologian of the twentieth century, said that democracy is a conversation between people. In Denmark, we have the same debates as in France on the place of religions in our modern societies and, of course, the cultural clash between Islam and the Christian religion. The series has given rise to important discussions since its launch, but it is not only about religion, it also speaks about the belief in love, in everyone, spirituality in general and even supernatural.
It's also the story of a family?
After Borgen, which in a way was a feminist project, I had things to say about male relationships in a family, as the son of a father, father of a son, brother of a brother. And stories of fathers and sons, the Bible is full of them. In the name of the father also tries to answer this thorny question: how to preserve a lineage without sacrificing the happiness of his children. This question is present in many dynasty-like families. I come from a family where I have been an artist from father to son for three hundred years.
Is the actor Lars Mikkelsen close to the character of Johannes?
We immediately said he had the dimension to play this character. He has so much pain, passion in him! He asked to be baptized, after season 1, to be even more invested in this story. It's quite amazing, even though he comes from a communist background.
The photograph of In the name of the father is magnificent. What painters inspired her?
A long tradition of European painters in the tradition of Rembrandt. The show owes much to the director of photography, David Katznelson who worked on the first season of Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones . He paid close attention to the light and the shade, to the expressiveness of the images that required a lot of editing work.
On behalf of the father , on Arte, from 8:55 pm Thursday, November 29. The ten episodes of the first season are already online on arte.tv. They were broadcast in Denmark from 24 September to 26 November 2017, one episode per week on Sunday at 8 pm on the Danish public channel DR1. The season gathered an average of 747,000 viewers, or 23% of audience shares. The start of the 2nd (and last) season started on October 24, on the same channel.