The filmmaker Michael Mann, one of the most influential directors of his generation, was present at the fourth edition of the International Film Festival of the Red Sea, which takes place in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, from December 5 to 14, 2024. During this prestigious event, he animated a much awaited master class, based widely on the site “Michael Mann’s Ferrari Expanded Expanded Expanded “, An online platform bringing together precious archives and images related to the production of its latest film,” Ferrari “(2023). This site served as a common thread for the whole presentation, immersing in a immersive way the choices and the prowess of the director.
Michael Mann and the archives: a rooted passion
The site Michael Mann’s Ferrari Expanded Constitutes a unique resource that allowed the filmmaker to share with the public the fruit of his meticulous research. Michael Mann explained that this project was born from his desire to make the many documents collected during the preparation of Ferrari. “” I like the idea of sharing directly with the public, without intermediaries. This site brings together all the archives that we have collected, allowing everyone to dive behind the scenes of creation. »»
The director detailed his close relationship with the archives, explaining how they enrich his work: ” The archives are not only documents. These are windows on reality, tools to understand people, places and eras. During the Master Class, he insisted that this platform was not just a complement, but a living extension of his cinematographic work. This approach is also inspired by his four daughters, who work in the field of archiving.
Michael Mann also shared the specific steps for his research to Ferrari. “” We contacted his doctor. We also found letters that he sent to his wife. In addition, his son found a whole suitcase full of documents from his father. So a lot of archives, which I had to read to understand the character of Enzo. The filmmaker explored these personal documents with great thoroughness, seeking to decode the family relationships and the emotions that animated the magnate. He also studied correspondence exchanges between Enzo and his collaborators, revealing unpublished details on his personality.
The director also explained that the idea of the site was born thanks to a reflection with his daughters. “” One of my daughters suggested that I preserve the materials I create during the film’s production process. I was interested in the possibility of telling the story of what a film means directly, from me to the public, without intermediaries or marketing considerations. It is a raw experience of what we do. »»
Mann said: ” The idea behind it was to take people in the adventure of what the directors do when they build a film like Ferrari. It is unusual. There has never been any website completely like this. We knew we were going to do it during the shooting, so we accumulated a lot of equipment.“”
When asked if he would consider a similar dive in one of his other films, Michael Mann suggested that Heat (1995) could be a good candidate. He also mentioned that he would like to see similar initiatives to analyze the work of filmmakers like Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón.
Ferrari : A dive into human history and mechanics
In FerrariMichael Mann is interested in an emblematic figure of the automotive industry, Enzo Ferrari, interpreted by Adam Driver. The film focuses on a crucial period of Ferrari’s life in 1957, marked by professional successes and personal tragedies. Penélope Cruz embodies Laura Ferrari, the wife of the magnate, in a performance greeted for his emotional depth.
The director presented at length the historical context of the film and the importance of the Thousand Miglia, the legendary Italian car race. In this pivotal period, Enzo Ferrari, bereaved and on the verge of bankruptcy, must at all costs redo the coat of arms of his brand. To do this, he brings together a team of brilliant pilots, including the promising Alfonso de Portago. This duality between mechanical ambitions and human dramas is at the heart of the film.
Michael Mann also mentioned the fascination that Zo Ferrari was exercising in a complex political context. The son of a socialist activist, Enzo Ferrari was attentive to social movements while keeping a certain distance. The director revealed that that he had maintained tense but respectful relations with members of the Italian Communist Party, especially in the first years of the Ferrari Foundation. This adds a political and human dimension to the character explored in the film.
A careful reconstruction: the accident of 1957
One of the most striking moments of the Master Class was the detailed description by Michael Mann in the way he reconstituted the tragic accident of 1957, having cost several people and marked a turning point in the history of Ferrari. This event, which occurred during the race of the Mille Miglia, was recreated with extraordinary precision. “” We have accumulated dozens of documents, police reports, photos of the accident, and even personal letters. Understand what caused the accident was essential to faithfully reconstruct the events. »»
Michael Mann showed how he had collaborated with technical experts, stuntmen and engineers to recreate every detail of the accident. The photos of the distorted cars, the testimonies, and even the weather reports of the accident day were analyzed to guarantee maximum precision. An immersive sequence of the platform “Michael Mann’s Ferrari Expanded” illustrated this reconstruction work, allowing the public to visualize the different stages of this cinematographic feat.
The director also described how he had used the assembly to use the spectator’s anticipation as much as possible. While De Portago rides furiously on the narrow country road, the camera captures every detail: an object cutting on the bitumen, the spectators massaged by the road, and finally, the explosion of the tire which leads to the catastrophe. The brutality of the impact is filmed with visceral hyperrealism, making the violence of the accident palpable.
The importance of details in Michael Mann’s cinema
Michael Mann is known for his obsession with details, and this quality is reflected in all facets of Ferrari. During the Master Class, he shared many anecdotes illustrating this quest for authenticity. For example, he frequented the hair salon where Enzo went, had his hair cut by the son of the hairdresser who cut Enzo’s hair and questioned him to understand the habits of the magnate. He also studied the opera scores that Ferrari listened to, integrating this passion into the soundtrack of the film.
“” Music helps grasp the complexity of the characters. Enzo often went to the opera, and we wanted to reflect this passion in our approach, He said. This attention to details creates an immersive experience which transcends the limits of the traditional biopic.
Film trailer Ferrari
A legendary career and future projects
By exploring the deep themes of FerrariMichael Mann echoes his previous works, where the main characters are often torn between ambition and vulnerability. Just like the protagonists of Heat Or Ali (2001), Enzo Ferrari embodies a human duality, both imperfect and determined. Michael Mann recalled that Muhammad Ali, for example, had insisted that his faults were included in Aliwhich made it possible to tell a story enriched by his path of personal transformation.
The discussion also highlighted Heata film whose architectural complexity continues to captivate spectators almost three decades after its release. The director compared the narrative structure of the film to a musical fugue, where each perspective intertwines to form a harmonious composition. The film, although he did not win an Oscar, acquired a timeless fame thanks to his two -headed narration, exploring both the world of the criminal Neil McCauley, played by Robert de Niro, and that of detective Vincent Hanna, embodied by Al Pacino. One of the most striking scenes, that of coffee, is also taken from a real fact, inspired by a meeting between an investigator and the criminal he tracked.
To conclude, Michael Mann shared his future projects, including the continuation of Heat And an ambitious historical film devoted to the battle of Hué, a key episode of the Vietnam War in 1968. After decades of career, it remains animated by an overflowing creative energy and always considers realization as “the most beautiful profession in the world”. This role, according to him, offers him a unique opportunity to explore the complexity of humanity through the prism of captivating stories.
A memorable master’s degree
Michael Mann’s master class, rich in anecdotes and reflections, offered a rare immersion in the creative process of a visionary director. Thanks to his passion for authenticity and his commitment to narrative truth, Mann has shown that an exceptional film goes beyond the simple borders of the story. It becomes a living experience, a timeless testimony to the power of cinema.
Neïla Driss
