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Mike Leigh Photo: IC
British director Mike Leigh first turned to the historical drama with Mr. Turner in 2014.
At present, 75-year-old Leigh was fetid for such films as Secrets and lies, Vera Drake and The Abigail party – is back in the 19th century with a new version of Britain Peterloo massacre.
Leigh thinks his latest film contains lessons for the present – in all areas, from austerity and apathy to authoritarianism and to Brexit.
The Oscar-nominated director said Peterloo, describing the murderous and tumultuous assault of 1819 against pro-democracy protesters at St Peter's Field, in the city of Manchester, in the north of the country, remains of relevance in this "troubling period" ".
"Given the speed with which chaos has occurred not only in the UK … in this period … it resonates," Leigh told AFP on Friday before the film's release in Britain next month.
"People were protesting against the vote but also about their living conditions and we know that there are parallels [with today]," he added.
Nevertheless, Leigh is eager for the public to get an idea of the lessons to be learned from Peterloo.
"I've never made movies that say," Think about it, "I invite you to think," he said.
"The audience can only decode and process the movie based on your 21st century life – you can not convert it to any other currency."
The social movement-focused film, due out in Britain next year, is coming out as the #MeToo campaign continues to flourish – something Leigh celebrates.
"It is amazing that these problems are only confronted now," he said.
"It's outrageous and it's great that eventually people … come in.
Democratic landmark
Peterloo is the most expensive film Leigh – an Oscar nominee five times, including for Secrets and liesdrama of abortion Vera Drake and more recently Another year – never did.
It recounts, in two and a half hours, the parliamentary reform movement that swept through the north of impoverished England in the early 19th century, while only 2% of the population had the right to vote.
"It's a matter of democracy, it's about making people heard, it's also for those who have power, those who have no power, those who have who have it and those who do not have it, "Leigh explained.
The discontent was fueled by austerity measures in the aftermath of the costly Napoleonic wars.
They included hated maize laws setting tariffs and restrictions on imported foods and grains to keep prices high and favor domestic producers.
The film culminates in the Peterloo The massacre – named after the bloody Battle of Waterloo four years ago – when mounted troops loaded at least 60,000 people, leaving 15 dead and hundreds wounded.
Although protesters' claims took several decades to come true, Leigh said the tragedy "is generally considered a milestone in the history of British democracy."
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Two centuries later, he says, and those who took to the streets would then be dismayed by the apathy of modern Britain, where about a third of voters do not stand for election.
"They would be horrified, shocked and downright disgusted by the fact that people have the vote now and do not use it," Leigh said.
The filmmaker added that travelers of his 19th century time might also recognize aspects of their political world in the current Brexit-dominated landscape.
"It's a disconcerting and upsetting mess, and to some extent … the situation 200 years ago was also a bewildering mess," Leigh said.
He sees a particular danger for the film industry when Britain leaves the European Union next March – going from lack of access to grants to less than continental collaborations.
"European cinema has an identity of which I am very passionate," he said.
"It will become very difficult," he said.
The veteran director, who recently became grandfather for the first time, is also concerned about a host of other global issues, ranging from treating migrants to overcrowding.
The 75-year-old said that this landmark event, associated with the creation of a drama 200 years ago, forced him to take a long-term view.
"I think of my grandson and what will be the world in 2100," he admitted.
"It's very difficult not to start being a little pessimistic," he explained.
Newspaper title: lifting a mirror
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