In three films, Ali Abbasi, Danish filmmaker, born in 1981 in Tehran, managed to attract the attention of international recognition. After the very strange Shelly (2016), Edge (2018) and The nights of Mashhad (2022), this artist magnetized by conflict zones lands on American soil to adapt, in English, The apprenticescript by American political journalist Gabriel Sherman about the betrayed friendship between Donald Trump and his mentor, lawyer Roy Cohn (1927-1986).
How was American journalist Gabriel Sherman’s script transmitted to you?
Producer Amy Baer and Gabriel had begun to develop this project, which sought in some way to return to the sources of Trumpism by revealing his privileged relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn, who was his mentor. They quickly realized that an American filmmaker had every chance of sinking his career by making the film. Therefore, the idea of having a foreign perspective on the subject was imposed on them.
Weren’t you afraid, by focusing on this relationship, of giving it too much importance in Donald Trump’s career?
This is always the risk we take when we refuse to make a classic biopic. For me, this film is a fragment of Trump’s life, it is true, but it says, in my opinion, a lot about him. It allows us to approach it from the angle of a Frankenstein story, showing how the character we know today was created, where it originated.
We could also think of “Alien” : Trump feeds on Cohn, then abandons his remains once gestation is complete…
Absolutely. Trump’s personality is rich enough to provoke many memories. What do you think of Doctor Jerry and Mr. Love [1963] ? EITHER spongebob ? His ability to transform and metamorphose according to situations is, in my opinion, fundamental to understanding the character.
All these references have to do with the phenomenon of monstrosity…
Yes, but you know very well that it is we ourselves who create the monsters so as not to recognize our own monstrosity. This is particularly true of this part of American society, which considers Donald Trump to be the cause of the problems facing the United States. Racism, bad education, etc. But when you burden a character with all the faults on earth, you exempt yourself from all collective responsibility. That’s why it seemed important to me not to make a film with a good leftist conscience. I didn’t intend it to be a sweeping indictment of Donald Trump.
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