From the Film Maker...

The warmth of the painting's general lighting was a main influence for the photography of the film. I applied the painting's rather restricted colour palette of somber grays, browns and greens to costumes and set design as well as location. The somber colours contrasted with the striking red tone of the female character's wardrobe in the main scene.

I made the last shot a portrait shot. I took great care to recreate the detail of the painting, substituting elements of the painting with-relevant props.

As film is in landscape format and the painting is portrait-shaped, we tackled this by framing the character in a portrait format inside the frame, through an opened door where the character sits. It helped to give the image a composition and feel similar to the original. The rich blacks in the background, warm highlights on face and flask as well as on the globe, every detail was beautifully constructed and carried out with great care.

The image has a certain slowness to it. The amount of action is minimal in contrast to the story it tells, as it shows a man in his sunset years.

The painting's theme is that of an old man looking back with joy and content on his life, his travels and adventures in the world. In the globe, we see a scene from his life, an inn, people chatting. it is one of many things that he has access to in his memories. He can freely choose what to remember, his memories are innumerable and rich.
Stephan Bookas