Teeth of the Sea's Mat Colegate interviews Ben Wheatley about 'A Field in England'

One of Mission Controls favourite new british directors Ben Wheatley has been interviewed by Teeth of the Sea's Mat Colegate about his amazing new film 'A field in England':



"The English countryside has been the inspiration to dreamers, poets, shamans and charlatans for centuries. You can draw a ley line between all those inspired and maddened by its beauty. From the apocalyptic rantings of David Tibet to Vaughan William's Lark Ascending. Hacker Farm's noisy re-appropriations of rural detritus to poor John Clare's lunatic ramble toward his long-dead sweetheart. It is the seat of the English visionary tradition, and there has always been something about its untamed landscape that makes a suitable backdrop for stories that tap into the dormant, darker parts of the subconscious. Following this long line is the latest film from the director of Sightseers and Kill List, Ben Wheatley.

A Field In England tells the story of a group of soldiers (played by Reece Shearsmith and Julian Barratt amongst others) deserting from the tumult of the English Civil War and captured by an alchemist (Michael Smiley) who forces them into a hunt for a buried treasure. This simple set-up becomes the backdrop for one of the most powerfully hallucinatory film experiences since the days of Roeg and Jodorowsky. A Field In England is a head movie in the hardest sense, as it harnesses all the power at its disposal to baffle, blind and batter the audience into an altered state.

What was it that made you want to set a film during the English Civil War?"


See the answer to this and the rest of this great interview here: The Quietus

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