Shooting the Supernatural: An Interview with Haris Zambarloukos
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
In the extremely eclectic career of Kenneth Branagh, a constant has been his choice of cinematographer. Cyprus-born Haris Zambarloukos has been behind the lens for nine of the last 10 films Branagh has directed. Throughout that period, their creative partnership has been defined by the numerous genres they've explored and the timeless characters they've introduced or reintroduced to moviegoers. One of those characters is Agatha Christie's moustachioed detective Hercule Poirot, and for Branagh and Zambarloukos' latest collaboration, they have taken the sleuth to Venice and given his world a brand new look.
A Haunting in Venice, an adaptation of a lesser-known Christie novel, finds Poirot investigating a possibly paranormal murder. It is the third Poirot film the pair have made. However, with a significant change in tone, Zambarloukos forges a dramatically different visual identity from the first two endeavours. Gone is the stylised surroundings previously established in favour of a much darker design. Unlike the past efforts, which had no shortage of elaborate lighting, a simple candle flame or lightbulb is often doing the heavy lifting. His work here is restrained and foreboding, like the haunted house films of old. And to further cement the shift in form, he has swapped out shooting on 65mm film for digital.
As the film readies for release in cinemas this week, I was invited to the global junket to speak with Zambarloukos about his change in style and equipment, the conversations he had with Branagh about the film's look, and why they famously implemented so many Dutch angles on a previous project. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
CONNOR DALTON: What did you think when you found out Hallowe'en Party would be the next Poirot adaptation?
HARIS ZAMBARLOUKOS: I was ecstatic about it. I had watched Kenneth [Branagh] and [screenwriter] Mike Green discuss it on previous encounters, so I knew it was in the works. Although they both decided that I had to read a finished script only, so I only heard just whispers over the years. But I have to say, when I read it, I was absolutely thrilled. I think Mike wrote a beautiful adaptation — a very heartfelt terror story that was more about the human condition in the end, and that's really an accomplishment. I mean, Agatha Christie is the greatest novelist of all time. We all feel when we make films of her novels, we have to live up to her standard.
DALTON: You have been the cinematographer for all three Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot adventures. What excites you about shooting this series?
ZAMBARLOUKOS: To me, in the end, it is the human condition. I'd say that we've dealt in previous ones with greed, loss, and revenge. And this one was about the spirituality of tragedy, which is where the ghost stories and the supernatural and the haunting come in. I think when you suffer such extreme loss, the mind really plays tricks on your soul. And what a great way to delve into the human condition in a way that's still, to some extent, playful. I think that's the genius of the Agatha Christie stories, and I think that's why Kenneth directs them so well and plays the protagonist so well. He really is in tune with that, and his enthusiasm and love and passion is really contagious.
DALTON: What conversations did the two of you have about the visual identity of this film before production began?
ZAMBARLOUKOS: We always give ourselves a small time of experimentation where the two of us have meetings, and we'll discuss either aspects of the script, visual references, or watch films that we've suggested to each other. We do this for every film, and we kind of start from scratch. We do not take for granted what we've done in the past and our long-standing relationship. In that way, we hope to bring something new to each film.
[This one] was all about mood and darkness and a certain authenticity and a certain intimacy and how you combine all of those things. One of the things that kept coming up was how much we could do in camera without the reliance on VFX. We had really wonderful, beautiful VFX from our VFX supervisor Artemis [Oikonomopoulou]. She worked in conjunction with us, so [questions arose like] what could we do? Where could she take over? And how much could we let our actors experience this? We did something similar on Orient Express, where we created video walls outside the train, and the movement of the train was all in camera. So we sat on a soundstage, but our actors really felt like they were travelling. We did the same here — the palazzo was built on stage with the rain outside, and we used a real palazzo in Venice. But the mood and the weather were the main influences.
DALTON: Whereas the other two films are filled with a lot of light and colour, this one, by comparison, is much darker and minimalist. Most of the light in frame looks to stem from either flames or bulbs. How did you approach lighting this film? Because it looks quite different!
ZAMBARLOUKOS: Yes, it was very different. I think you've pretty much answered the question — it really was flames and period light fixtures. And we experimented with various cameras. We used the Sony Venice 2, which has a very high ASA rating of 3200. We used some absolutely stunning old lenses that were developed for Ben-Hur that haven't been used in a long, long time, and the Ultra Panatar from Panavision. And we managed to shoot at a very low light level. Pretty much, our camera could see more than the eye could see.
But at the same time, when you see films that are often shot at candlelight level, the F-stop is very low. Most times in those types of films — even the brilliant Barry Lyndon — one eye is in focus, and the other is not. It's very hard to get movement because the depth of field is so low. But in this case, the sensitivity of the cameras meant that we could shoot at an F-stop of T4. That gives you enough depth of field for both eyes to be in focus. It's not too out of focus in the background, even though it is really dark on set. It seemed to be just the right level. That combination was quite magical for us and something I hadn't done before.
DALTON: Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile were both shot in 65mm. What was behind the decision to shoot A Haunting in Venice on digital?
ZAMBARLOUKOS: I love 65mm film, and I think they were perfect cameras for those films. But for this film, I don't think I would have had the same results. Also, technology is advancing on a day-to-day basis in that respect. That doesn't negate film, but again, I don't take anything for granted that I've done in the past. I like to come with a fresh eye. This was a different story, a different situation, and this seemed absolutely appropriate.
DALTON: I've watched so many of your collaborations with Kenneth Branagh over the years. One of my favourites is Thor. I think it's one of the best-looking superhero films ever made. I don't know if I'll ever get another opportunity like this, and there's been one question I've had about that film for years and years. There are so many Dutch angles. What was the rationale behind that choice? I found it very interesting.
ZAMBARLOUKOS: It's a really good question. Well, first of all, we were both admirers of German expressionism. I went to art school to study painting, and they showed us The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and I realised film could be an art form. So my cinematic birth, in a way, was German expressionism. And I always loved comics, and they used Dutch angles, and it just felt like an opportunity. We talked about it and said, 'What immediately puts you in a different graphic sense? What upsets you? And when they are used in that way, what are the rules and regulations that you could make in visual storytelling?' And we use a few in Haunting as well —
DALTON: I noticed that!
ZAMBARLOUKOS: But much less so. And again, with great purpose and great thought. But it was a very bold choice. I'm surprised on such a big-budget film, we got away with it, in all honesty. But [Marvel] never straightened our shots. In the end, they are as we composed them, and I'm glad you liked them.
This article was originally published by FilmInk