‘It’s A Celebration Between These Men’s Love’

Paul Mescal and director Oliver Hermanus walked the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival last night for the premiere of The History of Sound. Mescal’s co-star Josh O’Connor was had to miss the event as he is still shooting Steven Spielberg’s upcoming sci-fi movie. The actor should arrive soon on the Croisette, as he will be presenting yet another movie in competition, Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind.

During the press conference this morning, Mescal said, “The greatest challenge and what I’m proudest of in this film, is the attempt that we set out as a team, to make something that felt authentic and in restraint.”

He added: “It’s frightening when you’re really asking the audience to lean in.”

Mescal praised his co-star O’Connor and said, “Josh is one of the easiest person to build chemistry with.”

The actor also mentioned O’Connor’s gift to be the same person the general public sees and knows when working with him.

He added: “We had known each other for about five years, we were friends, but that foundation of friendship really helped us with the relationship in the film.”

Mescal also mentioned that this is a testament to Hermanus’ work as a director, as he didn’t try to dictate the ton of the film and gave enough freedom to the actors to explore the characters.

As soon as the movie premiered last night, the reviews started drawing comparisons between The History of Sound and Ang Lee’s 2005 Brokeback Mountain.

In answer to the comparison, Mescal joked, “I personally don’t see the parallels at all, apart from the fact that we spent a little bit of time in a tent.”

He added: “There’s a bigger question there, because when I look at Brokeback Mountain, it’s a beautiful film but it is dealing with the idea of repression. I find those comparisons relatively lazy and frustrating, but for the most part I think the relationship I have to the film is born out of the fact that it’s a celebration between these men’s love and not the repression of their sexuality.”

Hermanus said, “It wasn’t in our heads at all, when you make a movie you don’t really think about comparisons. I personally felt that the idea of the story wasn’t about the complications of their relationship.”

He also explained that their relationship was more about who they might fall in love with next, or even dealing with PTSD from the war.

He added: “Our form is about love in a different context.”

Mescal was also asked about what he felt he had learned about love while playing this role, and the Irish actor noted that he first read the script when he was 24, and actually shot the film when he was 28.

He said, “I don’t think I would have been able to play this role the same way. Life happens, love is a very hard thing to pin down, here it’s never described in words but in actions. When David is pulling the feathers into the pillowcase, it’s a total act of love, absolutely not perceived by Lionel.”

He added: “That’s something I’ve learned in my own life, kindness is wildly underrated in romantic relationships and should be celebrated.”

The History of Sound is set for a release later this year with Mubi.