Writer-director Nick Hamm touched down at Deadline’s studio in Zurich to discuss his newest feature William Tell with cast members Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals), Solly McLeod (Tom Jones) and Sam Keeley (Joe Vs. Carole). The group talked about what initially drew them to the medieval action-drama, which had its European premiere at the Zurich Film Festival this weekend.
The film is based on the noble huntsman whose peaceful life is shattered when the ruthless Austrian Empire invades his homeland of Switzerland. Claes Bang plays the titular role of Tell, who is unwilling to bend the knee before his country’s oppressors, thrusting him into perilous trial, one that draws him and his family into the epicenter of a revolution that will shape the destiny of his nation.
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“This is a fantastic European legend that has never been exploited cinematically and talks about some of the most prescient things that are going on,” said Hamm, who based his script off of Friedrich Schiller’s play of the same name. “In other words, the whole notion of individual liberty, how you conduct yourself in that situation, how you protect your own liberty against an autocratic power, how you organize yourself in that way. So, it’s both political and moral and it’s a story that has existed for over 300 years.”
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The film, which world premiered in Toronto last month before being picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films for North America, also stars Connor Swindells, Golshifteh Farahani, Rafe Spall, Emily Beecham, Ben Kingsley and Jonathan Pryce.
As the legend goes, Tell, famed for his marksmanship, and his son Walter were both to be executed but Austrian bailiff Albrecht Gessler devised a cruel punishment saying Tell could redeem his life by shooting an apple off the head of his son in a single attempt. Tell ultimately split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow.
“That to me was the root of doing the movie,” said Hamm. “That was the beating heart of the film. What did that scene mean? What was it about? Why bring that back? Why shoot that? And that’s a scene which when you get into it and you look at it, it’s about the notion of power. It’s about one man telling another man to execute his son publicly so that he can achieve authority over the people watching.”
Bamber, who plays Austrian Princess Bertha in the film, a character who has a love affair with Swiss-born Prince Rudenz (Hauer-King), said: “I was so excited to be a part of it because you don’t really see those kind of princesses within that world of the 1300s. They’re just not usually that complex or fleshed out or morally ambiguous or politically minded. I was so excited to work on a character like that.”
Check out the video above.