Jonathan Teplitzky, represented for commercials and branded content by ModOp Films, has directed the feature film The Railway Man currently in theaters nationwide.
The film is based on a true story and stars Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine and Stellan Skarsgard.
“It’s a story that reminds us of the very worst and the very best of what human beings are capable of,” said Teplitzky. “I’m interested in how people behave intimately because then you understand the emotional truth of the action and that, to me, makes the best films, when it’s not action for the sake of it—it’s action because it comes out of the emotional.”
Based on a bestselling autobiography, The Railway Man tells the extraordinary and epic true story of Eric Lomax (portrayed by Firth), a British Army officer who is tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II.
Decades later, Lomax and his love interest Patti (Kidman) discover that the Japanese interpreter responsible for much of his mistreatment is still alive. Lomax sets out to confront him, and his haunting past, in this inspiring tale of heroism, humanity and the redeeming power of love.
The Railway Man is the latest addition to Teplitzky’s feature filmography which includes Burning Man and Gettin’ Square, both nominated for Best Direction honors by the Australian Film Institute.
Teplitzky is an internationally established director of commercials as well as music videos. Over the last decade, he’s directed in excess of 100 spots.
Rossi Cannon, ModOp Films’ executive producer, said, “Jonathan is a thoughtful director, a storyteller, someone who always pushes to create projects that are unique and original whether in advertising or the big screen. We’ve been working together for many years on the commercial side, and I am immensely proud to have Jonathan be part of ModOp Films….
“Now JT, as we call him,” continued Cannon, “is excited about jumping back into directing his commercials, sharing ideas with agencies and working with creatives.”
SHOOT: Provide some backstory on The Railway Man. What drew you to the project? How did you get the opportunity to direct it?
Teplitzky: The Railway Man was in development for over 10 years, but I was only involved for the last four or so. I knew the producers and writer quite well through one of my best friends, Anand Tucker, who was the original director developing the project. But when Anand was unable to do the film as he was making another film in the U.S., he and the producers asked me if I would be interested.
I read the script and started reading about Eric Lomax and his incredible story of survival, and realized it was both a profound and very moving story about what it is to survive incredible suffering, and what it was like to come home, finally, and try and slip back into a normal life.
Of course following World War II, no one had any idea what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was—and that the film was equally about Eric’s treatment and survival as a prisoner of war, as well as his struggles to survive the emotional and psychological pain and suffering of untreated PTSD—only made getting involved in this film a very easy decision; but also as a director, it was a story of great power and humanity, a story about reconciliation and forgiveness that seems impossible, and I thought this was a challenge well worth taking on.
SHOOT: What was (were) the greatest creative challenge(s) that The Railway Man posed to you as a director?
Teplitzky: Always with a true story the big challenge is of honoring the story and experiences of real people. It was very important to me that Eric and his wife Patti really felt that the film represented fundamentally what they went through, that the depth of the emotional journey felt like what they had to deal with to survive, and that what Eric was finally able to do, to forgive his great Japanese tormentor, was recreated in a way that was both dramatic but also truthful in essence to what had happened.
Having said that, a film needs to also be a film that engages, entertains, and takes an audience on a great journey. So as the director it was important to ensure we told this story in a dynamic way, and as such, at times it was necessary to dramatize and concertina certain events to make them work in the context of the film. What we strove to do was to find a good balance between the real story and our way of telling it, so that it worked and honored the real people, but also allowed an audience to fully engage with it.
SHOOT: It’s said that one discipline informs another. How have your commercialmaking and/or music video endeavors informed your feature work? Conversely what has your feature work enabled you to bring back to your spot and branded content endeavors?
Teplitzky: I think any form of filmmaking is interconnected. I used my love of films, and classic films, a lot for ideas, inspiration, creative process when I started doing music videos and commercials. The processes are not that different, so often it’s time versus creativity and drama. I always tried to bring a cinematic quality to my commercials coupled with a great love in exploring striking images. This hasn’t changed and in fact has just gotten stronger, as I have moved into making feature films.
In films the great challenge is to explore and find great images but ones which serve the drama, serve the story you are telling, not just about making something look good. I always look for an emotional layer in everything that I do, be it 30 seconds or two hours, because this is what connects these films to an audience or viewer. If then the images and music and editing and everything else can be part of that process, hopefully, you bring together the ingredients that create something bigger than the sum of the parts which gives the audience fulfillment on many levels. This reaches across all elements and genres and types of filmmaking I think.
I also think it’s essential to show utter respect to the creative process so that no matter what you are shooting, you put as much of yourself and as much of your best work and effort into it.
