'Tattooed in the Heart'

7 Questions with Fernando Frías, director of DEPECHE MODE: M

Photo Credit: Toni François

Massive. Spiritual. Theatrical. 

These are just some of the words you could use to describe director Fernando Frías' new concert doc, DEPECHE MODE: M. Far from a traditional concert film, Frías weaves together a story of not just music, but also of a fiercely devoted fandom, and the dynamic depth of Mexico City itself.

Truly immersive and transcendent, you can experience it in IMAX now. 

Frías took some time to talk to us about shooting in Mexico City, the freedom found in filmmaking and bringing stories to the big screen. 

1. In the film, Mexico City itself is really its own character. Can you tell us a little bit about how the setting for these shows impacted the storytelling?  

The band always knew they wanted to shoot this concert in Mexico City. They also knew they wanted to connect not only to the city, but also Mexican culture to the film somehow. That's why they invited me to write a treatment and establish what this connection would be.  

Of course, with Mexico itself, there are a lot of stereotypes or preconceptions about what Mexican culture is. From the classical, you know, donkey-sombrero-tequila, to certain landscapes, and other types of cliches. To me, it was really important to not land in those places. I knew that we were making a film for the whole world and Depeche Mode is a band with a huge international appeal. And in Mexico, it's one of the few bands that cuts throughout Mexican society, unlike many others. The fandom for Depeche Mode in Mexico is really vast and diverse.  

Instead of focusing on particular landmarks, as was at some point suggested to me from the production side, I wanted to capture the essence of Mexico City - to build up this more boiling, effervescent rhythm. Mexico City is chaotic of course, but also harmonic in that chaos.  

Especially the beginning of the film, all of these places before the day of the first concert, with the sound of the show's intro, "My Cosmos is Mine," the vibrations — that was what was really important to me, to capture the feeling, more than the specific places. To do that, we had to shoot a lot, and then find it in the editing, of course.  

2. The tour depicted in the film was in support of the band’s Memento Mori album. How did themes of life & death find themselves into this work?  

Remember, memento mori itself means "remember you must die" in Latin. When you have such a long legacy, and you've been around for a while, the idea of confronting mortality as a concept comes forward a little more. 

Sometimes the approach to death is really a celebration of life, and I wanted to include that into the film. I wanted to find pieces of Mexican representation that were not didactic or on-the-nose, that could dance together with the show structure or dance to the flow of the music. I wanted to connect life and death in a progressive, subtle way, and of course explore the tradition in Mexico without landing on those cliches.  

Photo Credit: Toni François

3. What was your personal relationship with music and movies growing up? Are there any particularly influential works that inspire your own filmmaking?  

Oof! I have to say, I grew up loving films, but I was really not that impacted by larger-than-life films. I remember being a child and connecting deeply with films that actually made me identify myself with them. "Wow you can actually put your small little life on the big screen and make it relevant and connect with people through this identity."  

For me, films were a window in which I could explore emotions and was very clear from a very early age. I was not driven by adventure or big spectacle or those aspects of filmmaking. My dad, being a big cinephile exposed me to things like FANNY AND ALEXANDER from a very young age. It became a window of possibility.  

At the same time, I grew up listening to so much music of my father, like classical or jazz. At some point in my teen years, I wanted to rebel against everything that was in my house and went into a deep journey discovering music. And that journey hasn't stopped until now.  

4. You’ve also directed narrative features. How does your process differ when working on a concert/documentary film like this?  

Each project is different, even if it’s two fiction films or two episodes of the same TV show with the same actors. The process is always different. That's what keeps me engaged in filmmaking and about it. I can't really speak generally to my process; it's not something I am conscious about.  

I'm laying it note by note and tackling it bit by bit. I like to find or have the message of the whole piece be kind of clear as a goal, but I don't have a particular process. Sometimes going off book or opening a new path of exploration can bring unimaginable things or, at least things I couldn't have thought of if I had been sticking closely to a process. 

On this particular project, the film revealed itself to me and my team. First of all, I had to put together all of the music and find the spaces for all of the other segments and then tone the segments in such a way that they could play along with the rest of the music and elevate it to where these elements are dancing together as one piece.  

That was something that I could never have calculated or planned for, had I just written a script. Written on paper it wouldn't have made sense. That's my thought process about it. Freedom. 

5. Speaking of, your cinematographer on this project, Damián García, has also worked on your narrative features. Can you speak a little bit about your working relationship?  

We are very good friends - super close. There's some sort of alchemy between us. We exchange a lot of references, things that apparently have nothing to do with what we're doing, and then we feel that sparkle. We kind of know it and then don't want to touch it too much before bringing it to life at the right moment. We want to be open to how that idea excites both of us.  

Sometimes I have an initial thought and he elevates it, or he has a thought of a particular thing and I just bite. But it's based in a very friendly and very human connection. A lot of humor, making jokes, and taking it lightly, so that when it becomes serious or specific, that's a moment of connection - we both feel it.  

6. Any advice for young people out there looking to become a director themselves?  

I always say this: watch out for advice, [laughs] and who you are asking advice from!  

7. If there was any film you could watch again, for the first time in IMAX, what would it be? 

BLUE PLANNET was incredible. I remember watching it many years ago in IMAX. I was very young, ten years old, and I remember it being incredible. It left a mark, definitely.   

This email was transcribed from an audio interview. It has been edited for clarity and length. 

Experience DEPECHE MODE: M in IMAX. Now playing in an ultra-limited engagement.

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