Steve McQueen on how WWII drama ‘Blitz’ has become ‘more urgent’ in the face of escalating global violence: ‘What the hell are we doing?’

Steve McQueen is set to open the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday night with a world premiere – and it’s not the first time he’s done so. But his new film “Blitz” is very different from the crime thriller “Widows,” which lifted the curtain in 2018.

“Blitz” is set in World War II London, under devastating night attacks from German bomber planes, with a population that was forced to seek shelter underground without knowing what would remain of the city to which they returned each morning. Taking place over just a few days, the visceral drama follows a 9-year-old boy – played by newcomer Elliot Heffernan – sent to safety in the countryside but determined to return home to find his mother (Saoirse Ronan), who is also desperately searching for his missing son amidst the chaos and carnage.

For Oscar winner and two-time BAFTA winner McQueen, the idea for “Blitz” began to form in 2003, when he was best known as a visual artist (his debut film “Hunger” was released in 2008) and was sent to Iraq as the UK’s official war artist. While there, he served with British troops in Baghdad and Basra, which gave him the “first feeling of camaraderie I had, which was strange and kind of perverse, because it was because of the war.” But it made him think of Britain and the Blitz, which brought the country together more than 60 years ago.

But these thoughts only began to be turned into a film many years later, when McQueen was researching his miniseries “Small Axe” and came across a photo of a young black man in an oversized winter coat and a large suitcase, awaiting evacuation in a train station. “I thought, ‘What’s his story?’” he says. The boy’s odyssey through London in “Blitz” was eventually pieced together with help from the Imperial War Museum, historian Joshua Levine and first-hand accounts of life during those deadly months of bombing, incorporating several real-life events and people from that time. time in history. . Alongside Heffernan and Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Stephen Graham and Kathy Burke also star in the film, as do musicians Paul Weller and Benjamin Clementine.

Unlike any previous World War II film set in the United Kingdom, “Blitz” shows the diversity of London at the time. McQueen notes that he “never tried to force a narrative,” but says the city was considerably more “cosmopolitan” than has been shown on screen so far.

In another first, “Blitz” features an original song by McQueen, who co-wrote “Winter Coat” alongside longtime musical collaborator Nicholas Britell. Ronan’s character emotionally sings the heartfelt ballad in an emotional scene. Discovering that the actress sang well was a great relief for the director. “It was like, ‘Oh, thank God for that!’ he says.

While a film about war is always considered timely, McQueen also notes that events that erupted while he was making “Blitz” — such as the explosion of violence in the Middle East that involved the deadly bombing of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon — gave it greater urgency.

Below, McQueen discusses the level of historical accuracy that went into “Blitz,” Ronan’s emotional recording of “Winter Coat” in the same Abbey Road studio where the Beatles recorded “Revolver,” and the powerful impact of seeing war through life. of a child. eyes.

How did you find your young star in Elliot?

He had never acted before. But we auditioned and put in a big audition request, and he was one of the kids that showed up. I saw him on tape and thought, this kid has something. I think what happened with Elliot was there was a stillness. Nowadays, kids have their phones and they are very complicated. But there was almost a silent film quality to him, because you would see his face and think to yourself, “Well, I think I know what he’s thinking.” But you don’t know what he’s thinking and you’re fascinated by his face. So he captures your attention and has this seriousness. I wrote this film without knowing if there was a George. But Elliot transcended that role.

Saoirse Ronan sings beautifully in the film, but did you know she had this talent when she was first cast?

It was a worry! There are no ifs, buts or maybes, Saoirse is one of the greatest actors of her generation. But not knowing that she could sing… when we heard her it was like, “Oh, thank God for that.” Because she not only knew how to sing, but she also sang like a bird. This song “Winter Coat” was started by me, because my father, when he died, left me his winter coat and I always wanted to make a song about the idea of ​​this textual and physical nature of remembering someone. And she just delivered. It was written by myself and Nicholas Britell. We had the same combination on “12 Years a Slave,” with Britell doing the music and Hans Zimmer writing the score. Saoirse recorded the song at Abbey Road, in Studio Three, the same studio where the Beatles recorded “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” and it was simply unbelievable. It was so emotional – there were hugs and lots of tears, just beautiful. I’m so happy she was able to do this.

So “Winter Coat” is the first song you wrote for a film?

Yes, I suppose so! But I think it’s a song that everyone can relate to. I remember my father died and I was thinking about his winter coat and how you could be with them, feel them, smell them. It’s a matter of contact.

With Paul Weller and Benjamin Clementine, you cast two much better known names as musicians. What was the idea behind this?

With Paul, I thought there was authenticity in his face. He looks like a person from that time. He also writes and plays his own songs, so I thought he must be able to act. He was doubtful, but he trusted me and we got him an acting coach and he became confident every day. He is such a beautiful man.

I’ve wanted to make a film with Benjamin for six or seven years, with him in the lead role. I was developing it, but it didn’t work out, as sometimes happens. But during that time he did something for “Dune.” And right after that, I thought this would be perfect for him.

How in-depth did you go about historical accuracy? For example, there is a shocking scene in which a bomb falls on a fully functioning nightclub. Did this really happen?

Oh yes, that’s all true. It was the Café de Paris. Everything was correct, even the song that was being sung when the bomb fell, plus the food served, the band, the leader of the band – Snakehips Johnson, who was an openly gay black man who lived with some kind of very rich Lord. But yeah, oh my God, everything was fully vetted and cross-sectional, everything. Benjamin’s character Ife was a real character and basically patrolled the Marylebone area. And the speech he made about people trying to segregate shelters was real. Just like the character Mickey Davis, who was one of the architects of the NHS. But it wasn’t about checking boxes. I suppose it’s quite enlightening for people. But it’s a landscape that was London at that time.

I haven’t seen a Second World War film that showed the UK as diverse at the time. Was that part of the discovery during your research?

There were some films, but they were just troops, not civilians. There was very, very, very, very little. Two or three, if that. For me it was easy, because it was there. Scratch the surface and there it was. Central London was quite cosmopolitan. I’m not trying to force a narrative, the narrative was there. But we researched. And, for example, there was a large Chinese population in central London and three black nightclubs near Seven Dials.

In the press notes, you mention the parallels between “Blitz” and what’s happening today. While you were making the film, there was the attack on Israel, the war in Gaza and now in Lebanon, with civilian populations being bombed like in London during the Second World War. Did you feel these parallels grew stronger and made the film more important?

Yes, I think the film has become more urgent, for sure. And in some ways, I’m very grateful to be able to contribute in some way to the ever-widening conversation about where we are now. Because we are seeing this photo through the eyes of a child. As adults, at what point do we compromise? At what point do we close our eyes? At what point do we stop listening? At what point do we become passive about things? With children it’s good and bad. It’s right and wrong. So this film could, in some way, help us reorient ourselves through the eyes of a child. Seeing war through a child’s eyes is very important. When a child’s parents argue, the situation is three times worse than it really is. And then, to see the war – which is bad enough – in the child’s eyes, he should be saying to us: “What the hell are we doing?”