About the Production 2

During the adaptation process, Tykwer added fifth character, THEO, and established him as a counter-figure to the film’s four protagonists. By doing so, Tykwer not only fortified the film’s narrative structure, but also introduced what have become the hidden central figures in Tykwer’s work: fate and the interconnectedness and inseparability of all things.

The wintry setting for the film is another element that Tykwer brought to the project, setting the film in Berchtesgaden, Germany, as opposed to its original setting in France. Says Tykwer, "Snow lends itself much more strongly to the necessary sober visual style than the sunniness of Southern France. Upon first reading the novel, my first association was one of people in hiding. I immediately wanted to lock them up in an alpine villa – which in the film resembles a cocoon. The interior of the villa is as homely as it is creepy, while outside, the icy landscape appears cold, glaring, and above all else very clear. In the snow there is nowhere to hide." It also served to give the four main characters an outlet for their refuge, the same element that gives THEO, the farmer, his greatest obstacle for survival.

To bring this landscape to life, Tykwer relied on production designer Alexander Manasse, who was immediately "put in charge of snow." For Manasse, this meant a daily battle with the elements. "The snow was never where it was supposed to be,” he says. "I was at the mercy of one of the most complex weather zones in Europe -- where within the span of one and a half hours a balmy 20 degrees centigrade in the shade can quickly turn into a snowstorm." The crew had numerous experiences of this nature -- with scenery radically transformed over the course of simply moving the camera for a reverse angle shot. It was in conditions like these that everyone from the driver to the director showed up at 4:00AM to shovel snow in the frosty cold. And when an unexpected thaw prevented the shooting of the pivotal car crash, 125 truckloads of snow was hauled over from the next mountain. Ever since, Tykwer has harbored an attitude towards the mountains he says is akin to Steven Spielberg’s appraisal over the ocean after filming Jaws: "The sea is an asshole."