“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Orlando Bloom identified a particularly powerful element in the story for contemporary audiences: obsession. The tale of Freda and Greta, the actor argues, is about how passion can gradually transform into something totalizing and uncontrollable. It is a theme that, in his view, resonates especially today, though the film does not limit itself to the macabre side of the story. At its core remains the relationship between the two sisters and the extraordinary empathy that binds them. Bucking Fastard strives to understand what it means to be so deeply connected to another person that the boundary between self and other nearly vanishes.
The Cave? A Real Character in Its Own Right
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
The production likewise unfolded on a compressed timeline. Preparation lasted about six weeks, but just two months before shooting began, serious financial problems emerged that threatened to derail the entire project. The rescue came, Herzog explains, thanks to producer Clara Wu, without whom the film might never have gotten off the ground. During preproduction, producer Jeremy Thomas, a true legend of cinema production, suggested to Herzog that Freda and Greta need not be two twins, but simply two sisters.
Orlando Bloom identified a particularly powerful element in the story for contemporary audiences: obsession. The tale of Freda and Greta, the actor argues, is about how passion can gradually transform into something totalizing and uncontrollable. It is a theme that, in his view, resonates especially today, though the film does not limit itself to the macabre side of the story. At its core remains the relationship between the two sisters and the extraordinary empathy that binds them. Bucking Fastard strives to understand what it means to be so deeply connected to another person that the boundary between self and other nearly vanishes.
The Cave? A Real Character in Its Own Right
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
For Werner Herzog, the right moment to make Bucking Fastard arrived when he found two sisters perfectly suited to embody the leads. The director recounted that he had this story in mind for fully 45 years, but only relatively recently did he realize that it could finally be transformed into a film. From there, things moved with a speed that even Herzog would call remarkable. The screenplay came together in a mere five days, while one of the first obstacles was far more tangible: finding two performers capable of sustaining both physically and artistically such a singular performance.
The production likewise unfolded on a compressed timeline. Preparation lasted about six weeks, but just two months before shooting began, serious financial problems emerged that threatened to derail the entire project. The rescue came, Herzog explains, thanks to producer Clara Wu, without whom the film might never have gotten off the ground. During preproduction, producer Jeremy Thomas, a true legend of cinema production, suggested to Herzog that Freda and Greta need not be two twins, but simply two sisters.
Orlando Bloom identified a particularly powerful element in the story for contemporary audiences: obsession. The tale of Freda and Greta, the actor argues, is about how passion can gradually transform into something totalizing and uncontrollable. It is a theme that, in his view, resonates especially today, though the film does not limit itself to the macabre side of the story. At its core remains the relationship between the two sisters and the extraordinary empathy that binds them. Bucking Fastard strives to understand what it means to be so deeply connected to another person that the boundary between self and other nearly vanishes.
The Cave? A Real Character in Its Own Right
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
At the Venice press conference, alongside the director and the Mara sisters were also present Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson. The director of Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man, who this year will also receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, spoke with ease, wit, and evident enthusiasm about the project, regaling with anecdotes and reflections that were often very amusing. The actors, by contrast, appeared markedly more measured and taciturn.
Herzog Had Been Waiting for This Film for 45 Years
For Werner Herzog, the right moment to make Bucking Fastard arrived when he found two sisters perfectly suited to embody the leads. The director recounted that he had this story in mind for fully 45 years, but only relatively recently did he realize that it could finally be transformed into a film. From there, things moved with a speed that even Herzog would call remarkable. The screenplay came together in a mere five days, while one of the first obstacles was far more tangible: finding two performers capable of sustaining both physically and artistically such a singular performance.
The production likewise unfolded on a compressed timeline. Preparation lasted about six weeks, but just two months before shooting began, serious financial problems emerged that threatened to derail the entire project. The rescue came, Herzog explains, thanks to producer Clara Wu, without whom the film might never have gotten off the ground. During preproduction, producer Jeremy Thomas, a true legend of cinema production, suggested to Herzog that Freda and Greta need not be two twins, but simply two sisters.
Orlando Bloom identified a particularly powerful element in the story for contemporary audiences: obsession. The tale of Freda and Greta, the actor argues, is about how passion can gradually transform into something totalizing and uncontrollable. It is a theme that, in his view, resonates especially today, though the film does not limit itself to the macabre side of the story. At its core remains the relationship between the two sisters and the extraordinary empathy that binds them. Bucking Fastard strives to understand what it means to be so deeply connected to another person that the boundary between self and other nearly vanishes.
The Cave? A Real Character in Its Own Right
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
What brought them to public attention, though, was a trial: the twins were accused of harassing and pursuing a neighbor, a trucker for whom they had developed a genuine erotic obsession. In the film, that man is the roguish Gareth Mulroney, played by Orlando Bloom. The case went to court and the man sought a restraining order against them. The starting material is itself quite curious, but becomes irresistible when handled by Herzog, who had known the twins personally before their death and decided to transform that story into a deeply personal film.
At the Venice press conference, alongside the director and the Mara sisters were also present Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson. The director of Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man, who this year will also receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, spoke with ease, wit, and evident enthusiasm about the project, regaling with anecdotes and reflections that were often very amusing. The actors, by contrast, appeared markedly more measured and taciturn.
Herzog Had Been Waiting for This Film for 45 Years
For Werner Herzog, the right moment to make Bucking Fastard arrived when he found two sisters perfectly suited to embody the leads. The director recounted that he had this story in mind for fully 45 years, but only relatively recently did he realize that it could finally be transformed into a film. From there, things moved with a speed that even Herzog would call remarkable. The screenplay came together in a mere five days, while one of the first obstacles was far more tangible: finding two performers capable of sustaining both physically and artistically such a singular performance.
The production likewise unfolded on a compressed timeline. Preparation lasted about six weeks, but just two months before shooting began, serious financial problems emerged that threatened to derail the entire project. The rescue came, Herzog explains, thanks to producer Clara Wu, without whom the film might never have gotten off the ground. During preproduction, producer Jeremy Thomas, a true legend of cinema production, suggested to Herzog that Freda and Greta need not be two twins, but simply two sisters.
Orlando Bloom identified a particularly powerful element in the story for contemporary audiences: obsession. The tale of Freda and Greta, the actor argues, is about how passion can gradually transform into something totalizing and uncontrollable. It is a theme that, in his view, resonates especially today, though the film does not limit itself to the macabre side of the story. At its core remains the relationship between the two sisters and the extraordinary empathy that binds them. Bucking Fastard strives to understand what it means to be so deeply connected to another person that the boundary between self and other nearly vanishes.
The Cave? A Real Character in Its Own Right
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Starring are Rooney and Kate Mara, for the first time side by side, tasked with portraying the Holbrooke sisters, Jean and Joan. The story, however, centers on the English twins Freda and Greta Chaplin who, at the start of the eighties, found themselves on the front pages for a surreal and unsettling affair. The two, who lived their entire lives in a kind of total symbiosis, dressed alike and above all spoke in perfect synchrony, as if they were a single person split into two bodies.
What brought them to public attention, though, was a trial: the twins were accused of harassing and pursuing a neighbor, a trucker for whom they had developed a genuine erotic obsession. In the film, that man is the roguish Gareth Mulroney, played by Orlando Bloom. The case went to court and the man sought a restraining order against them. The starting material is itself quite curious, but becomes irresistible when handled by Herzog, who had known the twins personally before their death and decided to transform that story into a deeply personal film.
At the Venice press conference, alongside the director and the Mara sisters were also present Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson. The director of Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man, who this year will also receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, spoke with ease, wit, and evident enthusiasm about the project, regaling with anecdotes and reflections that were often very amusing. The actors, by contrast, appeared markedly more measured and taciturn.
Herzog Had Been Waiting for This Film for 45 Years
For Werner Herzog, the right moment to make Bucking Fastard arrived when he found two sisters perfectly suited to embody the leads. The director recounted that he had this story in mind for fully 45 years, but only relatively recently did he realize that it could finally be transformed into a film. From there, things moved with a speed that even Herzog would call remarkable. The screenplay came together in a mere five days, while one of the first obstacles was far more tangible: finding two performers capable of sustaining both physically and artistically such a singular performance.
The production likewise unfolded on a compressed timeline. Preparation lasted about six weeks, but just two months before shooting began, serious financial problems emerged that threatened to derail the entire project. The rescue came, Herzog explains, thanks to producer Clara Wu, without whom the film might never have gotten off the ground. During preproduction, producer Jeremy Thomas, a true legend of cinema production, suggested to Herzog that Freda and Greta need not be two twins, but simply two sisters.
Orlando Bloom identified a particularly powerful element in the story for contemporary audiences: obsession. The tale of Freda and Greta, the actor argues, is about how passion can gradually transform into something totalizing and uncontrollable. It is a theme that, in his view, resonates especially today, though the film does not limit itself to the macabre side of the story. At its core remains the relationship between the two sisters and the extraordinary empathy that binds them. Bucking Fastard strives to understand what it means to be so deeply connected to another person that the boundary between self and other nearly vanishes.
The Cave? A Real Character in Its Own Right
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Among the living legends of contemporary cinema, Werner Herzog is perhaps one of the few who still, today, manage to turn every film into something unpredictable. At Venice 2026 he arrived with Bucking Fastard and with a story that, on paper, seems tailor-made to meet his imagination.
Starring are Rooney and Kate Mara, for the first time side by side, tasked with portraying the Holbrooke sisters, Jean and Joan. The story, however, centers on the English twins Freda and Greta Chaplin who, at the start of the eighties, found themselves on the front pages for a surreal and unsettling affair. The two, who lived their entire lives in a kind of total symbiosis, dressed alike and above all spoke in perfect synchrony, as if they were a single person split into two bodies.
What brought them to public attention, though, was a trial: the twins were accused of harassing and pursuing a neighbor, a trucker for whom they had developed a genuine erotic obsession. In the film, that man is the roguish Gareth Mulroney, played by Orlando Bloom. The case went to court and the man sought a restraining order against them. The starting material is itself quite curious, but becomes irresistible when handled by Herzog, who had known the twins personally before their death and decided to transform that story into a deeply personal film.
At the Venice press conference, alongside the director and the Mara sisters were also present Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson. The director of Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man, who this year will also receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, spoke with ease, wit, and evident enthusiasm about the project, regaling with anecdotes and reflections that were often very amusing. The actors, by contrast, appeared markedly more measured and taciturn.
Herzog Had Been Waiting for This Film for 45 Years
For Werner Herzog, the right moment to make Bucking Fastard arrived when he found two sisters perfectly suited to embody the leads. The director recounted that he had this story in mind for fully 45 years, but only relatively recently did he realize that it could finally be transformed into a film. From there, things moved with a speed that even Herzog would call remarkable. The screenplay came together in a mere five days, while one of the first obstacles was far more tangible: finding two performers capable of sustaining both physically and artistically such a singular performance.
The production likewise unfolded on a compressed timeline. Preparation lasted about six weeks, but just two months before shooting began, serious financial problems emerged that threatened to derail the entire project. The rescue came, Herzog explains, thanks to producer Clara Wu, without whom the film might never have gotten off the ground. During preproduction, producer Jeremy Thomas, a true legend of cinema production, suggested to Herzog that Freda and Greta need not be two twins, but simply two sisters.
Orlando Bloom identified a particularly powerful element in the story for contemporary audiences: obsession. The tale of Freda and Greta, the actor argues, is about how passion can gradually transform into something totalizing and uncontrollable. It is a theme that, in his view, resonates especially today, though the film does not limit itself to the macabre side of the story. At its core remains the relationship between the two sisters and the extraordinary empathy that binds them. Bucking Fastard strives to understand what it means to be so deeply connected to another person that the boundary between self and other nearly vanishes.
The Cave? A Real Character in Its Own Right
Filming took place in Dublin, Naas, and the Postojna Caves in Slovenia. One of the film’s most fascinating moments unfolds inside a cave, but there is no intention to reproduce it as a realistic setting. “It’s a landscape of the soul and imagination,” Herzog explained, underscoring how that sequence belongs to a dimension almost outside time. It is an invention, not something literal, and it is precisely that freedom that gives it its poetry.
The cave also became, in a way, a co-screenwriter for the film. The crew could shoot only at night: by day the presence of tourists made working in peace impossible. For Kate Mara, filming that portion was an almost dreamlike experience. She had never been in such a place, and at night the cave stirred a certain unease in her. Rooney Mara also recalled those days as particularly surreal. They were the last two days of filming, and everyone knew the shoot was ending. Returning there at night, wearing a wedding dress, made that final stretch of the set even more dreamlike.
Two Sisters, One Voice: the Challenge for Rooney and Kate Mara
One of Bucking Fastard’s most striking aspects is the flawless synchronization between Jean and Joan. Rooney and Kate Mara must move together, speak in unison, and even share gestures and reactions, giving the impression that in front of the camera there is a single person split into two. For Rooney, initially the idea was almost foreign. Playing “one person” alongside her sister required a completely different approach from ordinary acting. Then, once their rhythm was found, everything felt more natural: a strange experience, but also one of those opportunities that come once in a lifetime.
Kate described the process as very musical, explaining that the synchrony arrived almost spontaneously, more than either of them expected. Herzog said he offered the two actresses only two weeks of rehearsals. The result appears to have been so precise that it surprised even the other cast members. Domhnall Gleeson (who plays the social worker Timothy) joked about the rapid shooting pace, while Bloom admitted to being astonished by Herzog’s speed. With the Mara sisters, two or three takes often sufficed. Not at all a given, considering that even a small shift in tempo could break the illusion of two sisters acting as one.
Herzog and Lynch: a Friendship That Continues in the Film
Bucking Fastard is dedicated to David Lynch, who passed away in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog spoke with particular emotion about the director during the conference. He said he would have liked him to be by his side at the Venice premiere, which would have taken place only a few hours after the press conference. He and Lynch, he explained, were very different but shared a mutual understanding of each other’s work that went beyond stylistic differences.
“I would like to go back in time and invite him here, but that’s not possible.”
Journalists also asked Herzog about his ability to move from fiction to documentary and whether facing eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary characters, like those in Bucking Fastard, stimulates a different kind of creativity compared to his more realistic films. His response was again deep and ironic: “I do not see a real distinction between the two worlds.” Each film, he argued, requires testing, production, music, invention, and a precise narrative construction. The difference lies rather in the kind of story one wishes to tell at any given time.
The Apologies to Orlando Bloom: “He Was Disappointed”
Asked whether Bucking Fastard is, in any way, a film about the artist’s solitude, Herzog answered quite plainly: “I am a happily married man.” And the set, in his view, is not a lonely place. On the contrary, it embodies the joy of creating something together with others. When someone asks whether, at this stage of his career, he is becoming more sentimental, Herzog replies by pointing to the film’s creature menagerie. Included is a fox cub that, at one point, proved nearly impossible to locate.
The director recalled that fox was essential to the film’s architecture and served as a kind of emotional guide for the two sisters. After an extended search, a member of the crew told him he could obtain it, but under one condition: “Never ask me how I found it.” Herzog agreed. The fox arrived, and to this day he still does not know where it came from.
And what is it like to work with Werner Herzog? According to Domhnall Gleeson, it is somewhat terrifying—and rightly so. “You know you are in the hands of a master, and you trust the person who has you in hand,” he said. “I think it should be frightening, and one should feel a risk every time a take starts, or whenever Herzog calls ‘Action.’ But you feel safe.”
“Moreover,” he continued, “my experience was the opposite of the sisters’, and it was extraordinary to witness. It felt like looking through two eyes that belong to the same head, you know? It was beautiful. And if he asked me again, I would say yes.” As for Orlando Bloom, Herzog publicly apologized for the limited space he ultimately had in the film. The actor, in fact, was disappointed by the reduced number of scenes, and the director admitted to fully understanding why. “I told him I would call him back to shoot more,” he explained, “but this is the film: its essence resides here too.”
Comments