Interview: Director Kyle Ham on the Chicago Premiere of ‘Reparation’ on Sep. 10, 2016

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionE-mail page to friendE-mail page to friendPDF versionPDF version
Average: 5 (1 vote)

CHICAGO – The premiere of a new director’s work is cause for an event, and the new film “Reparation” will get its Chicago premiere on September 10th, 2016, at the suburban Wilmette Theatre (details below). “Reparations” is a war and military story, but mostly about the war at home after the service.

Bob (Marc Menchaca) is an ex-military policeman in the Air Force who undergoes a mental breakdown of mysterious origins. His memory is erased from his time in the service, and he essentially begins a new life when released. He meets Lucy (Virginia Newcomb), and their connection leads to the birth of a child Charlotte (Dale Dye Thomas). All seems normal again, until a military comrade from the past named Jerome (Jon Huertas) unexpected pops into Bob’s life again. He may be the key to unlock his past, but what other demons will also emerge?

Repar1
Marc Menchata and Jon Huertas in ‘Reparation,’ Directed by Kyle Ham
Photo credit: Red Dirt Pictures

Kyle Ham directs his first feature film, a project that had formerly been a play written by Steve Timm in 1995. Ham graduated from DePauw University in Indiana, and also was an associate producer on the Freddie Prinze film “She’s All That” (1999). HollywoodChicago.com caught up with him on the day before the Chicago Premiere of “Reparation.”

HollywoodChicago.com: How did you expand upon Steve Timm’s play, to create a film version of the story?

Kyle Ham: I was a former student of Steve’s, and I approached him about adapting his play to the screen. He surprised me by saying he’d like to write it together. That was 1995, and we spent the first couple of years just letting go of the theatrical structure of the play, plus I was learning to write and adapt. Around 1999 we realized we needed to throw out the play. We knew the story, and the central themes, and started again by writing the life stories of each of the characters. One we sketched that out, we came back to the story, with an open canvas as to what the film structure should be.

It became a story from Charlotte’s perspective, who is Bob’s daughter. As the one who was the inheritor of his memories, and trying to figure that out, it was as close to an audience perspective as we could possibly get. As Charlotte tries to make sense of what’s happening, the audience follows along. That’s why we bookended her narration in the film. That brought the story together, even as the themes stayed the same. We maintained one chunk of dialogue from the play, and structurally it became something very different, and the world expanded in the film version.

HollywoodChicago.com: There is a theme of war, and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome [PTSD]. What were you and Mr. Timm trying to express about returning soldiers and their circumstances?

Ham: When we started the adaptation, few people knew the term PTSD, and it became more prevalent after the Afghanistan and Second Iraq Wars. Beneath that is a loss of innocence, the idea that kids are going into the military, often only 18 or 19 years old. Other lives their age are going to college, maybe drinking, maybe generally f**king up, but always with a protective safety net. But when you’re doing military service, the stakes are incredibly high.

While the military does their best to prepare them, on an emotional level it’s impossible. That is part of what the story is about. It’s about being knocked out of balance, and spending your life trying to get back to balance. How ex-military handle that in their lives is huge.

HollywoodChicago.com: It is said that 90% of a director’s job is done once he casts a film. What is an example of how you found the right person for the role in ‘Reparation’?

Ham: Often times you know once they open their mouths and take on the dialogue. With Jon Huertas [Jerome], I had an inkling about him as soon as he walked into the audition. He sauntered in with his motorcycle helmet, then demonstrated the combination of charm, annoyance and menace that we were having trouble finding, especially with a low budget picture. It was about finding that, and the right rapport.

HollywoodChicago.com: The military is not shown in the best light in the film. What do you think the civilian population needs to know about the military beyond, ‘thanks for your service’?

Ham: Well, the pendulum has swung. During the Vietnam War, the military was not well respected. But in our modern age, they may be too lauded for their service. That’s a heavy burden to put on them, in my opinion, we’ve gone too far in that direction. They work hard to do the right thing, but there are humans – and human error – in the military, as in all walks of life. In the film, we wanted to present these guys as human, and show life as it is. To live up to what they are capable of, and not the pressure of heroism for just serving.

HollywoodChicago.com: Your composition is beautiful and notable. What is your technique on deciding shot selection within a scene, that adds more power to your visuals?

Ham: I go back to the casting process, where most of the actors were theater trained. That honing, that craft, allowed me to leave the camera on them, without cutting away for long periods of time. They were able to thrive and play off each other in that technique, and helped me to build story tension. It became part of my director’s vocabulary, and added the visual metaphors.

Repar2
Director Kyle Ham on Set for ‘Reparation’
Photo credit: Red Dirt Pictures

HollywoodChicago.com: In a low budget film, there is compromise having to do with setting and other factors. Do you have an example of something you had to change because of budget, and did it turn out better for you?

Ham: We did get what we needed, but it was a difficult shoot. We had 32 locations in 24 days, and we were on the move constantly, which was difficult for both cast and crew. Plus it took place in two time periods, so we had to shoot the modern stuff first, and then adjust the looks of the actors for the flashback scenes. It was tricky.

The only thing I could say I wished I had, while we were filming in Putnam County Indiana, was a scenic area that looked like California. [laughs] Some of the film takes place in the central coast of California, and it was difficult to find that in southwestern Indiana. We did the best we could, and it played out well.

HollywoodChicago.com: If we think about the bracelet that says ‘What Would Jesus do?,’ which filmmaker or director would be on your bracelet when you hit a creative block, as in ‘What would _____ do?’

Ham: My idols are Steven Soderbergh and the Coen Brothers, but some of the best advice that I received was from a director I used to work for, Robert Iscove [‘She’s All That’]. What he taught me was ‘always make a decision.’ In the moments of paralysis, when somebody is requesting something, if I don’t reply the train comes off the tracks. So it’s time to relax, put my feet on the ground, and make that decision. As director, you have to that.

The Chicago Premiere of “Reparation” will take place on September 10th, 2016 (7pm), at the Wilmette Theatre, 1122 Central Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here. The film will then run at the Wilmette Theatre through Thursday, September 15th.

HollywoodChicago.com senior staff writer Patrick McDonald

By PATRICK McDONALD
Writer, Editorial Coordinator
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2016 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

User Login

Free Giveaway Mailing

TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

Advertisement



HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

archive

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
referendum
tracker