I was not prepared for the emotional journey from Martin Strange-Hansen’s On My Mind. The film follows a man drowning his sorrows in a dive bar before he makes a life-altering decision. When he spies an old karaoke machine, he won’t leave the bar until the owner allows him to sing one last song. It is a song that not only will give him peace, but it will grant him the courage to go through the rest of the day. Director Martin Strange-Hansen has given us a gift of a film.
Strange-Hansen lost his daughter a number of years ago, but dealing with the loved one will change you forever. The response the director has received has been overwhelming.
“At every screening, everyone has told me that they have a personal connection with this story. One woman told me that she turned her son’s machine off a number of years ago, and she had never seen that reflected anywhere before like On My Mind did. For me, I wanted to portray or commemorate my life and my daughter and also that moment of being with someone as they are on their deathbed and feeling that someone has left us. That is so matter-of-fact. It’s almost surreal, because they are no longer with you, and you can feel it in the air that something is amiss. Those are some of the things that I wanted to do, but I wanted a feeling of hope since it’s so connected to my own experiences and my daughter.”
On My Mind has a thread of hope throughout. Many stories of death or losing a loved one veer off into sentimentality or saccharine territory, but Strange-Hansen was able to avoid that by referencing his own emotions from his life and leaning into the honesty of the moment. Sometimes we are too cynical for films like On My Mind, but it successfully shoots for our hearts.
“For me, it was something about honesty and being naked. There has to be a naked feeling to it since that’s how it felt for me. It would’ve been sentimental if I put on music at the big, dramatic moments. We even talked about maybe not having other music at all other than the main song, and we decided against that since we needed music that represented the life that this couple shared together. If he talked about his emotions and explained that his wife was dying, he wouldn’t have an inner struggler. Once you say it out loud, it becomes real. He won’t talk to strangers about it, so why should he let him in? That helped it feel more real and less sentimental.”
The character that I was drawn to the most was Camila Bendix’s Louise. Her bartender always has a smirk or a knowing glance. When the ornery bar owner Preben tries to stop Henrik from singing his song, she is Henrik’s ally. Strange-Hansen acknowledges that bartenders in those types of pubs know how to deal with customers drinking their woes away.
“The moment that we got Camila [Bendix] for the role, it was not hard at all. She emits such warmth, and she is such a genuine person. She’s also an intimacy coordinator for films, so she knows how to create an atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable. I knew the moment that we cast her that my job was already done. I’ve been to those bars, and there is a flirtatious side to it. There is always a ‘darling’ nature to her because it’s become habit. Those kinds of people have experience with people who are battling with us. As soon as she can see that that character is drinking like that, she knows something is up with him. Those bartenders know something is up–it’s instinctual. Bartenders are good psychologists, and it shows how skilled she is. She walks away when he needs it.”
Producer Kim Magnussen has worked Strange-Hansen before (he produced the short film that led to Strange-Hansen’s first Oscar in this category), but he also had another film, Stenofonen, make the short list. Both films deal with men struggling to to come to terms with their feelings and dark situations in their lives. Stenofonen was a worthy shortlist entry.
“For me, it all comes down to what is a great, personal story. Both Stenofonen and On My Mind were based on real stories, and even though they are different settings, they have similar themes. I didn’t make a conscious decision to do it, but they both came along at the same time. They are close in subject matter and in execution. Martin has create something that is very warm-hearted. There is a heartfelt story that gives you hope in the end. I’ve had some experiences with short films and the Academy, and they seem to be a group that responds to stories where there is heaviness but there is something warm at the same time. We hope the characters are okay, and that’s how I feel On My Mind is very rounded. Those emotional things really come through on the screen, so, as a producer, I am honored to be part of this work.”
I couldn’t let the gentlemen go without asking what their favorite karaoke song was. When I posed the question, Magnussen’s face lit up. “Martin has three hours worth of karaoke songs,” Magnussen laughed.
“The first time I did karaoke, it was twenty years ago,” Strange-Hansen revealed. “We had just wrapped This Charming Man, which I made with Kim’s production company, and it went on to win the Oscar in 2003. We went to this bar that had karaoke. I just made a film, and I was very happy. When I got to drinking, maybe I drank more, and I became a lot happier. One of the crew members told me about the karaoke, and he encouraged me to sing. I went through the book, and they had “Delilah” since it is such a croon your heart out song. After “Delilah” stopped, so had my sense of rules. I stayed on the mic…for three hours. Every time a new song came on, people would come up on stage, and I thought they were so happy to sing with me. Needless to say, I didn’t get the rules of karaoke.”
On My Mind is available on The New Yorker‘s Screening Room.