Younger siblings Anna (Riley Keough) and Robert (Lukas Gage) are borderline psychotics. Their father (Tracey Letts) is a blind, abusive tyrant. Eldest brother Jack (Kame Bell) is almost normal, though shows signs of deep trauma.

This modern-day take on Bellochio‘s 1965 satire Fists in the Pocket, adapted by frequent Lanthimos collaborator Efthimis Filippou (The Lobster).

Aïnouz spoke ahead of Rosebush Pruning‘s premiere in Berlin about the film’s pandemic-era origins, its savage take on privilege and patriarchy, and why he hopes his star-studded satire will “burn down the house.”

It came from different places. We began writing the script during the pandemic. I was interested in doing a movie that was contained. I’ve made movies about families, but I never really made one about a privileged, white family. I thought it would be interesting to have an ensemble piece taking place in one house and talking about “forbidden” subjects.

I’ve made a few films with female protagonists, and I thought it would be interesting to shift the angle and talk about masculinity, about the father figure.

I changed the main character from Fists in the Pocket to a father, instead of  mother, to allow me to explore themes of privilege, of patriarchy, of isolation, which is the consequence of this family’s extreme wealth.

I had made a movie in the U.K. Firebrand (2023) which was about Henry VIII, and I made a film in Brazil about this toxic, poisonous male character, called Motel Destino (2024). For me, this film is part of that trilogy, of men who are really poisonous, but also very normal.

That came from trying to find how to talk about such a serious topic in a way that would still engage audiences. Everything I’ve told you so far is quite theoretical. The question was how do I make a movie that people will actually come and watch? My encounter with the screenwriter, Efthimis Filippou was really magic. We were introduced by our producer, Michael Weber, and viola!

It was [Filippou’s] proposition to do this as satire, something I’ve never done in my life. I thought it was really great to be able to talk about the themes we’re interested in, but from a perspective of humor, of irony and also of absurdity. I think the laughter was perhaps the only way that we can relate to certain themes. So it was coming from different places, but ultimately, I was really interested in looking at privilege, which is something that really haunts me when I think of the world we live in.

Funny enough, as time went by, the question of the absurd became so present in our daily lives, that it seemed a really great way to look at this, at this story of privilege.

The film is crazy and extreme but no more than news headlines we read 

I was trying to not just do a critique of privilege, but also propose new possibilities. There is cycle of violence, and sometimes violence can only end through violence. We have the metaphor of pruning the rose bush, where if people are roses, families are rosebushes, and a rosebush needs pruning.

But for me, it was really important here to bring the element of humor, of absurdity, and to offer something in the story that would break the cycle. Because this [wealth disparity] has become so naturalized, it’s taken for granted. I was really interested in asking with the film, how do we break the cycle?

Political figures that inspired the abusive father, played by Tracy Letts?

I made a movie in 2019, Invisible Life, which was about the condition of women. When I finished it, I felt: “I’m very familiar with female characters.” I was raised by a single mother, in a family of women only. Constructing and writing for female characters feels very familiar and very intimate. After I finished that film, I felt I wanted to know what’s on the other side. I wanted to know male characters, patriarchs, these people who actually exercise power.

This film is part of trilogy about flesh-and-blood monsters as superheroes since they run our world.

Incredibe cast: Callum Turner, Jamie Bell, Riley Keough, Lukas Gage, Elle Fanning, Pamela Anderson

It was important that we did have a stellar cast. I was thinking of the star system as a strategy to get people to come and see the film. And then I was thinking of actors I’ve dreamt of working with.

I’m a huge fan of Tracy Letts, as playwright and actor. I’ve been a huge fan of Jamie Bell for years, I think he’s had an extraordinary path as an actor. I’ve always wanted to work with Elle Fanning, she has something that is both masterful but yet quite fresh, with this very refined sense of humor I thought would be really interesting to bring to the screen.

For the character of the mother, I was always thinking of Gina Rowlands. I wanted an actress who feels free and unexpected. Pamela also has this quality. It’s really beautiful to see she’s returning to acting again, and with real sense of freedom.

On location shoot, in Spain.

We rehearsed a lot of the scenes there in the movie, but also situations that are not in the movie. We had lots of like exercises where they would have lunch together, you know, like had nothing to do with the film or spending time together. For me, it was really important to create a sense of intimacy with this family. My first question when talking to the actors was: “Are you open to rehearsing? Are you up for taking these characters, which are so precisely written on the page, and make them feel lived in, alive?” That’s exactly what they brought to the film.

When I talk about Bellocchio, there was a real sense of freshness and invention, of risk, you know? I think cinema has gotten to a place which is it’s so tricky, with the streamers and theatrical releases. Filmmaking has become mainly about risk management. But I just turned 60. I have nothing to lose. I want to play. I want to experiment. What really excited me about this movie was to bring the invention, the risk, the experimentation, the real sense of reinvention you had in the cinema of 60s. Those films really broke with the classic Hollywood way of storytelling.