It was the radio."
“I want to stress that these are not 3D printed,” Levy states.
So, we had craftsmen in Hungary build both by hand.
Mark Ruffalo as Daniel LeBlanc and Nell Sutton as young Marie-Laure in ‘All the Light We Cannot See’.Courtesy of Netflix
So, this is not planks and Balsa wood.
This is reclaimed wood that these carpenters honed and edged and hot-glued and turned into these magnificent models.
The first time that both Aria and Nell navigated these models with their fingers was goosebumps all around."
Louis Hofmann as Werner Pfennig, Ed Skrein as Ed Siedler, and Luna Wedler as Jutta in ‘All the Light We Cannot See’.Courtesy of Netflix
He built them to foster Marie-Laure’s autonomy and independence, regardless of sight.
It was quite remarkable."
Siedler remains as complex a character on screen as he is in the source material.
Daniel LeBlanc (Mark Ruffalo) meet the Old Ladies' Resistance Club in ‘All the Light We Cannot See’.Courtesy of Netflix
He’s a relatively low-ranking Nazi official who’s valuable in that he delivers young prodigies to indoctrination camps.
“What if there’s a sudden surge of conscience?
you’re free to’t do anything about it because it’s too late.
Lars Eidinger as Sergeant Major Reinhold von Rumpel in ‘All the Light We Cannot See’.Courtesy of Netflix
You’ve delivered him to the devil,” Levy says.
“But what if you realize now you’ve made a terrible, inarguable mistake?
He’s surprised to find that they are all women of a certain age.
Hughe Laurie as Etienne LeBLanc in ‘All the Light We Cannot See’.Courtesy of Netflix
These women comprise what is referred to as the Old Ladies' Resistance Club.
“I think there’s something aspirational about it,” Levy remarks.
Their commitment and ingenuity remains strong.”
“I never wanted to do a pure drama.
“I found the novel profound, but also wildly entertaining.
TheStar WarsandHouse of Gucciactor remained friends with his filmmaker.
“We hang out a few times a year,” Levy says.
He’s doingWhite Noisewith me right now.'”
“No one in the U.S. has heard of him,” Levy remarks of the Eidinger.
I Zoomed with Lars and he read a scene, and within two lines the decision was made.
He was so singular, so strange, so charming, but also scary.
It was everything I wanted for Von Rumpel.”
Those qualities are on display in a sequence that takes place deeper into the miniseries.
“Von Rumpel’s desperation is ratcheted up as his health degrades,” Levy explains.
“Lars filmed this scene on his first day.
So, his first scene was one of Von Rumpel’s last scenes.
So, Lars made this choice to almost cut off his own air right before I would say action.
It’s uncomfortable to watch.
“Don’t you want to be alive before you die?”
About a month before filming began, Levy reread Doerr’s novel for what was perhaps the sixth time.
What was different with this go-around was he did so with a highlighter.
One of those lines was a widely recognized piece of dialogue from the book.
Loberti’s Marie-Laure is sitting at the kitchen table in St. Malo, discussing God with Madame Manec.
The girl wants to know if humans see the Almighty upon their death.
“What if you’re blind?”
That, Levy points out, “is verbatim from the book.”
Shortly after, Etienne comes in, wanting to join the resistance efforts, but is paralyzed by agoraphobia.
“I love Madam Manec’s fierce affection for him, trying to provoke him into action.
And also, I really did make this show as a rabid fan of the book.
“Don’t you want to be alive before you die?”
has become an uplifting chant for Doerr’s work.
Many a book club have already unpacked the line since first reading those words.
“And that means different things to different people.
For some, it’s the pursuit of good or it’s the pursuit of a goal.
For some, it’s loving and being loved as much as possible.
All the Light We Cannot Seepremieres Nov. 2 on Netflix.
