You can never go home is how the saying goes, and Pawel Pawlikowski‘s latest movie, Fatherland, illustrates that through the latter life of Death in Venice author Thomas Mann.

He returns to his homeland Germany post war 1949, a place he’s fled. The director billed it as a five-day road movie, with Mann journeying his citizen of the world daughter, Erika; the duo unable to attend the funeral of Klaus, Mann’s son, Erika’s brother; due to their obligations on the road. Mann has been invited to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Goethe, Germany’s greatest man of letters. Both sides of the new border want to claim both Goethe and Mann as their own. However, the Mann family, who have fled to America, have problems with this given their disgruntlement with even the post Hitler state of their homeland.

At today’s press conference, a journo asked Pawlikowski to draw a parallel as to how the movie speaks to today’s current events, and how history is repeating itself: “What year do you think we’re in right now? 1936, 1943, 1949?”

“I don’t think it’s a good question…nothing is ever like anything else. It’s very specific. There are new technologies, a digital universe,a brave world we’ve entered — brave new world and barbarism at the same time. It’s unprecedented situation. I’m lost today. That’s why I make movies that take place in the past.”

The filmmaker didn’t want to make a biopic, but was rather drawn to the intimacy of the Mann family on a road trip. Mann’s wife was also on the trip, but the director cut her out in favor of spotlighting Erika who was the more intriguing, spitfire actress and scribe.

In fact, it was by focusing on the characters that made the feature more universal for Pawlikowski.

“It’s about finding the story and the possibility of what reflect who you are at a particular moment, he said at the Cannes presser, “One of the advantages of not making films toooften, is that I get to live in between.”

“You try to make a film that isn’t narcissistic or biographical through strong scenes, scenes which don’t explain, but put you in the place and give you room to imagine,” said the filmmaker about his style.

“That helps to make it universal: Some enter that space, others won’t. I try not to use arguments of today, rather enter the logic of the time.”

Fatherland is a Mubi theatrical release. That late time Pawlikowski was here in 2018 he won Best Director for Cold War.