Upamanyu Biswas
‘A Sacrifice‘ tells the story of Ben Monroe, a psychology professor in Berlin, Germany, whose quest to write a book on groupthink leads him into the arms of a dangerous cult. While the protagonist busies himself with his work, his personal life takes a drastic shift when his daughter Mazzy comes to live with him. However, after she befriends a charming young man at the train station, she finds herself drifting away from her father as the young man introduces her to the cult. The Jordan Scott directorial roots itself firmly in the psychological thrills of being trapped in a terrifying situation far from home while also briefly foraying into family drama territory.
A Sacrifice is Based on a Novel About Love, Loss, and the Japanese Underworld
Written and directed by Jordan Scott, ‘A Sacrifice’ is an adaptation of Nicholas Hogg’s 2015 novel ‘Tokyo.’ The novel centers upon a Tokyo University professor named Ben Monroe, whose divorce from his wife leads him to search for his ex-lover, Kazue, in the dark underbelly of Tokyo. While the book is primarily set in the dense neighborhoods of Japan’s capital city, the movie changes the primary backdrop to Berlin, Germany instead. It was released under the title ‘Berlin Nobody’ in Germany. As such, several contextual details and plot points are omitted from the original work because of the significant alterations in the cultural environment depicted in both narratives. The book also heavily revolves around romance, specifically the protagonist’s drive to find his ex-lover, a thematic element that does not make it into the film.
According to Hogg, the obsession around women drives much of the consciousness of the novel. He described two of the central male characters, Ben and Koji, as seeking validation through the process of belonging to a group, which in turn helps them bring a sense of worth on an individual level. In an interview with Carve magazine, the author said, “Both of the men project their loneliness onto obsessions with women, which ultimately mirror each other throughout the novel, despite their divergent conclusions.” However, the idea of combatting loneliness also introduces the darker elements of the story – cults. The various competing aspects of the story, whether it be the nostalgia of lost love or the darkness of falling into the grips of groupthink, weave a complex but compelling picture of a mystical world.
To that end, the writer also attributed much of the story’s texture and quality to the years he spent in Japan, both during his early years and while researching the novel. In certain ways, he dubbed the work as a “sayonara” to his “remarkable experiences” in Japan. “The simplicity of life (for a foreigner) in Japan is a gift for writing,” he said. Those cultural aspects are interwoven into the tale as it presents an almost fable-like story drawn from seminal works like the story of Kaguya-hime or Princess Kaguya. In doing so, it occupies a twilight zone between real and mystical worlds. Constructing those elements was pivotal to the novel, as without it, the story would feel devoid of character, no matter the intriguing plotlines.
A Sacrifice Changed the Parameters of the Story By Shifting the Primary Setting
Although initially, Jordan Scott wrote the film with Tokyo in mind, the COVID pandemic’s breakout led to filming issues, which could not be resolved without a complete reworking of the script. Consequently, the movie was made in the neighborhoods of Berlin, Germany. However, the forced change meant that the best plans for the movie had to be let go because of a case of necessity. Still, Berlin made for a more than adequate replacement in the eyes of the director, who pointed out the collective consciousness within Germany to be quite similar to the societal aspects in Japan. She wanted to tap into the same lingering psychology in her story while pivoting a lot more on the cult aspects, albeit through a German sensibility this time around.
Naturally, one of the plus points of having cults as a significant factor within the narrative is the sense of dread they sow in people’s consciousness from the get-go. Scott explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “Cults play on the fears of the society that they inhabit. To me, right now, one of the biggest dangers we all face is environmental collapse.” Therefore, while the major rework of the script may have been a difficult part of the process, the key essence of the narrative was preserved to a large extent. In a traditional sense, there may be a lot of differences between German and Japanese cultures. However, instead of widening those gaps, the movie focuses on the bits that probe into the connective tissue between both cultures and, consequently, humanity itself.
Hilma Fuchs is a Fictional Cult Leader Vaguely Inspired By Reality
The main instigator of the cult in ‘A Sacrifice’ is Hilma Fuchs. She is a fictional character created by Jordan Scott while penning the script. In reality, the character is a German variant of the cult leader Chiho from Nicholas Hogg’s original novel. The novelist took some cues from the Pana-Wave Laboratory cult and its leader, Yuko Chino, for his fictional cult leader. Chino founded the group during the 1970s, which operated on the notion that ecological devastation and climate change were happening due to the rampant propagation of electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere. There were also other science-fiction-based claims that pointed to an upcoming doomsday and UFOs saving cultists.
On a character level, the writer also acknowledged taking inspiration from “a couple of powerful older Japanese women” he knew in real life. He exaggerated their qualities to give his cult leader a larger-than-life presence, which also translates into the characteristics of Hilma Fuchs. Naturally, the cultural shift from a Japanese to a German setting creates a distance between the portrayals of the cult leaders in the source material and the adaptation. Still, she maintains a level of connectivity on a structural and skeletal level, owing to her cult being environmentally focused. Even Scott pointed out those similarities by stating, “She (Hilma) is playing on those fears within the people in her group.” Thus, many real-life inspirations formed the basis for the manipulative woman despite her roots being firmly confined to fiction.
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