Alex and Leo and André Schneider

Alex and Leo (André Schneider and Marcel Schlutt in... Alex and Leo)

For his latest film, André Schneider wrote a savoury sexy romantic comedy, Alex and Leo. Leo is "der Löwe" in German, a lion unable to either roar or choose his lioness, the girlfriend who almost begs him to marry her. Then appears Alex, young and nonchalant Berliner, also caught in the web of a complicated relationship. Alex and Leo are the key characters of a film visited by a flock of picturesque and lovable friends. There's something theatrical in the plot, something deliciously excessive in the dialogues -mention spéciale for witty, spicy dialogues. Like André Schneider says in the following interview, the honesty that caracterizes his characters is not a rose without thorns.


Strawberries and tenderness: Aren’t you afraid of the "gay" label that one could stick on your film? (Note to the readers: the film is soon to be distributed by a gay label and welcomed in gay festivals)

André Schneider: No, I knew from the very beginning that it would turn out to be a "gay" film, so I'm not "afraid". On the contrary: since we don't really have a "gay cinema" in Germany, Alex and Leo is kind of a trailblazer in that field.

S&T: Beside your part as Alex, you were active in writing, producing, with doing the soundtrack, etc. What did you not do in this film?

André Schneider: I didn't direct, Yuri Gárate was our director, and he did a terrific job. We were so close to no-budget that each one of us had to do several jobs. Ütz, our cinematographer, for instance, was such a great help when Alex and Leo went into post-production. He did the animated title sequence, helped with the sound mixing, the editing...

S&T: Can you tell us about the soundtrack? Why did you choose Léonard Lasry, a French singer, to « lift » your film?

André Schneider: I always loved everything French: the language, the people, the food, the films, the literature, the French culture in general. I'm a Parisian at heart and really hope that one day I'll live in this city again, it's one of the most beautiful places I know. And of course I love French music: Art Mengo, Alex Beaupain, Calogero, Benjamin Biolay and so on. They're jazzy and sexy, heartfelt and light. It was a long-held dream of mine to use French songs in one of my films, and when Alex and Leo came along, I thought the combination of a Berlin film and Parisian songs would be beautiful. When I first heard Léonard Lasry's chansons, I fell in love with them instantly. I am very happy that Léonard allowed us to use some of his work for Alex and Leo. They add a certain charme and lightness to our movie, just lovely.

S&T: How did the German viewers react to Alex and Leo? Unfortunately, we’ll discover it on DVD (except for the festival goers), did the German see it in cinemas?

A: Alex and Leo will have its world premiere in the USA on July 13¹. Matter-of-factly, the French DVD release will be a couple of weeks before the German cinematic release this autumn.

S&T: How did you articulate the themes of sexuality, love, friendship?

A: Honestly, I can't really tell you. I don't analyze my work until it's finished.

S&T: I like the way you drew bitter-sweet portraits. I think about Steffi (Sascia Hadj), the therapist, or Tobi (Udo Lutz), Alex’s best friend. You’re not tender with your characters, are you?

A: I think the great quality of this particular friendship is the utter honesty between Steffi, Tobi, Kerstin, and Alex. Honesty can be rough at times. But if anyone of them is in need of comfort and a real friend's shoulder, they are also very sweet and tender.

S&T: By the way, I love the dialogues. What about them? What about your writing process?

A: Thank you. The first couple of weeks of writing Alex and Leo were pretty hard, really. I had never written a romantic comedy before, and starting off wasn't easy. But once I had drawn the characters, it became easier every day.

S&T: What’s your schedule for the weeks, the months to come?

A: On June 30, we start shooting the sequel to Alex and Leo called Tobi and Ernie. That'll take about three months.

S&T: If you need a French actor who doesn’t speak a word of German, I’m your man.

A: Let's keep that in mind, shall we? I would love to shoot a short movie in French one day.



Is your curiosity aroused? Good. Let's have a look at this charming trailer with the nonetheless charming song Nos Jours Légers by Léonard Lasry.

Notes:
1. Philadelphia QFest (link)

Some useful links:
knuddelfilme.de (Official Website), http://vivasvanpictures.wordpress.com (Production Company's Website) et optimale.fr (French Distributor)

But before you go, you can try your French by reading this interview in... French.
Click on the flag:

 

Strolling with Ella

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1. Ella Fitzgerald "Baby, what else can I do?" | Tenderness, sweetness, purity ; Ella Fitzgerald = pain + love = jazz.

2. A bit of nature captured yesterday while I was strolling in the woods down the meadow, home.

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Caron from Scotland tweets with Béatrice from France

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If any proof was needed that Wikio & E-Blogs create links between people from one country to another, here's one above. Thanks to E-Blogs, Béatrice, French blogger and translator for E-Blogs, tweets with Caron, Scottish blogger who happens to have one of her posts translated.

The original version of her post can be read here: Why some women have real reason to fear the World Cup
The French version: "La coupe du Monde et la bière = plus de violence conjugale"
And the Italian version: "Mondiali e birra = più violenza domestica"

Anna Raton-laveur likes my strawberries

Anna was quicker than I to write about our meeting. And she wins "haut la main" the who's-the-wittiest contest. I must think of sending her wonderfully well-written post to all my english speaking friends, acquaintances, enemies. If, with that, my prince doesn't come, I might as well turn into a dispiteful frog or a nun. By the way, I advise you strongly to (re)discover her blog. I still have to write about the amazing synchronicities that happen to knock on my door these days. Anna, Cathy, and many others who have a life outside the Web.

blog in progress

This blog is in progress. When I have time, I might change how it looks. I must, actually. Why this blog? Because. That's a good enough reason, I think. Well, I've been thinking of having an English speaking blog for a long time. I had 1 last year. From which some of the posts published here will be taken. A few chronicles. An interview of a film maker, soon. Bits and pieces on my job as UK editor. Some advice on UK blogs I discover. The encounter with an influential* UK blogger (yes, Anna, I'm talking about you). Anything is worth writing, isn't it? Especially when it involves people. Don't you just love meeting people? You don't? Come on. They don't bite. Or if they do, it's for your own good. Let yourself be bitten by reality. That reminds me (absolutely no connection with what I just mentioned) I have to contact Stella Duffy again. And write about how I discovered her fiction. Bye for now. (Don't) Behave!

* if getting someone out of jail doesn't make her influential, then I might as well become a vicar.

What about your Bic?

Some say they’re signs, some say they’re just coincidences. Anyway, the first sign I saw was when I was writing in the plane, deciding what shapes my journey could take if I wanted to keep my sanity. So I looked at the pen I had bought at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, an ordinary Bic. You can’t read the inscription until you look at it very carefully. I couldn’t believe my eyes. On the side of the pen, next to the blue cap, is engraved South-Africa. I hadn’t chosen it, the seller picked it aimlessly. I was in a hurry. I didn’t have a pen. I needed one.
A few days after I arrived in Mother City, I went to a store to check if my pen was the only one to have that inscription. Imagine my surprise when I found out that all the Bic Cristal Bics were “South-African”.
What about your Bic?

 

A glass of wine before an early night

If you have read bits and pieces of this blog, you know that I'm Thomas. But I'm not really Thomas. I have to admit I like being anonymous. The French guys who are currently staying in the guest house know my real first name - I can't always think to tell my interlocutors I'm someone else. They wanted to have a bit of a chat with me. They didn't notice that, as I was cooking my dinner, I might have wanted to stay by myself. But never mind. Since I'm polite, I said hi and asked them questions about their day. They asked about mine. And while I was starting to eat my pasta, standing in front of them - the four of them -, one almost had his face on my plate. - You want some? I asked. He reacted by suggesting we'd have a bottle of wine. - Oh, you have some manners, I said.
The one with whom I'm sharing the bathroom looked at the notebook where everyone keeps a record of his drinks: - Thomas... who's Thomas? We missed that one...

I’m Thomas but I decided to keep it for myself.

Me and Tom Hanks

Gansbaai harbour

What do I have in my luggage anyway ? Bermuda shorts, a swimsuit, four pants, three white t-shirts, a blue t-shirt, a polo, two sweaters, a cap, flip-flops, my Camper shoes I had planned to get rid of in Paris, socks, toiletries, books, a camera, a laptop, my passport and a can-opener.

In my darkest and most ludicrous thoughts, I had this film on my mind: Castaway. Tom Hanks played a man who survived a plane crash and landed on a deserted island ; I remember scenes when he got injured because he couldn’t open the cans that had miraculously beached at his feet. This is what I was thinking about when I stole the can-opener in one of the seedy hotels I rented during my Parisian week, not knowing what would ever become of me, not knowing where my ravings would lead me, not knowing if, in a fit of insanity – or lucidity – I would decide to jump over a bridge and put an end to everything. As a response to my letter, C wrote something like “you could have left in a more dignified way”. I answered that my disappearance was, in a way, a failed suicidal. In the sense that I had seriously thought about killing myself but hadn’t had enough courage to do so.

In my luggage, I even have a butcher knife (8’’ blade) – Tiaan saw it and his mouth fell open. I told you (in a previous post) not to tell me it’s dangerous to go around naked. Luckily, Jonathan’s maid didn’t put her nose in my stuff, or she would have been horrified.