“Deep down, everyone wants a sensible woman”
The urban comedy “How Men Talk About Women” will be released in German cinemas on April 28, 2016. In the interview, lead actor Frederick Lau talks about his role and the advantages of crowdinvesting for filmmaking.
“How Men Talk About Women” sounds like a pretty cliched film. Is that him?
Above all, I think it's a pretty honest film. Each of the four main characters is different and this is brought out very nicely. Sure, there's a bit of cliché involved. But that's okay, life is sometimes cliché, I think.
In the film you play the role of Martini - a young man who is the youngest in his men's clique but often behaves the most mature. What attracted you to the role?
Martini's father, who also belongs to this group, is a real bon vivant. He's approaching 50, but he's still always hanging out in bars and picking up girls. Martini looked at this all his life and at some point realized that it wasn't the right business model for him. He resists it, can't do anything with all this porn sex and instead hopes for true love. In a way, this attitude is also a pointer that he directs to his father. I found the relationship between the two very exciting from the start. As a rule, a father is concerned about his son's lifestyle, but with Martini and his father it's the other way around.
When the four main male characters in the film judge a woman's appearance, they are based on a very classic ideal of beauty. The perfect woman is young, has firm skin and firm breasts. Are men really that superficial when looking for a partner?
Well, for me personally, that's not the case. (laughs) But of course, when guys sit together over a beer, these kinds of conversations do happen. But that's primarily posturing, people just like to talk rubbish and laugh about it together. Because deep down, every guy wants a sensible woman. I think a lot of male viewers will recognize themselves in this.
So is it a film for men?
No, I wouldn't say that. For women, it's just as exciting to find out what their boys say when they're not there. (laughs) Seriously, I'm really curious to see whether more women or more men end up going to the cinema.
“How Men Talk About Women” takes place in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. Why there of all places?
Because this is a district that symbolizes freedom, where everyone can be who they are. Kreuzberg is certainly a bit overcrowded these days, but the principle “Be okay and we’ll be okay with you” still applies. Plus, these men who hang out at their buddy's bar all the time fit in very well in Kreuzberg. That's just a scene that you can actually see a lot there. For example, I have a friend who owns a bar there and I end up there all the time.
Do you like filming in Berlin?
Yes and no. Of course, filming in Berlin is particularly fun. But I also have to say that I am more focused at work in other cities because there are fewer distractions there. When I'm filming in Berlin, the guys constantly call and ask: "Freddy, where are you?" I'll come over!” And I always have to say: “No, you can't come over now, I have to work.” I just know too many people here. (laughs)
The film was financed through crowd investing, so it was independent of government funding. Did that lead to a freer atmosphere on set?
Above all, it meant that we could start filming straight away. You first have to apply for government funding and that is usually a longer process. The fact that the atmosphere on set was great was primarily because we, the actors and crew, knew each other beforehand. Oliver Korittke, for example, who plays Martini's father, is my neighbor in real life. So to a certain extent it was a film production between friends, everything was a little more familiar and relaxed. You could tell because we sometimes started later in the morning or the coffee break lasted longer than expected. The great thing is that the professionalism of the film didn't suffer at all - on the contrary: everyone really put their effort into it so that something good came out in the end.
The interview was conducted by Hannah Wagner.
Frederick Lau, 26, is one of the most sought-after young actors in Germany. He had his breakthrough in 2008 with the film “The Wave”. He was awarded the German Film Prize in 2015 for his role in Sebastian Schipper's drama “Victoria”.
In the big city comedy “How Men Talk About Women” he goes through the everyday emotional madness alongside Oliver Korittke, Barnaby Metschurat and others, trying to find out how best to end up with the opposite sex and maybe even find happiness and love.
“Deep down, everyone wants a sensible woman.” In the interview, lead actor Frederick Lau talks about his role and the advantages of crowdfunding for filmmaking.
