Albrecht Schuch eliminates emotions in satirical Venice drama 'Peacock'

Record ID: 1838431

  • Title: Albrecht Schuch eliminates emotions in satirical Venice drama 'Peacock'
  • Date: 31st August 2024
  • Summary: VENICE, ITALY (AUGUST 31, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER AND DIRECTOR, BERNHARD WENGER, SAYING: "I went to Japan to do research and I went there to meet people working at these agencies. And then I met a person who really opened up to me and told me that because of their odd job being somebody else, every day, they lost the ability to be themselves. And that'
  • Embargoed: 14th September 2024 16:10
  • Keywords: Albrecht Schuch Bernhard Wenger Peacock Venice film festival Peacock film Peacock movie Venice film festival
  • Location: VENICE, ITALY AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • City: VENICE, ITALY AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA006064131082024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Taking on the lead role in the comedy drama "Peacock", German star Albrecht Schuch found himself in the difficult position of playing a chameleon-like character who has lost all sense of his own personality.
    The film stars Schuch as Matthias, the top employee of a Rent-A-Friend agency, whose daily life sees him taking on diverse roles for his clients. One day he is hired to impersonate the successful son of a wealthy man set on impressing his golf club buddies, another sees him pretending to be a pilot and a father at a young boy's school career day.
    Matthias excels at making a good first impression but being all surface and little substance, leads to him losing the connection to his real personality and feelings.
    "That was damn difficult, I have to say. I describe myself, my profession as emotion juggling, you know, That's where I'm coming from," Schuch said in an interview in Venice on Saturday (August 31).
    "And here we are, having a big problem, because we have Matthias, without any emotions."
    Matthias' inability to switch off from his characters, however, was easy to relate to, Schuch said. The 39-year-old actor, whose career spans some 15 years, said an "exit debrief" was necessary at the end of each project.
    "In the past I forgot that and I found myself in a very emotionally exhausted place because there was something I forgot to do and that was working on the disconnection towards the character," he said. "Therefore I, definitely, felt Matthias."
    "Peacock" marks the feature film debut for Austrian filmmaker Bernhard Wenger, who also wrote the movie's screenplay.
    The inspiration for the film came from a real-life friend for rent Wenger met on a research trip to Japan.
    "I met a person who really opened up to me and told me that because of their odd job being somebody else, every day, they lost the ability to be themselves. And that's what I found really tragic and I took for the main character and built a satirical and bizarre story around it," Wenger, who started working on the movie in 2018, said.
    "The big questions of the movie are, are we real? What is real? And it's a film about identity. It's a film about pretending," the 32-year-old filmmaker said.
    Schuch, who starred in the Oscar-winning 2022 film "All Quiet on the Western Front" said he had learned to take better care of his own emotional state over the years.
    "I need a variety of projects to make sure that my own system, my emotions - here we are back again - are in a good state. I can't go for a role like 'All Quiet on the Western Front' or Matthias in 'Peacock' all the time. That would wouldn't be healthy," he said.
    "Peacock" is screening in the independent and parallel Critics' Week section at the Venice Film Festival, which is dedicated to showcasing the first films from emerging filmmakers.
    "I think you can think about and work on a film as much as you want beforehand but the movie ultimately comes to life through the experience with an audience," said Schuch, adding: "I'm looking forward to that. Here in Venice. This is my first time here and we're attending with a wonderful team."
    (Production: Christian Levaux, Hanna Rantala)
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