16/09/2024 - The German writer-actor-director gives us more information about the translatability of humour, his working methods and how to keep the creative spark alive

(© Michael Bennett)

Following last year’s Bones and Names [+see also:
film review
film profile], Fabian Stumm both directs and stars in his second feature, Sad Jokes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabian Stumm
film profile], which is a Discovery title at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. Stumm plays Joseph, a filmmaker trying to get his sophomore feature off the ground while co-parenting a toddler with a close female friend. Cineuropa caught up with Stumm just before the Toronto premiere and spoke about the translatability of humour, his working methods and how to keep the creative spark alive.

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Cineuropa: How do you relate to the English language in your work? Sad Jokes has many scenes in English, but maybe this was a result of Ulrica Flach’s involvement? Her Joan of Arc monologue towards the end of the film is phenomenal.
Fabian Stumm: Yes, it was. But also, I studied acting in New York in my twenties, so I was used to working in English and doing stage plays. Actually, Ulrica and I were in that same acting class when I was 20. We hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years when I had the idea of including her in a film. She really used to do this same monologue, which everyone was so moved by, so I wrote the part with her in mind.

Do you feel like you, as an actor, embody languages in different ways?
It does feel different. I feel younger when I act in English, for some reason. Maybe because the language is softer in a way, and it flows differently than German does. Or maybe it’s a sensory-memory thing, whereby I might, subconsciously, be going back to my younger self. I always try to sneak in various different languages because I do feel that you change your character a tiny bit, without wanting to.

In relation to Sad Jokes, and in general, do you feel like humour is translatable between languages? Your use of comedy (both physical and verbal) made me receive the German language more positively.
I'm curious to see if the Toronto audience sees similar or different humorous points! But about German, I think you’re right because [physical comedy] adds a different layer, without which it may be a little bit harder to decipher it. That’s actually the part that I was most nervous about because I wanted to dial up the volumes of that slapstick and the humour and the sentimentalism of it. I wanted to see what happens when you turn up the sad volume, but also the funny volume, and then let them collide. But until we edited the film, I wasn’t really sure if that would fly, you know? Humour is fragile, in a way.

Why is it so commonly said that it’s very difficult to make a good comedy?
I wonder about that as well. I think good humour is always rooted in something serious, or even in tragedy, and that the audience can tell if something is not honest and authentic.

Your characters are very self-reflexive. How do you toe the fine line between authenticity and openness, without ever appearing self-centred?
I don't play an instrument, so I don’t really know if that’s the sensation, but writing a character to me feels like composing a melody: it’s about finding the right rhythm, along with its pauses and its changes. I like to put myself in the centre, but I’m way more interested in the other characters.

It shows! The secondary characters open Joseph up like a book!
I’m happy that you mentioned that because that's really my aim! I love characters that only have one scene, but then pretend that the whole film is about them. Such a scene can really change the perspective. Joseph is a main character who’s mostly passive, right? Stuff happens to him, and he has to react, but he never actively drives the storyline. So, I think that being focused on other characters gives my own performance a sense of openness.

Your film’s distinct look also says something about closeness and distance. What are your inspirations for the visuals?
As a viewer, I love heavily edited films, zooms and close-ups. It’s all wonderful for me, but as a filmmaker now, I’m only interested in the tools you [absolutely] need in order to tell a story. So much content is being thrown at you that I find it quite liberating and relaxing when there's a stillness and a distance to a film. That doesn’t mean you have to be distant. I like to find alternative ways to approach someone and to feel close to them.