29/01/2025 - The German director of the recent Max Ophüls Prize winner tells us more about his approach to his characters and how he went about casting the film

(© Nadine Nedrebö)

Lauro Cress's debut feature, Ungeduld des Herzens [+see also:
interview: Lauro Cress
film profile], celebrated its world premiere at the Max Opühls Prize, where it won the Award for Best Feature Film as well as both gongs for the best performances, bestowed upon the two protagonists (see the news). We spoke to the German director about his approach to his characters and the casting of the film.

Cineuropa: Why did you want to tell this story?
Lauro Cress: First of all, I was more driven by an interest in a certain character, around which I wanted to tell stories. Since a very early age, I’ve been a fan of Stefan Zweig. I think what really intrigues me is how subtly he talks about the psychology of the characters and what happens when certain people meet each other. He analyses these encounters in a lot of depth. At film school, I tried to adapt one of his short stories. I wrote a script, and when Christoph Hochhäusler, who was teaching at the DFFB at the time, read it, he said it reminded him of the protagonist in Zweig's novel Ungeduld des Herzen – in English, it’s “Beware of Pity” or, literally (and I prefer to use that), “Impatience of the Heart”. I didn't know the novel at the time. I read it, and right from the beginning, I knew I wanted to tell the story in a contemporary setting. I think everything he talks about is very relevant to these times. The novel was a constant guideline, even though at times, I was very close to it and at others, I remained very far from it. The foundation was those feelings experienced by the protagonists.

What were the most important aspects that your male protagonist Isaac had to possess?
He doesn't undergo a big evolution. It was important for him not to have clear intentions, like getting the money from that family or other specific goals. This made it very complicated to write. I wanted to show that he wants to have a purpose in life; he wants to be part of something. He gets seduced by this wealthy family he meets and the feeling of belonging there. I was happy to see from the reactions of the audience that people really saw these nuances in his character.

Do you get the impression that people like him?
It seems they do. For sure, it's an important question for a filmmaker: is this character likeable? Every director hates that question. But this is strongly linked to the person who plays a character. That's why I really looked for someone who had this rough exterior and is kind of shallow and who, in a way, tries to fill his emptiness. That's when we found Giulio Brizzi, who has this fragility in his roughness.

How did you find Giulio?
It was a last-minute thing. I saw a self-tape that he made for a series. He was just jumping around in his room, and I was like, “Yes, that's what I'm looking for.” We met him, and after ten minutes, I was like, “Sure, that's the guy.” It took him a while to warm to the role, but then he got more and more comfortable during rehearsals.

How did you meet his counterpart Ladina von Frisching, who plays Edith?
Hers was the first name our producer, Lorenzo Gandolfo, suggested. He is also an actor, and they knew each other. So, pretty early on in the process, I met her and I didn't even do a casting. I saw what she had done before, and I was irritated that she wasn’t famous, because she's very talented. She has a well-developed craft and good intuition. She is very open, and she listens. At the beginning, she only had a minor role in the script, though. In Zweig's novel, this character is more like a spoiled ten-year-old girl who admires the male protagonist and has the gift of being able to manipulate everyone around her. But then, the part evolved in our script. We tried to find an actress who was really in a wheelchair. We realised that there are no professional actresses and no talent agency; there is no market. But even though we didn't have an actress who was actually in a wheelchair, we did a lot of consulting, and I talked to four women who also inspired the script. Everyone was kind of fine with my decision because they understood how careful I was being about it. We tried to stay close to reality – for example, we chose the right wheelchair and put a lot of effort into training Ladina. She learned how to move properly. We wanted to be as respectful as possible.