02/09/2003 - Germany after the fall of the wall, the relationship between Europe and America and lots of music are the features of Michael Schorr’s film, mixing fact with fiction

The faces of the protagonists and the characters behind those faces make Schultze gets the Blues [+see also:
trailer
film profile] a unique and unforgettable film. The German director Michael Schorr (who’s studied philosophy, music and cinema) knows the importance of choosing the right actors: “I wanted to create the feeling of a real place, with people connected to it, who are part of that environment. I chose actors that could fit in with this mix of documentary and fiction, like Horst Krause, who plays the main character in the story. He has been famous in Germany for many years but here he’s playing his first important role”.

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The film is about a man who lives in a small village in Anhalt, who has a passion for playing the accordion, a passion that will lead him on a journey ending up in the cypress swamps of Louisiana. This film doesn’t just tackle the theme of Germany after the wall, it also looks at the relationship between Europe and America, which has never been in such a precarious and delicate state as it is in this historic period. “It’s a question of extremism” confirms the director, who has worked in documentaries up until now. “Schultze heads for America, the land of extremes. I wanted to give a clear idea of how he felt when he discovers the affinity between Louisiana and the region he comes from at home. I wanted to show the problems of getting old, people who struggle with everyday life. The way our civil society is being impoverished”.

But luckily the film’s melancholy streak is offset by a refreshing vein of comedy. And the emotional link between the two populations is naturally created through music: “The accordion is an instrument that represents the great German migration to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many people took their accordions overseas with them when they emigrated and it then became established in the American states, the classic example being Louisiana”. The film is produced by filmkombinat GmbH and Co. KG, and it’s screening at the Venice Film Festival has already resulted in a deal with an Italian distributor, Lady Film.

(Translated from Italian)