European Films

Moritz Bleibtreu after the gala screening of 'Elementarteilchen' in Berlin. Photo (c): Fabrizio Maltese for europeanfilms.net, 2006. All rights reserved.

Berlinale competition entry Elementarteilchen (The Elementary Particles, UK title: Atomised) is an adaptation of the controversial Michel Houellebecq novel of the same name (Les particules elémentaires in the original French) that follows the half brothers Bruno and Michael, played by Moritz Bleibtreu and Christian Ulmen respectively, on their quest to come to terms with the meaning and uses of sex in an age of artificial procreation. Both men have a difficult relationship with sex: Bruno seeks his refuge from his failing marriage in bordellos and Michael – a biologist who is specialised in artificial procreation – has, almost appropriately, never had any sex at all. Things start to look better in their lives when they find solace with who may the women of their lives: Bruno finds Christiane (Martina Gedeck) and Michael comes back together with his adolescent crush Annabelle (Franka Potente). But is happily ever after really possible?

The editor of european-films.net, Boyd van Hoeij, spoke with Moritz Bleibtreu (who went on to win the Silver bear for best actor), Franka Potente and Oskar Roehler in Berlin. Today, we publish our interview with Moritz Bleubtreu, with the other two published later this week. Elementarteilchen will be released in Germany on 23 February.

Moritz Bleibtreu on his character, Bruno
Like so many things in life, [the film] is both dramatic and comical, though for Bruno, the events that happen to him are very dramatic. He is not alone in this position, however, as a lot of men seem quite confused when it comes to sexuality right now. We have come to a point where sex has become a very visual thing, sort of like a status symbol. It has lost its innocence and taboo and is now used to tell something about who you are. There is so much freedom about it now that people can basically do what they want, which can be a big danger. When you are lacking the most important thing in sex – which is intimacy between two people – you will probably end up like Bruno, who tries to compensate what he does not get by taking more. Like with any addiction really.

Moritz Bleibtreu on the explicit content of Elementarteilchen
For ‘Elementarteilchen’, though it deals in a great part with sex, it was clear from the beginning what I was willing to do and not do. I had already done a previous film with Oskar Roehler [called Agnes und seine Brüder/Agnes and his brothers] so there was never any doubt about what I would and would not do. Oskar knew this from the start.

Moritz Bleibtreu on the differences between the book and the film
The film is in fact way more human, more romantic and way nicer, in a way, than the book, which was quite important for me. I was not interested in putting what was in the book directly onto the screen. I do not think that that kind of provocation and cynicism have a place in the cinema. In any case, for the people that have not read the book, it will be just a film, but in any case it would have been impossible to put directly on screen what Houellebecq wrote, because it would have been something like a porn film with suicides and violence; violent porn. There are certain passages, like when he writes about his little willy for four pages, which is fine in a book because the reader can make up in his own mind what it looks like, but with cinema, there is really only one way to incorporate it and that is to show it. I don’t think that many people would have enjoyed that kind of thing in the cinema. I think he is probably right about most of the subjects in his book, but even so, I do not want to see this at the cinema and I do not want to admit that he is right. It would be too depressing. It was just clear from the beginning that the story needed to display a certain love towards people that the book just did not have. To be honest, for me as actor I do not really see the point in telling stories that do not have any hope at all. I am not interested in telling stories that say: “Life is useless, all go and kill yourselves”.

Moritz Bleibtreu on the state of German cinema
German cinema has been as alive as it has never been since the war. Germany is a country that has a great lack of tradition, a great lack of culture and of identity. It holds a very particular place in Europe and worldwide. Everyone here is now trying to find out what it means being German, what it looks like being German; what is good about it and what is bad about it. It is a great challenge also for the cinema, finding that identity and an own voice. When you see a French film, you recognise it as French, when you see Hollywood flicks and Spanish films you also recognise them immediately as such. German films lack that common denominator. We have one with German TV but not really in the cinema. A lot of times I get asked where are the Fassbinders; the Schlöndorffs and the Wenders and why we do not make films like that anymore, but they were from a different time. Few countries have changed so radically in such a short time as Germany has done in the last fifteen years and we cannot make films like that anymore because they have nothing to do with the Germany of today. At the moment, there are so many stories that are not being told, so for me as an actor it is an exciting time to be working. In Hollywood they are turning to remakes but here there are so many stories that just lie on the streets and wait for young filmmakers to pick them up and tell them. People seem to forget that Germany was, until very recently, an occupied country, it was a free country but it was also occupied. I grew up with American values, idols and way of life, while on the other side the kids did the same thing with the Russians. We were not free to explore our own identity but rather took on another one.

Moritz Bleibtreu on his supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Munich
Did you see me in ‘Munich’? It was like two seconds and gone! Of course I was very happy about this chance and especially with this film, because I feel it is an important film that people will still be talking about thirty years from now. Spielberg is just great: his attention to detail is amazing. This man has been making successful films for thirty years and you can absolutely see why.

Moritz Bleibtreu on his next project
Currently I am off, though I did one more project after Elementarteilchen last year. It was in France and it’s a big movie: Le concile de pierre (The Stone Council) with Monica Bellucci and Catherine Deneuve. It is completely different from this film; it is a mystery thriller, a popcorn movie that will probably be shown in Cannes before its premiere in France in October. It is a very enjoyable movie and I am very pleased with it.