MovieChat Forums > Suite Française (2015) Discussion > Plenty of talented German & French actor...

Plenty of talented German & French actors. Why?

posted 9 years ago by yakushijtenzen
9 replies | jump to latest

Seriously?
Why do they keep making unbelievable films, especially commonly with the WW2 period?
Was it so hard to get French actors to play the French, and Germans to play the Germans, and to keep it in the native languages?

Of course Im certain the decision was made about money.
"We'll do it in English so it reaches the most dumb masses across the world".

I dont want to criticize the actors. I love Schoenaerts and the others. They are great actors.

But as a person who knows a little bit about WW2, and especially about French & German culture...For me its absolutely ludicrous and totally KILLS AND MISSES THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES, to not have native actors representing their countries.

The dynamic between the Germans and the French during 1940-1944, was so....FRENCH AND GERMAN. You cannot have non-French/Germans play this out.
The chemistry, the hatred, the erotic character of the occupation, the chauvinism, the racism, all these emotions you cannot portray without French and German actors who UNDERSTAND the French and German mentalities of the 1930s, and who can act them out.

This is why Valkyrie failed with Tom Cruise, and why this film won't be an important film.
Sorry to give my opinion about this, I praise the actors (I havent watched the film but I still do), but its a pure waste of effort.

[–] filmsbysasha 9 years ago

I completely agree with you. I just took the film with a grain of salt, but still managed to enjoy the story and performances immensely. Particularly at how skillful and talented an actor Matthias Schoenaerts is!

[–] ph75006 9 years ago

I agree with you but if this film was made in French/German, it just wouldn't get seen. This was made primarily for the US/UK market, so it doesn't bother me too much that the context gets "translated" to English. The French characters speak with British accents, a decision which I favour over having them speak with deliberate French accents. The "othering" effect was achieved as long as we didn't hear American accents.

[–] spookyrat1 7 years ago

I agree with you but if this film was made in French/German, it just wouldn't get seen. This was made primarily for the US/UK market, so it doesn't bother me too much that the context gets "translated" to English.

I agree with you, but even then I don't think this film was anywhere near a commercial success.🐭

[–] aphrodisiaciix 9 years ago

If your concerns are to be accommodated then countless (great) movies with similar issues wouldn't have been made.

[–] stilljill-1 8 years ago

"We'll do it in English so it reaches the most dumb masses across the world".

So you are saying English is the language of the stupid? Please stop using it
to post your comments. Use French or German from now on. So, you won't be
stooping to the level of the "dumb masses" ok?
Since you are clearly an intellectual that knows a lot about all things...you're
hurting our feelings...and making us cry. 😭

[–] gabypanama 8 years ago

Perhaps for a director to directthe actors he needs to understand what they are saying.

[–] The_Khazi 7 years ago

I agree with the OP but initial disappointment about the lack of native languages gave way to some beautifully acted scenes.I wanted a bit more of Tom Schilling`s character but he`s certainly got some memorable moments.The plot is fairly predicatable but it`s still emotionally involving and the few action scenes are well-handled with quite convincing CGI Stukas that don`t weave about at breakneck speed like some recent Russian productions.

[–] Xcalat3 (3701) 7 years ago

I agree, this movie could have been even better ( I think it's good) if they had gone for more originality (french or at least french speaker actors and Germans)

[–] Drmccormack (743) 7 years ago

I agree. It's okay, but strange that they chose this cast. Michelle Williams is a wonderful actress but not what I had in mind for this role. I had no idea they even made this movie based on the book. When I saw it on Netflix, I thought the title was a coincidence. I think it should have been a French production with French and German actors. It would have fulfilled the character of the book better.