Christmas classic "Tatsächlich... Love" turns 20
At the beginning, a scene at the airport. "Whenever I get depressed about the global political situation, I always think of the arrivals hall at Heathrow Airport," says Hugh Grant as we watch in slow motion as people embrace on arrival at the airport. "It's generally said that we live in a world full of hate and greed. But that's not true."
The tragicomedy, which was released in Germany on November 20, 2003, is originally called "Love Actually". The film begins five weeks before Christmas and interweaves the stories of several people in Great Britain. Some cinemas are now showing it in a restored version for the anniversary in the weeks from November 23.
Since its release in 2003, the film has been one of the movies that people watch again and again during the Advent season. Because a Christmas without it just isn't really Christmas for them.
Hugh Grant falls in love with a female employee as the British Prime Minister ("Who do you have to get laid to get a cup of tea and a chocolate cookie?"). Bill Nighy sings "Christmas is all around me" with a silver chain. And Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean") takes a long time to wrap a present. A very long time.
What the director says about the movie today
Director Richard Curtis is the king of rom-coms, so to speak. He wrote the screenplays for "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Notting Hill", and also worked on the screenplay for "Bridget Jones".
He recently gave an interview to his daughter Scarlett Curtis at the literary festival in Cheltenham, England. The author asked her father a number of questions at the event organized by the "Times" and "Sunday Times" newspapers. Some people said that he had raised unrealistic expectations of love with his films. Did he see it that way?
If he did that, it was not his intention, the director replied. He believes that love plays an important role in the lives of many people. "But if every portrayal of love only shows how it goes wrong, then you have nothing to give you hope."
His daughter remarked quite humorously that her father had now learned a lot about feminism from her. And that some people criticized the portrayal of women in some of his films. For example, when "Bridget Jones" is supposed to be overweight but is played by a thin woman. In "In fact... Love", the Prime Minister's employee Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) is portrayed as chubby and criticized for her supposedly huge thighs.
Moreover, his films showed few black people, his daughter enumerated. In "Actually... Love", there are superiors who behave problematically, such as the Prime Minister. Looking back, would he do anything differently?
"Yes. I wish I had been ahead of my time," said Curtis, as can be heard on a recording of the festival discussion. He hadn't thought enough about some things. "I remember how shocked I was five years ago when Scarlett said to me: "You can never use the word fat again." She had been right. "Those jokes just aren't funny anymore."
Loved scenes, parodied scenes
When "In fact... Love" was released, opinions were mixed. A critic for the Guardian called the movie a nicely packaged feel-good comedy. With a few exceptions, however, many of the stories were garbage. The "New York Times" criticized that the film was an indigestible Christmas pudding and resembled a greatest hits compilation from a record label. The industry magazine "Variety", on the other hand, believed in the film's success.
According to the director, the fact that the film is still popular today could also be due to the fact that you often no longer know which scene is actually coming next. In fact, so many stories are told that some episodes are forgotten until the following year.
There are also some very different favorite stories to discover. The woman whose marriage threatens to fail (Emma Thompson with Alan Rickman)? The head of government who dances to "Jump" by the Pointer Sisters (Hugh Grant)? Or actress Keira Knightley, who receives a confession of love on cardboard cards? This scene - a woman standing at the door while her husband's best friend confesses his feelings to her with cardboard boxes - has often been imitated. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for example. Or in the series "Ted Lasso" - but then it's about bad breath. That's another story.
The classic movie "Love Actually", celebrating its 20th anniversary, has a special place in many people's Christmas traditions. This includes the scene where Hugh Grant's character falls in love, despite his role as the British Prime Minister.
The film's director, Richard Curtis, has faced criticism for his portrayal of love in his films, with some claiming he sets unrealistic expectations. However, in an interview, Curtis emphasized that his intention was not to disappoint, but to provide hope through his depictions of love.
Furthermore, Curtis acknowledged that he could have done better in terms of representation, particularly in regard to feminism and diversity. He noted that some jokes in his earlier films, such as the portrayal of chubby characters, are no longer considered acceptable today.
Source: www.dpa.com
