Katharina Marie Schubert: “Rüdesheim is a bit out of date”

Originally planned for February, the entertaining culture clash comedy “Sayonara Loreley – Wiedersehen in Rüdesheim” starring Katharina Marie Schubert (46, “A Gift of the Gods”) will finally be on June 9th at 8:15 p.m first aired.

In the film, director Wolfgang Murnberger (62, Styrian thrillers) tells the story of Marie Werner (Schubert), who is looking forward to traveling to Japan with her Hunsrück women’s choir. She doesn’t let her domineering mother Gisela (Victoria Trauttmansdorff, 62, “The girl with the golden hands”) talk her out of her big dream of far away, who is now going to Rüdesheim for a cure and obliges her daughter to act as a substitute in her small town shop want. Already on the way to the airport, bad news thwarts her plans: Her mother is in a coma under mysterious circumstances – and needs her on site. While the suitcase is already on its way to Tokyo, Marie, with a heavy heart, boards the Rhine skipper Hans’ (Armin Rohde, 68, “Night Shift”) ferry to Rüdesheim, where tourists from all over the world are celebrating the Wine Week…

In an interview with spot on news, the award-winning Lower Saxony actress Katharina Marie Schubert talks about the shooting in the Hessian tourist magnet, which was exceptionally emptied due to Corona, and which lures with a good portion of 1950s charm to a large joint “folklore event”.

What attracted you to “Sayonara Loreley – Wiedersehen in Rüdesheim”, why did you want to take part in this film?

Katharina Marie Schubert: In fact, one reason was the Austrian director Wolfgang Murnberger, who also made all the Wolf-Haas films with Josef Hader as private detective Simon Brenner and the many Styrian crime novels. I studied in Vienna and also acted in theater and saw some of his films during this time.

I really liked this very special, typically Austrian black humor and the mischievous aspect. Even then I wished I could work with him. And after we met at another film, he then said that he would like to do “Sayonara Loreley” with me. I agreed without having read the script.

And how did you like the script then?

Schubert: It’s a totally charming and funny screenplay. And I really liked the basic idea. However, I didn’t know Rüdesheim beforehand because I come from northern Germany and had to do a little research first.

Of course, if you live near the Rhine, it’s as well known as Disneyland. And it’s also a bit Disneyland, if you consider that millions of tourists are smuggled through the town to see the supposed “German cosiness” that is actually created by people with a migration background. I really liked the fact that nobody noticed that in the film and that it’s actually just a kind of fairy tale. The American, Japanese and Chinese tourists, for example, don’t care whether you understand the “Loreley” singer or not, they don’t understand him anyway.

You shot in Rüdesheim yourself. Was that even possible with all the tourists?

Schubert: We were still shooting during the Corona period, which was a great luxury for our shooting. Because there were no real tourists with their mobile phones on site who could have hindered the filming. All the people in our film are extras. We also had the best weather and so it was beautiful in this pretty Rhine valley.

In the film, the town exudes a good portion of 1950s charm. Is it really like that?

Schubert: Yes, that’s right. The film could actually be set in a different time. And I’ve also asked myself what that has to do with me and Germany. nothing actually. All in all, everyone is simply taking part in a folklore event. At least it has nothing to do with the Germany I know. It’s a mixed experience, just like I said, a bit out of date.

Due to the story, you almost only wear one outfit throughout the film. That’s actually rather rare in a film production. How was it for you as an actress?

Schubert: That’s right, it’s really very rare. And if I remember correctly, it was actually just this one coat and one dress. I just slipped into the dress every morning and that was my work uniform. In fact, I found it quite enjoyable.

Your character has a passionate relationship with Japan. Do you share that?

Schubert: In the film, Japan is a place of longing that is not reached and recedes into the background as the film progresses. In this respect, I have not dealt with Japan in depth. Unfortunately, I’ve never been there, but I really want to go there. I like the food very much – not just the sushi – because it’s great, clear and healthy cuisine.

Although “Sayonara Loreley – Wiedersehen in Rüdesheim” is a comedy, the mother-daughter relationship in the film, in which you play the daughter, is very dramatic. How would you describe it?

Schubert: The mother had to fend for herself and was certainly very assertive and perhaps a bit tough as a result. Your daughter is pretty much the opposite of that. And the fact that the two have to live together again due to financial circumstances is of course not pleasant for the rather gentle and somewhat self-pitying daughter, because she is at the mercy of the mother, who expects obedience for the shelter.

In the film there is a question of conscience in which the daughter has to decide whether or not to fly to Japan despite her sick mother. How would you have decided?

Schubert: It’s difficult to say because my mother is completely different and would simply say: “Please drive!” So I don’t know if I would ever get into this situation.