In "Tanze Tango mit mir" Michael A. Grimm and Gaby Dohm play son-in-law and spiteful mother-in-law. So it was behind the scenes.
Michael A. Grimm (50, "The Sleeper") and Gaby Dohm (77, "The Nanny: Mission Canada") play a wonderful role in the tragic comedy "Tanze Tango mit mir" (March 10th, 8:15 pm, the first) Unequal son-in-law-mother-in-law team, in which Ingrid (Dohm) never misses an opportunity to harass the professionally unsuccessful and not entirely healthy husband of her daughter (Eva Meckbach, 40). When Frank (Grimm) discovered tango by chance, fate took its course …
In an interview with spot on news, Michael A. Grimm reveals how the two actors got along behind the scenes. He also tells how his own family merged with the film family to form an extended family so that the project was even feasible in times of Corona. In addition, he concretizes the passionate development of the Argentine tango, which is briefly outlined in the film.
How are your tango skills? Did you have to be doubled?
Michael A. Grimm: I was allowed to dance a lot of tango in the four weeks before shooting started and during the shooting. I trained an average of 6.5 hours almost every day. In this way I was able to significantly expand my extremely rudimentary knowledge from drama school to become a very passable dancer. So I didn't have to be doubled. Corona is now unfortunately preventing me from continuing to dance. For that we first need dance events again.
In private you do Aikido, a Far Eastern martial art. Did that help with this film?
Grimm: With Aikido you learn to move very well. Even a man with my seat learns halfway how to handle his body: where is the focus? How do you move? That was certainly not detrimental to this role. It is easier to feel when you are used to dealing with your own body.
The tango teacher in the film tells a story about the beginnings of this dance. According to this, men, among others, danced tango together in Argentine cities – and whoever was better was allowed to go to the prostitute. Is that correct?
Grimm: Yes, that's right. It was one of the aspects in the genesis of Tango Argentino. At the end of the 19th century there were many European guest workers in Argentina. The country was rich in natural resources, there was a lot of agriculture, livestock and so on, Europe and Africa were poor. In this way, the capital city of Buenos Aires had a surplus of many thousands of men who practiced together to end up with the few young women.
It is said that the prostitutes also chose the best dancers who could move best. And so they made the men dance together. Even today one does not speak of one being the woman and one being the man in this dance, but of the leader and the following. Of course, men also danced with women.
In "Tanze Tango mit mir" you play together with Gaby Dohm. She is your movie mother-in-law and more of a monster-in-law. How was it behind the scenes on set?
Grimm: I love Gaby and Gaby loves me. And it was wonderful to be humiliated by her. She really is a wonderful woman, a brilliant colleague and a lovable contemporary. It was our first shoot together. We were in the same film once, but we hadn't really played together before. This premiere was all the more beautiful. In this film, however, everyone else pulled together very much. It was really harmonious all around.
The film was shot in Corona times. What were the biggest differences for you as an actor?
Grimm: Fortunately, I shot a lot last year. At the end of April I was even present at one of the first productions. So I can say that the differences vary. It depends on the incidence number, on the project and on the production measures. This ranges from: "It is hardly playable", for example if you are supposed to mimic a married couple who are then not allowed to touch each other. Or you should go on a trip, but you can't sit in the car together. That is of course difficult.
But there are also productions that are shot almost like in normal times. Of course, you are not really sure about infection. I experienced everything within this spectrum in the past year.
How was it with this movie?
Grimm: It was clear from the start that we could only make this film with great physical closeness. There are formats in which keeping your distance is easier, but that was unthinkable for this film. There are dance scenes and scenes with the family in which you are close, physically close, exchanging aerosols. Therefore a lot of tests were carried out and then lived as isolated as possible.
Because I can't dance tightly with women or men, kiss my film woman, argue with her, puff on the same cigarette with my film daughter or sit in a small car with Gaby Dohm for a day of shooting if not all of them have tested negative. We shot in July, so at a very good time when the incidence value was at the bottom and everything was tolerable. We were a manageable number of people who tested negative, got very close and formed a kind of household. Apart from the set, we weren't allowed to live much.
Did you see your family while filming?
Grimm: I didn't see my two grown children, my wife and little daughter did. The two were de facto integrated into the team of colleagues and also tested. You could say that my film family and my real family formed something like an extended family. That way I was able to work and not only support my family, but also be close to them. I am very grateful and happy for that.
My deepest sympathy goes to all colleagues who are currently unable to do that. For example, if you play theater and are not in a permanent ensemble where you at least get a fixed amount of money, then it's already very gloomy …