‘The Frog and the Water’ Director on Exploring a Unique Bond and Enticing Viewers to Look Closer

A young German man with Down syndrome, who chooses not to speak, and a Japanese tourist on a journey of his own cross paths in Germany and go on a journey together, forming an unexpected bond that goes beyond words. That is the set-up for The Frog and the Water (Der Frog und das Wasser), the new film from In the Aisles writer and director Thomas Stuber.

The road movie about two lonely souls, starring Aladdin Detlefsen and Kanji Tsuda (Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle), world premieres in the main competition program of the 29th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) on Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Directed by Stuber, who co-wrote the script with Gotthart Kuppel and Hyoe Yamamoto, The Frog and the Water was produced by Christoph Friedel, Claudia Steffen, and Fee Buck, and co-produced by Christof Neracher, Magdalena Welter, and Annegret Weitkämper-Krug. The cast also features Bettina Stucky, Meltem Kaptan, Yuki Iwamoto, and Cornelius Schwalm.

“Buschi’s daily routine in an assisted living facility leaves no room for surprises. Seeking change, he seizes the chance to leave a group outing behind and joins a tour of Japanese tourists traveling through Germany,” reads a synopsis for the movie. “Having lived his entire life without speaking, on this unusual trip, he forms a wordless friendship with Hideo — a man on a journey of his own.”

The origin of The Frog and the Water was different from the filmmaker’s typical process. “Usually, I start by myself with an original idea,” Stuber tells THR. “But in this case, a script was handed to me. I read it, and I fell in love with the story.”

The narrative felt in line with what Stuber loves to focus on in his creative process. “Whenever I make a feature film for cinema, what interests me is a slow pace and having to look closer,” the German director explains. “The details are as important as the major story, or even more important.”

After all, he wants the cinematic experience not to be Teflon, but stick with audiences. “I like the idea that the film stays with and within you, and it continues to work within you,” Stuber says. “Take it home with you. Films become dreams. Dreams become films.”

There is something different about it The Frog and the Waterthough. “It has more of a real ending than most of my other films,” the writer-director highlights.

Stuber’s interest in Japan began when he traveled to Tokyo for the theatrical release of In the Aisles in Tokyo. He then visited several more times before going there again as he was preparing and then shooting the new film. “Like many Westerners, I am fascinated by Japanese culture, by Eastern culture,” he says. “I was always interested in and fascinated by the image that we have projected of that idealistic Japan, and whether that is the right, the real picture. I always say it’s not only about the spiritual way. I also love the everyday life of Japan, because it’s so, so different.”

So, does Stuber consider himself a Japan expert by now? “I wouldn’t say for myself that I know a lot. And my experience with travel is that the more time you spend, the more difficult it gets,” he tells THR. “Who knows a lot? That’s probably the first Buddhist thing that you need to know: you will never learn anything. Only if you let go of everything, only if you understand that you cannot solve the riddle, will you really find yourself.”

The casting process for The Frog and the Water was intense to ensure the proper chemistry.

Since one of the two main characters, Buschi, chooses not to speak, “we extended our search for him all over Europe,” Stuber recalls. “I went to all these theater groups because I always thought we needed someone with a professional theater background. It was very time-consuming. We made casting calls and narrowed it down, and in the end, there was Aladdin, who left no questions to be asked. I thought to myself: That’s him! He is part of a pretty famous theater group in Bremen, the Blaumeier-Atelier.”

Meanwhile, Tsuda is a well-known Japanese actor based in Tokyo. “He doesn’t speak German. He speaks a little English. So again, that made things difficult,” Stuber tells THR. “I always needed translation help, but I thought, ‘Okay, this process of filmmaking is the film itself. Because it’s all about communication. It’s all about meeting, communicating, and mimicking. So, while it was very exhausting, that’s exactly what the film is about. They are not able to communicate, and they soon discover they need to establish a whole different way of communicating, which Buschi, of course, knows from the beginning.”

Concludes the director: “Everybody else around Buschi is slow. If you look closely, you understand that the one guy who has it figured out, who kind of magically just hovers through life knowing that he will find his way, is Buschi. And everybody around him has worries, misunderstandings, and communication issues. He just moves around, touching everybody he encounters. I find that very, very strong and unique about that character.”

The Frog and the Water may sound like the title of a Japanese fable or so, but it’s the title the project had from the beginning, and Stuber loved it. “It’s not a haiku, but I feel it resembles one,” he shares. “It sounds like a haiku to me.”

What’s next for him? “I have finished a TV feature. I have this criminal series going on in Germany, Polizeiruf 110and I have this trilogy in Halle with Peter Kurth as the detective. So, I have finished the third film premiering on TV on Dec. 1. I am also slowly looking out what could be my next project. I found something. It’s just a chapter in one book, and I have to talk to the author about it. In that little chapter, I see a whole film.”

To wrap up, Stuber shares his hopes for The Frog and the Water. “I hope this film makes it way, finds its audiences around the world, because it’s a small story and a small film, but I think it’s very emotional and very light-hearted,” he says. “Maybe that’s something that is not wrong nowadays. There are all those very dark dramas, which I love, but somebody telling a positive story that shows how things can be right is not wrong.”

Concludes Stuber: “Buschi is someone from whom we can all learn a lot. We can learn from him how to put our fate in our own hands with no violence, no antagonism, no war. He just finds his way to somewhere where he’s wanted and feels at home.”