When you see the friendly, kind bear Paddington, you usually don’t think of the choleric scandal actor Klaus Kinski. But next year these distant worlds will come together…
Although he is extremely clumsy, he is courteous, polite and good-natured – and he has been warming the hearts of his audience since 1958. But for ten years now, children’s book protagonist Paddington Bear has also been a big screen hero: Paul King’s hit comedy “Paddington” from 2015 2014 and the sequel “Paddington 2” released in 2017 received a euphoric response from the film press and paying audiences. So euphoric that people in the Nicolas Cage meta-comedy “Massive Talent” took time to talk about how incredibly good “Paddington 2” is.
The celebrated film series will continue at the beginning of 2025 – and there should be no question that “Paddington in Peru“is one of the most anticipated films of the year thanks to the popularity of the first two parts. Now the anticipation for family fun has increased further because, as director Dougal Wilson revealed, he was inspired to make “Paddington in Peru” by two of the strongest adventure films of all time.
“Paddington in Peru”: A cuddly bear on the trail of a choleric
The “Paddington” film series has always united the lovable original of Michael Bond with a variety of artistic influences – and among them there are also films that you would hardly expect to be used as reference material for a family comedy. The first “Paddington” part contains cross-references to the New Hollywood milestone “Easy Rider”, while “Paddington 2” contains numerous gangster film references, including Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables”.
Seen in this light, it is only logical that Dougal Wilson, in his feature film directorial debut, continues where his predecessor Paul King left off. Nevertheless, at first glance it admittedly seems strange when the maker of a family film talks about basing himself on two adventure film masterpieces that are not particularly suitable for children and have a scandalous leading actor. But that’s exactly what happened.
Because compared to the British film magazine Empire Wilson has revealed that he looks at it visually Werner Herzog Milestones “Fitzcarraldo” and “Aguirre, the wrath of God“ with choleric Klaus Kinski oriented. “We visit similar areas,” says Wilson, explaining his decision to capture “the incredible diversity of landscapes and crazy geology” of Peru that previously inspired Herzog. We recently explained to you in a streaming tip why Herzog’s view of the Andes is so exciting:
Stream this evening: A brutal, visually stunning historical adventure that gets under your skin!
Wilson enthuses opposite Empire also that “the people [in Peru] “They are incredibly friendly,” which is why filming there gave him great pleasure. He was also impressed by the fact that although he encountered individual modern elements during filming, the Peruvian people still have a connection to their culture: “Of course there are mopeds and cell phones and all that – but in the rural Andes they still seem traditional Wearing clothes,” Wilson said.
“So I tried to show some of Peruvian culture; a Peruvian legend runs through history,” Wilson teases about his filmwhose story Paul King was involved in. The screenplay was written by Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont. In addition to Hugh Bonneville, Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin, all of whom starred in the previous films, the cast also includes newcomers Emily Mortimer, Antonio Banderas and Oscar winner Olivia Colman.
In “Paddington in Peru” she plays a singing nun, which is why loud Empire Allusions to the musical classic “My Songs – My Dreams” and the visually stunning suspense drama “The Black Narcissus” can also be expected. The latter is also the subject of a new, highly watchable film with legendary director Martin Scorsese:
Home cinema highlight: Martin Scorsese’s new film is a real must for every film fan
