HAPPY 80TH, DON HUMBERTO
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
I couldn’t sleep last night.
I was thinking and thinking.
Alright…
How do people see me?
How do they see me?
As a man who started from nothing
and today is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry
and feeds almost 10,000 families.
What do I care about that?
I’ll tell you how they see me.
As a millionaire,
with an obscene fortune,
but with no prestige.
Well, through your foundation you’ve helped to set up projects…
Everyone knows what foundations are for.
That building is practically unused.
I’ve turned 80.
I want to be remembered differently.
I don’t know,
to do something that lasts.
A bridge, for example,
designed by a famous architect.
A bridge with my name on it.
To finance it, then donate it to the State.
The Humberto Suárez Bridge.
Or if not, a movie.
A movie?
You want to direct a movie?
No, you idiot, how can I direct a movie?
To finance a movie.
To be the maker.
So that people know I’m behind it.
But not any movie.
A great movie,
with a great director, famous actors,
with the best.
A movie.
Yes, it’s the best option.
A movie.
Sorry, excuse me.
What would it be about?
How should I know?
Lola Cuevas, the director.
She’s the most prestigious now.
She snaps up all the awards.
Highly prized by the critics.
She never grants interviews.
She’s kind of strange.
Her films: The Inverted Rain, from 1996.
Her first work, acclaimed around the world.
The Void, 2001. Very weird, not as celebrated as the previous one.
Haze, 2015. Considered her masterpiece.
She’s been waiting a few minutes.
Remind me a bit about this project.
It’s all fine, we have the book rights.
- It was a tough negotiation, but… - Sure, I found out what we paid.
You asked me to prioritize it.
One thing is prioritizing, another is getting fucked.
But anyway, we’ve got it now.
- Lola…? - Cuevas.
Iván Torres and Félix Rivero. They’re the perfect actors for this.
They’re being sounded out now, and it’s all go,
despite loads of difficulties, which was expected.
They belong to different worlds.
Iván is the master actor, very prestigious,
and Félix is…
a worldwide star.
I’m interested in that tension, I think it’ll help us a lot.
And they’ve never worked together.
I don’t know…
I want the best.
Are they the best?
Better, worse…
wouldn’t use those terms to define an artist,
but I get your question
and the answer is yes, they’re absolutely the best for this.
Excellent.
- You really don’t want any? - No, you go ahead.
Well, getting the book wasn’t easy.
But that’s it.
We have it, it’s mine now.
You know I’ll do a very loose version of the novel, don’t you?
It was the first thing I said when they called me.
But there will be something of the book left?
It cost me a fortune.
Tell me,
what did you think?
It’s meant to be good, isn’t it?
It’s a Nobel Prize winner.
I’d love you to tell me what it’s about.
I haven’t read it yet.
I’m not much of a reader, actually.
How do I tell you?
Rivalry is…
Alright then…
It’s the story of two brothers:
Manuel is dull, introverted,
and his brother Pedro, his older brother,
is very sure of himself, and rich.
1970: a country town.
Manuel is driving his parents down a road.
It’s night and he’s drunk.
He loses control and the car rolls over and over.
I hate drunks.
The parents die in the crash. Manuel is unhurt.
Pedro, the other brother, reports him to the police.
Well done.
Then Manuel is sentenced to several years in prison.
Meanwhile, Pedro goes on with his life
and has a relationship with Lucy, a whore at the town brothel.
Everyone is suspicious of Pedro’s luxuries.
He has a foundry,
but nobody believes that the money comes from there.
Years go by and Manuel gets out of prison.
Pedro knows his brother is free but they never meet.
Until one day Manuel goes to the brothel and sleeps with Lucy.
His brother finds out, proposes to Lucy and offers her a life of luxury.
Lucy says yes.
Manuel sinks into a terrible depression.
Then he finds out that Lucy is pregnant.
He begins to wonder if the child is his.
The baby is born.
But is it his or not?
Wait, I’ll go on.
One day Manuel steels himself and goes to Pedro’s house.
He knocks on the door.
Pedro opens up.
Manuel sees Lucy with the baby
in a scene of devastating ordinariness.
Manuel asks, almost begs to talk to his brother.
The brothers walk around the estate at night, in darkness.
Manuel apologizes to Pedro.
Pedro relents.
The brothers embrace and cry like children.
Because men do cry.
I love it. It ends well.
I like the ending. The brothers have reconciled.
Wait, it doesn’t end there.
There’s still the ending.
OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Take care of it!
Maestro, we meet at last.
It’ll be a real honor to work with you.
Thank you.
Let’s go.
Well…
First rehearsal, eh?
Good luck, pal.
You’ll need it.
Sure.
So will you. Don’t get too confident.
Coats.
Thank you.
Go ahead.
Look, there she is.
Lola, good afternoon.
I really rushed to finish it, but it’s turned out very well.
A lot of work, loads.
It ended up a bit bulky.
With all my notes.
I can’t stop.
How about we do a short exercise?
Okay.
How do you see your character, Iván?
I’ve thought a lot about Pedro all these months.
I think Pedro’s…
driving force has been to outdo his younger brother
in front of their parents.
So let’s say that Pedro has done everything right,
he’s always been steadfast, secure, even with women.
A football fan,
a touch of the macho, aggression, nationalism…
He channels the primitive side,
joining other primates on the bleachers of the stadium.
He gets up early.
He’s a simple, optimistic man.
And I think that he never wanted children,
although he ended up with one at this late stage.
I love the idea of two brothers forming a single entity,
but split into two bodies.
Look.
They try to lead their lives on different paths,
but an unexpected event puts them in opposition.
Yes, yes.
The fate of one is irrevocably linked to that of the other.
In fact, what happens to one,
- happens to the other, right? - Exactly.
Félix, how do you see your character?
Manuel, my character, doesn’t exist.
Pedro, his character, doesn’t either.
- Oh, no? - No.
They’re black ink on white paper.
I don’t need to know my character’s past, because he doesn’t have one.
I’ll study the words and say them with conviction and authority.
That’ll be enough, the people will see Manuel.
When you go to the doctor,
you don’t need him to tell you his life story to believe him.
If he has a white coat, a diploma on the wall and a stethoscope,
- to the audience he’s a doctor. - That underestimates the audience.
Well…
And it underestimates the actor, it underestimates our work.
- No, I don’t think so. - Yes.
Anyway, I haven’t argued about these things for 30 or 40 years.
You can never be so sure of what the audience perceives
about you or the character.
There’s an exercise I do with my students.
I tell them that when they’re alone
to call themselves out loud.
For that very reason, to see and feel themselves from outside.
I know it sounds silly…
- Sounds good. - …but it’s quite distressing.
Iván!
Oh, jeez…
Poor kids, poor kids.
I want to return to what you said about the character,
that he doesn’t want children.
I think it’s a major detail.
So do I, it is.
- Do you have children? - Yes.
Five.
- Five? All with the same one? - Yes.
All with this guy.
Sorry, you gave it to me on a platter.
Yes, five with four different women, yes.
Do you have any Iván?
Sorry?
- Do you have any children? - Yes, yes.
One from my first marriage.
He’s grown up now, over 40.
With Violeta, we’ve been together for 28 years,
we tried at the time,
but now it’s a little late.
- I would have liked to. - Okay.
- Do you have…? - No. Nor do I want to.
I think an artist without children has a huge advantage.
You can create freely, without fear.
With children, there’s panic.
People become conservative, have no ideas. It’s normal.
With children to take care of,
with the constant worry that something bad could happen to them…
it doesn’t leave much room to create anything risky, but anyway…
Can you face me so that I can see you better when we read?
Well, Félix, we may have different work methods,
but we do agree on the mediocrity of having children.
- Shall we read? - Yes, of course.
Let’s go.
“Scene 1: interior, night, Pedro’s house.
“Pedro is told about the crash.
“The phone rings. It’s 11:30 at night. Pedro looks at the time and answers.”
“Hello.”
“A man’s voice on the other end.
“Pedro knows it’s a policeman. He answers.”
“Good evening. Who is it?”
Again, please.
What?
“Good evening”. Again.
- “Good evening.” - Once more.
“Good evening.”
Once more.
- “Good evening.” - Again.
“Good evening.”
Once more.
“Good evening.” Do we carry on?
No, because it’s not right.
You know that “good evening” can mean many things, don’t you?
An invitation, an apology, an attack, a thousand things.
Here, this “good evening” must say:
“What the hell’s happened for the police to call me
“at 11 o’clock at home?”
All that?
All that.
You can do it perfectly well. Let’s go.
“Good evening.”
That’s it.
“Scene 2: exterior, night, road.
“Pedro reaches the scene of the crash.
“An overturned car, an ambulance, and his parents’ bodies on the asphalt.
“Beside them is Manuel, kneeling, crying desperately, a cop beside him.”
Pedro.
Excuse me, Lola.
A small observation on this text.
Here the script says:
“What happened? What have you done, you fucking drunk?”
I think Pedro should first just ask
“What happened?”, without the insult.
I think it’s better if he’s more restrained at first,
trying to understand the situation.
Later, yes…
as he gradually gets angrier,
he explodes at his brother,
but not…
What do you think?
No, it’s better to say it as it’s written.
Let’s go from where Pedro arrives at the scene of the crash.
Iván.
“What happened? What have you done, you fucking drunk?”
“Sorry, sorry.
“Something ran in front of me, a dog or whatever…”
- Stop. Let’s stop for a moment. - Yes.
- One crucial thing that you know… - Yes.
A drunk tries not to look drunk, isn’t that right?
Even more if he’s caused an accident.
Then let’s…
How…?
Imagine your level of drunkenness
from 1 to 10, 10 being really drunk. Try to give me a 3.
Very well.
A 3.
Sorry, sorry.
Something ran in front of me, a dog or whatever…
A 5.
Sorry, sorry.
Something ran in front of me, a dog or whatever…
A bit more, a 6.5.
Sorry, sorry.
Something ran in front of me, a dog or whatever…
That’s it, Félix, right there.
I felt it too.
Yes.
Did you see?
Back into the brain, no one can survive that.
- Nobody? - Nobody.
I believe you.
Alright, another one.
Some guy comes along and hits you square in the face.
Alright.
Because you stole his girlfriend or he just doesn’t like you.
- For whatever reason. - Okay.
- Go.
- Slowly first, right? - Yes, in slow motion.
- Go. - That’s it.
Okay, now we use the inertia of his body,
to pull him forward.
It’s very simple, but it works.
- It works. - Yes.
- Let’s go. - Good.
Go on. We’ll do it a bit faster, okay?
- Did you see? - Can I try?
- Go ahead. - I’m going to try.
Let’s see if I can do it.
Come on!
Ready?
At most,
at most, one of you,
only one,
will finish this hard road
and get to be a professional actor.
One at most.
So, if there’s anyone here
who’s not absolutely sure that they’re this chosen one,
I ask you, please, to leave the room and not come back.
The world needs engineers, dentists, lawyers,
people who turn the wheel, laborers who work,
but one thing it doesn’t need is more actors.
Does no one have any doubts?
No.
Yes.
Maybe.
This guy is in every fucking movie in this country. No.
Maybe.
No.
Yes.
No.
No way.
No.
What a bland face. No.
This cross eyed one, maybe.
No.
Yes.
- Hey, he was a student of mine. - Really?
- Yes. Not much talent, poor guy. - Then no.
No, no, please, let him!
You don’t have to be a genius to sit without saying a word.
Take him, please.
- We’ll include him for you. - Thanks.
They are actors, aren’t they? I don’t want any surprises.
Yes, they’re all actors.
Poor guys.
- I’d keep… - Excuse me.
Apologies for Félix’s delay.
He had to see the doctor, but he’ll be here in a minute.
I warn you, he’s not in a good mood.
I don’t give a crap. And who is this?
Félix’s errand boy.
Come, come.
I’ll introduce you. Darío, Félix’s personal assistant, Iván.
Iván, a pleasure to meet you.
I’m a big fan, I really admire you.
Thank you very much.
Rook!
Cartagena!
I’m ready.
He’s ready.
The issue is what I do with all these projectiles on me.
You won’t be doing this before every take, will you?
Hey, it’s my method, it works for me.
- It disturbs me. Do it further away. - Sure, sure.
- And I assure you, it does no good. - No, it does for me. Oh, yeah.
Shall we begin?
Remember, we’re in the prison, in the visiting area,
with reinforced glass between the two of you.
- You talk on the phone. - Okay.
- Ready? - Yes.
Okay, let’s go.
Action.
Mum and Dad would hate you if they were alive.
Don’t even say their names! You should’ve died in the crash.
Okay, stop. Let’s go back.
Here, Pedro bangs the glass hard.
He’s very upset, he starts to cry.
Do it, please.
What?
Your actions.
Do your actions. Cry, I want to see it.
There’s no need, I’ll do it in the take.
I can’t cry gratuitously, just like that.
I’ve never been asked to.
I have to be in the situation. I have to be focused.
But don’t worry, my emotion is on point.
No, I’m not worried, but I want to see it.
Otherwise, I can’t direct you.
I don’t need to do it in a reading, frankly.
The script says that Pedro cries, right?
Sure.
- Well, how do we do it? - That’s…
- Don’t try to do it well. - Okay.
Find the truth.
What are you doing?
Crying.
Weeping.
Tears.
Menthol. I always use it.
Or do you need to remember your dead grandma to cry?
I don’t know, eh?
- You’re not using that in my film. - It works!
Let’s go again. I’ll watch from here.
Let’s go from “Mum and Dad”.
Action.
Mum and Dad would hate you if they were alive.
Don’t even say their names! You should’ve died in the crash.
Let it out, Iván!
Hold on…
Give me a break, man!
- Why are you doing this? Why? - Nothing happened.
Don’t be an asshole! Look, blood. I’m bleeding!
Are you all right Félix?
Lola, Iván can’t do this.
This is my work tool, eh?
This time I’ll let it go, but next time…
I swear I’ll smash that fools face in, eh?
When you get a film actor,
don’t get one who needs this whole circus.
Plus, he has an Argentinian accent. 20 years in Spain and he still has the accent.
He has no accent.
As if there weren’t Spanish actors who could play my brother.
There must be a hundred.
Come on, you still have time.
Paco Carrasco. A wonderful actor, wonderful.
- Let’s see… - Yeah.
Or Emilio Aravena..
Emilio’s very good too, eh?
He’s very good.
- What are you doing? - Nothing.
Don’t get side-tracked.
I may have to call my lawyer.
Come on, rehearse!
He’s all better.
- By contract you can’t touch his face. - What?
I thought you knew.
Why would I know that crap?
Is that true? It’s extraordinary.
It’s pretty wild.
Come on, let’s act.
Let’s go.
The link between these two brothers is broken now,
it has shattered.
But something is still alive, okay?
Let’s work on that, that impotence.
But restrained, Iván.
Let’s go for it.
Action.
You’re despicable.
I’m your brother.
I’m all you have.
How can you live knowing that you sent your only brother to prison?
Leave that to me and my conscience.
You’ve only got two years left.
For causing a massacre.
It’s nothing.
Mum and Dad would hate you if they were alive.
Don’t even say their names!
You should’ve died in the crash.
You.
Very good, Iván.
- Thank you. - Very good.
You don’t have to smash a chair to show anger.
Sorry about that.
We’re not acting for row 48 in a theater.
- You’re right. A thousand pardons. - Okay.
- I don’t know… - It’s fine, it’s fine.
- The tension… Forgive me. - Forget it. It’s over.
Anyway, in the end it turned out great.
I’ll tell you something. I’m sure we’ll make a great movie.
I hope so.
I can see us getting an Oscar in the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
Your speech in English. You do speak English, right?
- No, not at all. - No?
I’d never subject myself to that circus.
I don’t want to be the Latino who puts a bit of color
into that entertainment industry for numbskulls.
You go, you like it, that’s why you work…
I won’t say no. Yeah, yeah, I’ll go.
- See? - Yeah, sure.
Hey, this wardrobe is great.
Check out the lesbian-looking eyesore outside.
I bet you 100 euros she’s one of Lola’s girlfriends.
Done.
Félix, this is Violeta, my wife.
Nice to meet you.
- Charmed. - Nice to meet you.
Félix, I’d like to give you my latest book.
She writes children’s stories.
I’m sure you’ve heard her name. Violeta Valderrobles.
She’s famous in the circle of children’s writers.
It’s the story of a special child, an immigrant
who lives on the street and turns junk objects
into imaginary treasures that teach him something.
Don’t tell him the whole book.
It’s a metaphor.
It’s a call to all of us,
men, women, the genderless,
to live in a state of permanent poetry,
against this ever more hostile, sick
and unjust world we live in.
I love it. Thanks a lot.
How do you know you love it if you haven’t read it yet?
From what she told me.
- It looks great. - Thank you.
And it only cost you 100 euros.
Why?
Shall we go?
Did you know that the pink dolphin is in serious danger of extinction?
This marvelous animal has been devastated by the deeds of man
and it needs our help.
The pink dolphin has no voice.
Today I am its voice
and I say: it needs your help.
- How pathetic. Please… - I need one euro.
With your contribution we can…
Lola, excuse me, the crane is ready on the terrace.
Félix will be late. In case you want to entertain Iván.
Coming.
You must see this Félix thing.
It’s dreadful.
Did you know that the pink dolphin is in serious danger of extinction?
This marvelous animal has been devastated by the deeds of man
and it needs our help.
I’ll speak in Spanish.
I must say that when I was nominated for this award,
my first impression was distaste.
I wasn’t going to come, frankly, but then…
my family and friends made me realize that
it was important to be here to say what I think.
That’s why I’m here before you, to lay out my position.
I don’t believe in art as spectacle
and much less in what they call success.
Making art compete as if it were a sports event,
I think is atrocious.
Why then have I come?
I’ve come…
to formally declare my rejection of this award.
Thank you very much.
And good night.
Hello.
What’s this?
This is about including an external element
that increases the tension, increases the fear.
It also symbolizes the pressure these two wretches live under,
the weight of the law.
I don’t need that.
It’s not a need Iván,
it’s an exercise.
Come on, it’s only 5 tons.
Is this safe?
Are we ready?
Remember, you’re talking to a judge.
That image will haunt me my whole life.
Memories of horror.
Mum and Dad stretched out.
In shock, deep shock.
…amid glass and blood…
Now you hate him!
…and Manuel kneeling on the asphalt, drunk…
Sentence!
I didn’t see my brother, I saw my parents’ killer.
- Less Iván. Relax! - Sure, “relax”, Lola, but with this…
Don’t cut!
Let’s go again.
From “I didn’t see my brother”.
Action.
I didn’t see my brother, I saw my parents’ killer.
Less.
I didn’t see my brother, I saw my parents’ killer.
- Less. - But…
If I do any less, I’ll be doing nothing, Lola.
That’s the idea.
- Alright, Félix… - Yeah, yeah.
- Use it, use it. - Yeah, yeah.
- You’re terrified of the judge. - Yes, the judge.
Let’s go.
I bear the harshest sentence,
the guilt…
- From here, from the heart. - Yeah, yeah.
Say it from here.
I would rather have died
and they lived.
- Fake, I don’t believe it. - No.
Truth, I want the truth.
Something…
ran in front of me, I think it was an animal or…
Resigned.
An accident.
An accident I couldn’t prevent.
Again. Resigned and disillusioned.
Disillusioned. Right.
An accident I couldn’t prevent.
Resigned, disillusioned and distressed.
An accident I couldn’t prevent.
- That’s it. - Yes, I…
That’s the way, guys.
I promise to shut up.
It’s all yours.
Action.
We’ve done three rehearsals. Six to go.
I never understood that. Nine seemed like very few.
Sorry, it’s the best I can do with my schedule.
Sure, but…
You always have to rehearse according to what the work requires.
Sometimes rehearsing too much can overcook the thing.
Too much, no, what’s necessary.
Don’t worry about it.
We’re rehearsing for nine days because that’s enough.
Lola, sorry, you’ve finished with the rock, haven’t you?
- But… - Guys, you’re so gullible.
It’s cardboard.
- Ready? - Got it.
- Straight to Instagram, eh? - Yeah, yeah.
Let’s go.
Go, go.
What a wanker.
I’m sorry.
It all got terribly complicated.
The third time.
Lola, Diana is coming, but she’s with Mr Suárez.
You don’t say.
And to what do we owe the visit from our producer?
He’s bringing his daughter Diana. I told you she’s playing the role of Lucy.
That was true? I thought it was a joke.
He asked me, I did loads of tests and the girl’s great,
very special.
Diana, your character doesn’t have any particular interest.
She’s in her place, she goes with the flow.
They’re the ones with the conflict. Alright?
Okay.
I’d like to see the stamp of Pedro and Manuel’s personalities
through the kiss,
how they kiss Lucy,
their individual approach.
- Do you want to start? - Right away.
Right, let’s go.
Put the headphones on.
The sound is key here.
Hello.
Listen…
Sorry if I have an erection.
And sorry if I don’t, it’s nothing personal.
- Okay. Ready? - Yeah, yeah.
Action.
Okay, okay, okay.
Thank you, Félix.
Iván, shall we go with you?
Good luck, champ.
Okay, let’s go.
Forgive me.
Okay, okay, okay.
The poor guy’s been married for 28 years to the same woman,
you can tell that.
Don’t you laugh, you don’t convey much either.
I have 13 international awards, eh? I must convey something.
Just saying.
Oh, sure, the awards. Yes, that’s so important.
Guys, I’ll show you something, with Diana’s permission.
Do you mind?
Look.
I forgot something at work.
I have to go.
It’s all fantastic.
My girl…
Excellent.
Tell me about it later.
So the idea is to fly on Tuesday the 21st.
In the morning, early.
Excuse me.
Lola, yes?
Yes.
Fine, I’ll put it on speaker.
It’s Lola.
Hi, guys, how are you?
I wanted to ask you a favour.
Maybe the next day you could bring some of your awards.
Hi, Lola, it’s Félix.
Do you mean the trophies, the statues?
Yes, some of the 35 you said. Whatever’s easy.
We’ll be doing an exercise with them, okay?
- Okay. - Great. See you later.
See you later. Great.
Good, let’s resume.
I was saying that we’d leave early on the 21st
and we’d be just over a week
until the final scenes and some exteriors.
- Exactly seven working days. - Yes, as long as it doesn’t rain.
One thing. When I travel, I always get
the cheapest ticket, never first class.
Take that into account, please. It’s important.
Why?
It’s an ethical question.
Ethical?
I hate being forced to have privileges.
Besides, when I get on the plane and pass through first class,
I check out the turd and shitbird faces up front.
Iván, I like you more every day.
- I have to go. I have classes. - Fine.
Sorry I’d like to comment briefly on Félix’s food.
Let’s see…
It has to be macrobiotic, ecological,
gluten-free, all made in Spain.
Félix.
Félix!
Cool, I like it.
Yeah, yeah.
I’m starting to worry because this isn’t it.
This isn’t it.
Where are the sofa fabrics I approved the other day?
Here.
Look, this is it.
This one, this one.
Not this one.
See the difference?
- Yes, I think so. - You see?
The curtains are from the house of a simple, small-town guy.
Yes, he has money, but we have to imagine
what he thinks is refined, a rough, unrefined guy.
What does he think is refined? Not the art director. Got it?
I’ve got it. It’s about this man’s aspiration.
- Exactly. - Lola.
Iván should’ve come half an hour ago. I’ve called him three times.
- Call from my phone. - Yes.
Well, Susana, that’s it.
Check the notes, that’s why I spent seven hours looking at fabrics.
- Hello? - Iván, hello.
- Lola? - No, it’s Julia.
I’m calling from Lola’s mobile, my battery’s run out.
Sure.
Iván, you do remember that we start at 2 o’clock?
Yes, it’s in my diary,
but since I was made to wait in the last rehearsal
and the one before,
etcetera, etcetera,
today I’ll make them wait two hours to make up for it.
And I’m charging for it.
I’ll see you at 4 pm.
I’ll be on time.
Sorry.
It’s…
a series about an astronaut.
On the way back in a spaceship,
he lands on an island inhabited by savages
who’ve never had any contact with civilization.
I play the astronaut.
How awful.
It’s so bad, it could be great, eh?
- Mark my words. - Yes, great.
This is nice.
What a waste. Nobody’s ever used it.
For a pharmaceutical congress, at the very most.
These are just some of them.
From right to left, the San Sebastián Silver Shell,
two Golden Globes,
the Volpi Cup from the Venice festival,
and two of my five Goyas.
The other three are in my home in Saint-Tropez.
The rest are in the Los Angeles house.
- A lot. - Why did you make us bring them?
We’re going to do a little thing with them.
Yours, Iván?
I don’t have nearly as many.
Obviously, I must be a much worse actor.
The Medal for Excellence in the Performing Arts,
a Max Award…
And this is the most important of all.
I was given it at a school for disabled children.
I went to teach the kids there.
They made it themselves.
A beautiful experience.
- Shall we start? - Yes, let’s start.
Trust, trust, guys.
I want you to lose all autonomy, all of it.
One is anchored to the other, and vice versa.
There are two of them.
Two, but subordinate to a single path.
They are two, but with one “I”.
With a deformed “I”, it’s deformed.
It’s one of the things I like most about the novel, if not the most.
The body as an enclosure,
a prison and a sentence,
where the skin is merely a casing, a vessel.
One.
One only.
Curtain!
No! No!
Fucking bitch!
No, Lola!
Not that, no!
No!
No, not that, please!
Fucking bitch!
Not that!
No!
No, no!
No!
Lola, no!
My Silver Lion for Best Director
and my Palme d’Or for Best Picture.
Fuck it.
Well, it seems the awards we’re good for something.
Gentlemen,
an exercise on the ego.
What is she doing, the bitch?!
Guys, 15 minutes break and we go to 63.
Take it easy, Félix!
Give me one reason, one, to justify what you did!
Why the fucking hell did you do that?
- To transform. - Do you know what it means to us?
To transform, that’s the reason. It transforms.
Transform… I’ll turn your face into a Picasso!
Take it easy, Félix.
- That was nuts. We’ll talk about this. - Whenever you like, Iván.
She’s crazy.
I’m sending a stack of lawyers!
I’m so scared. Give them my address.
- 4310 Segurola and La Habana, 7th floor. - They’ll be there!
Félix’s lawyers demand that the destroyed awards are replaced
and their client reimbursed for non-material damages.
Fuck, “non-material damages”…
Let’s see?
Duplicates of the six you destroyed comes to 83,000 euros.
I don’t care, they can work it out with the producer, not me.
The catering people are here. You asked to try the food--
- No, don’t depress me with that today. - Fine.
The day I got out, I wanted to go back to jail.
No, no.
- What? - No.
Don’t look at him.
Don’t look at him,
and when you do, at the end,
I want you to bore into him with your look, to see his soul.
Again.
Action.
The day I…
No.
No, no, no.
But…
Look, Lola, I’ve made over a hundred films,
and you’re going to tell me how to do my fucking job?
Don’t fuck with me.
Let me do the scene once,
and if you don’t like it, you come and do it, eh, cutie?
Sorry.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, Lola. You too, Iván, I’m sorry.
Sorry.
Félix, I’m sorry, but I have to believe it.
No, no, it’s just…
I’m upset about a personal matter.
It’s my problem
and I took it out on you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
Did you fight with your new call girl?
Okay, it’s fine, we all have bad days.
Yes.
- From the top. - Lola, Lola, wait. Iván…
I have something to tell you.
It’s very hard to say,
but I think you both should know.
It turns out…
I don’t want to shake you up.
If there’s anything I don’t want, it’s to be pitied.
First of all, I’m fine,
as well as one can be under the circumstances.
Anyway…
I’d better get to the point, come straight out with it.
Earlier this month
I had a medical check-up and…
the results weren’t good.
Not good at all.
Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.
Cancer.
And…
the prognosis isn’t encouraging.
I have to have more tests,
but if they confirm what seems to be…
a fact,
I have at most a year left.
But…
Is there no treatment?
Yes, but it’s very invasive and…
I decided not to do anything.
I’m just on palliatives.
I haven’t canceled any project.
I’m carrying on with my normal life while I can.
I want…
I want death to catch me living my life.
Lola, Iván, I want my last film to be a great film.
And I’m going to do my utmost,
absolutely.
Maybe I can even channel this painful experience
to nourish my character.
Count on my help for whatever you want.
Thank you.
We’re going to make a fucking great film.
Forgive my mood swings and these outbursts, but…
this medication has got me…
kind of crazy.
Everything disturbs me and…
Julia.
Can you hear me?
What I’m going to tell you is between us, okay?
Félix is sick. He has cancer.
Yes, awful. He told us today.
He hasn’t long to live.
So we have to shoot sooner.
Yes, two weeks.
Yes, yes, sure we can.
We have to start on the 21st.
I don’t know, nor do I care.
PANCREATIC CANCER: WHY IS IT THE DEADLIEST?
DENTAL BLEACHING
Losing one of your actors as soon as you start shooting.
What a disaster.
How was I to know he was going through all this?
He looks fine, always full of energy.
It’s horrible, yes.
It’s really tough.
And it’s a nasty cancer.
And I’m demanding so much from you, so much…
Have I treated you so badly?
You didn’t know.
It doesn’t matter, I’m a goddamn monster.
It’s because I suffer, I suffer a lot with my films.
I tried to do it differently, but I can’t. I don’t know.
Lola, sorry.
Félix’s mobile is off. He’s half an hour late.
Don’t call him again, my God.
Poor guy must be with the doctors.
What the fuck do we do now?
Lola, I want to tell you something because…
I keep thinking about it too.
If it gets worse…
We hope not, of course, we hope not.
But if Félix can’t go on,
I could play both roles.
Two brothers, one with a beard,
the other without a beard…
Or they could be twins.
Why not?
Whatever.
It’s an idea, that’s all.
Oh, this stress.
My whole body hurts.
Squeeze a bit there, please, my neck.
- Harder. - Yes, hold on.
Harder.
Life is so hard sometimes.
Félix, how are you, honey?
It’s all fine, fine.
Did you rest up?
Yes, I had a tiny domestic problem.
I was arguing with my ex-wife all morning
because the bitch wants to stay in my house in Saint-Tropez.
Do you know Saint-Tropez?
Beautiful beaches.
Great nightlife too.
But she knows about your disease, right?
What disease?
Oh, no, no… the cancer thing?
No, she doesn’t because…
it’s a lie.
It’s a lie.
How can I be sick? Just look at me.
I did it as…
a performance for you two,
a little acting demonstration.
So intense.
You do realize, right?
You don’t play with that. You son of a bitch.
A son of a bitch…
but a great actor too, clearly,
because you bought it, hook, line and sinker.
You destroyed something very fragile, Félix.
You destroyed it.
And you destroyed those awards.
- Don’t speak. - Huh?
Don’t say anything.
Lola, what happened?
I can have a ton of things going around my mind,
and it works perfectly, despite the chaos.
Now this absurd, childish thing between you two comes up,
and it’s like a rock to the head,
I go into a kind of blackout.
Fuck, you’re getting to know me
and you know that I’m very, very sensitive.
Is it a gift? Yes.
Do I have a hard time? Yes, I do!
Is this about whose dick is bigger, who is more macho?
No, Lola, it’s not.
In my case, I can assure you that it’s not like that.
Look, however…
out of place, stupid, even unpleasant
what Félix did may be,
I mean… well…
There’s competition,
there always is.
But in this case the situation,
and I want to make this clear,
it’s objective,
it’s reality,
it can’t be concealed.
It’s easy to see which one of us has the most talent.
Come here.
Come over here. It’s good for you to hear too.
I’m saying that one can tell very clearly
who is the better actor
between Félix and me.
And it’s Félix.
Félix is a better actor than I am.
You know how to reach…
the audience, the people, the real people.
On the other hand, I chose…
to believe I was prestigious.
I fooled myself, I told myself that the audience wasn’t at the level
of what I was doing.
Horrible.
A whole career based
on a false doctrine,
comfortable and fake, which is even worse.
And I ended up realizing, working here with you,
and it’s what I owe you,
that true artistic daring lives in moving
the common people, the common audience.
And that’s tremendously hard, extremely hard.
Félix does it,
hats off, like no one else.
Like the best.
You’re the master.
I have to tell you that.
Iván, I don’t…
I’m very grateful for your words, really.
For someone with your career to speak like that…
You’re the master of acting,
and for me what you said
is better than any award.
Lola, I’ll always be grateful to you
that you had the idea to put us together.
I must say that I also had a lot of prejudices against you.
The great master, the one who knows the most…
But I’ve seen that you’re all that and more.
An actor in capital letters.
And I’m sure that this film
will see you recognized by the general public.
Yes, sir.
I was returning the courtesy, Félix.
I was acting.
You believed it, eh? I got you.
The general public
is a mass of ignorant, passive people with no ideas,
and actors like you
leave the audience even more stultified.
And you always give them the same thing.
Pure banal entertainment,
which doesn’t even entertain me, incidentally.
That’s what I really think.
Sorry, Lola, sorry.
Forgive me.
One-all. We’re tied.
That’s true.
No one likes how I act.
Except the audience.
No less.
- Julia, when’s the next rehearsal? - Thursday.
Thursday.
Good, because I can’t handle you two anymore.
No rehearsal today.
Until Thursday.
Amazing.
I totally believed it.
You as an audience believed it,
but I believed it first, do you understand?
Sure.
I have to believe it so that you do.
I never tire of telling my students:
It’s not about repeating the text, but thinking like the character.
If you think like the character,
if you’ve captured the mind of the character,
the rest comes by itself.
It’s as simple
and as complex as that.
Excuse me.
YOU’RE FIRED, YOU IDIOT
Is something wrong?
Excuse me.
Félix, Iván,
Lola just told me she’s not coming.
I’ll read the message.
“Tell them this is today’s rehearsal, the experience of coming in vain.
“This question mark, the void of the unforeseen,
“will make them think about themselves.
“I’ll see them on Tuesday.”
Sorry.
Holy shit, man.
Holy shit.
Let’s not give this nutcase the satisfaction of a comment.
What a bitch.
Goddamn bitch.
Fucking bitch!
- Wonderful. - Yes, it’s great, great.
Listen to that texture, the dirt in the background.
Can you hear it?
Like a latent…
Yes. Very dense.
And now..
Now it goes to the limit.
Where is he from?
He’s Canadian, but he lives in Düsseldorf.
He’s a performer as well.
These sounds fascinate me, that timeless, tribal banging.
Listen.
No, no, I think…
I think it’s…
the man next door nailing something.
Yes, it’s him, fuck it.
Misunderstood.
Lesbian.
Pretentious.
Depraved.
Cruel.
Whore. Whore.
Girl.
Alone.
Terrified. Terrified.
Genius.
Jerk.
Crazy.
You’re crazy.
Ridiculous.
Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt, but they’re ready.
What, what? What now?
They’re set.
Not one fucking moment to myself, really!
Not a single one.
Idiot!
Ignoramus!
Son of a bitch!
Prick!
Ass kisser!
Go fuck yourself!
Double fuck yourself!
Fathead, filth!
Bastard!
Scumbag!
Shit eater!
Leech!
I shit on your teeth!
Double fuck your mother!
Triple fuck your fucking mother!
Nutjob!
Abortion!
Son of a truckful of bitches!
I shit on the ass crack and pussy of your fucking mother!
Fuck your mother! I shit on your mother’s face!
Not me.
Not me, Iván Torres.
I shit on the whole Torres family,
on the Torres of the past,
the present
and of the future!
On all the Torres!
Félix Rivero,
if there wasn’t a lady present, I’d beat the living shit out of you.
Right, that’s enough.
It was just an exercise to warm up for rehearsal.
- That’s enough. - Take it easy.
I’d never hit an old man clearly in inferior shape.
So speaks the kid who’s a slave to money.
You’re a slave too, but for less money.
Enough, enough.
We rehearse in 15. Let’s go, guys.
Look, this is Pedro’s house.
Here, he’s having dinner with Lucy when Manuel arrives.
Perfect.
And all this is the fields outside.
There, where the door is, is the foundry.
Excellent.
And here, in this spot, you two stop for the ending.
Got it. Good, good.
All this minimalism.
It takes me back to my beginnings, in the 60s.
Laboratory Theater, this is older than…
I don’t know if it’s useful to rehearse like this, but…
It’s useful to me.
Exactly, it’s useful.
Guys, this is the most complex,
the biggest scene in the film, so, concentration.
Come on, let’s do it.
- Diana, are you ready? - Lucy is ready.
One thing, Iván.
Did you do something to your teeth? They’re very white.
No.
Okay, nobody interrupts the rehearsal but me.
No one cuts for any reason.
I want a full take, okay?
People, this is the final scene.
Julia, lights, please.
Focus.
Action.
You hesitate for a second.
Hello.
I need to talk to you.
Impossible. I’m about to have dinner with my wife.
Please.
I can’t take any more.
I need to talk to you, even if it’s for the last time.
- Mum and Dad-- - Don’t even say their names.
Please, please.
Iván, you hesitate, but give in.
Lucy.
I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll have dinner.
- Let’s get away from the house. - Yes, that’s better.
Even if it’s too late, I wanted to apologize to you.
Hold it there.
I always competed with you.
And you always protected me, almost like a father.
Now you’ve started a family with Lucy
and I’m sure she’s made the best choice.
There’s nothing…
Not everything can be expressed in words.
I just want to…
tell you I’m sorry…
for everything.
Manuel, you paid your debt.
That’s all over.
And it was crystal clear that…
you had no bad intentions.
Don’t think it was easy for me to testify against you.
Maybe it was my way…
of putting the pain somewhere.
The truth is that, whatever happens,
we’re brothers.
They hug.
Turn, turn, turn.
Now!
Let’s see who’s in charge now.
Now drag him to the foundry.
And you put him in the oven.
He transforms.
Glasses.
Cap.
That’s it. The complete mutation.
Now you go home as if nothing’s happened.
Here the voice-over would come in.
Manuel took over the life of his brother.
No one could’ve mistaken Manuel for Pedro,
but Lucy and the whole town
chose to pretend that Manuel was Pedro.
And full stop.
The end.
Okay, cut.
Very good.
Very good, yes sir.
Rest up, we’ll be playing this loads of times.
I didn’t think it was that good.
You have to know it in your sleep.
But it was great.
Very good.
All three looking at the camera, please.
Don’t move.
Everyone look that way, please.
That’s it.
Great. Smile, please.
One moment, please.
That’s it.
Thank you, everyone, for coming today.
It’s a very important time in my life.
We’re celebrating the start of this adventure I’ve put you on.
Shooting begins in two days.
I want to thank these great artists,
who at this stage of my life I consider to be my friends,
for joining the project.
Félix and Iván, our two greatest actors,
together for the first time!
Thank you very much.
Lola,
what can I tell you?
- Sometimes you bewilder me. - Oh, really?
But I see the genius of your ideas.
You know that I consider you my friend.
Perhaps you want to say a few words.
No, no.
- Yes, please, come, Lola. - Thank you.
Yes, of course.
Thank you, and make the best of films!
The best of films….
What is that, Humberto?
I often wonder
if there’s a kind of canon we should follow.
Right? I wonder if…
we can dislike a film, but think it’s good as well.
And when we think a film is good, is it good?
I don’t know, maybe it only reaffirms
our pigeonholed, entrenched tastes.
We should be very careful about what we like.
Because one sees what one understands,
and what one doesn’t understand, one doesn’t like.
Many important things are those we don’t understand.
Thank you, everyone.
I was thinking
it’d be great if you asked Félix…
What?
If you asked Félix to record a message for Emilia,
she’s a huge fan of his.
Don’t count on me for such drivel.
But she’s your niece.
And she’s turning 15.
Those things are cringe-worthy.
She’d die to get…
Even worse.
I’m sorry.
I don’t agree with the vile upbringing the parents gave that poor creature.
He gave out such a whomping…
If we’d done it for real, it wouldn’t have been
as dangerous as it was.
- Félix, excuse me. - Hi, Violeta. What’s up?
- How are you? - Good, great.
I wanted to ask you a favour. It’s my niece’s birthday and I’d like you to record a video.
- Do you mind? - No, no.
Thanks a lot.
- What’s her name? - Emilia.
- She’s turning 15.
Hello, Emi.
Happy birthday.
Indeed!
How rude.
You can’t leave dishes from the first round uncollected.
It’s unacceptable.
I don’t know if you’re blind or just idiots.
So stop running around like headless chickens and do it.
Sorry, right away, don’t worry.
No, I do worry. Of course I worry!
Don Iván!
What are you doing here? Can I help you?
I need a cigarette, have you got one?
I’ll smoke with you.
Now I’m the face for a charity campaign
that makes houses for African refugees from discarded containers.
You’ve seen those ship containers.
They make beautiful houses out of them.
They’re small,
- but very beautiful. - Great.
Sorry, I have to take an important call.
Just a second.
And in the name of “charisma” we have to endure horrible actors
with a lobotomized audience that adores them.
It’s a vicious circle, where the audience…
I’m dying to be with you too,
but not today, it’s impossible.
Keep that urge for tomorrow.
And that energy, you’re going to need it.
Félix is without a doubt the worst actor
I’ve worked with in my life.
It’s incredible that a guy so lacking in resources
has had the career he’s had.
Clearly, the film industry
is too generous, too generous.
Lola told me what they’re paying him.
- It’s grotesque. - Right.
Grotesque.
And the brute thinks that because he’s paid this obscene amount,
because it is obscene,
he’s better than those of us who get paid a reasonable amount.
I’d never let them pay me what they pay him.
It’d be dishonest…
pornographic, even.
I totally agree, I totally agree.
One is certainly not the money one makes.
I, for example…
And it’s not the first time I’ve worked with an idiot.
I’m used to it.
But…
this individual, so to speak,
has the worst problem anyone can have:
He doesn’t know that he doesn’t know it.
Sure.
Ignorance plus arrogance. The worst thing.
Anyway…
I think the main thing now is…
to focus on the film, isn’t it?
Well, I’m heading down
because if I’m not there, it all falls apart.
Are you coming?
No, you go.
I’m fucking sick of this decadent circus
of airheads, whores and the corrupt.
You go.
It’s finished.
Well, I’ll get going.
Anyway…
Félix, buddy…
Right then…
Say that again, you old piece of shit.
You whinger.
Let’s see if your face really is untouchable.
Right then…
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Everything’s fine.
Yes, the Humberto Suárez Foundation.
It’s the third time I’ve called.
Yeah, it was me.
There’s a man…!
Yes, but this is the third time I’ve called.
- What happened? - He jumped.
- What? - Or fell, I don’t know.
How many times do I have to call for a goddamn ambulance?
Again, Félix!
Here, here!
Félix! Félix!
RIVALRY A FILM BY LOLA CUEVAS
Next question.
You.
First of all, congratulations on the film.
I saw it at the morning screening and I was astounded.
- The question, please. - Yes, sorry.
For Lola.
In your film there is a clear ideological position,
a critique of the role of women within the patriarchal society.
The position doesn’t matter, if there was one.
It doesn’t matter.
One has to stop doing an ideological frisk of everything,
to stop pigeonholing works by their presumed ideology.
The fact that you see a manifesto in my film
is rather reductionist,
to my taste, intellectually lazy.
A film isn’t an affirmation, an answer to a question,
just as art does not refer to something,
but is a thing in itself.
Next question.
You, please.
Thank you.
For Félix Rivero.
Iván Torres was meant to be your co-star in this film.
Then tragedy struck.
How was the experience of playing both characters?
Do you have any news of Iván’s state of health?
They haven’t issued a medical report for some time.
Beginning with the main thing,
there is no news on Iván’s state.
He’s the same, in a vegetative state.
The diagnosis is diff…
Diffuse axonal injury.
Exactly.
Diffuse axonal injury.
He’s in a deep coma,
no reaction at all, poor man.
From what the doctors say, it’s irreversible.
It was a very tough situation,
I never quite understood what really happened.
Iván was a very complex, tortured person.
Anyway… Terrible.
We’ll never know what was going through his head.
Personally, I’m still,
as you can imagine, devastated.
That’s why, when Lola told me her idea,
brilliant, by the way,
of playing Iván’s character as well,
I saw it as a tribute.
And I know,
I’m certain,
that he would’ve done the same for this film.
Iván, my dear…
Thank you so much,
maestro.
Friend.
Brother.
You.
For Lola, please.
Have you imagined what the film would be with Iván Torres,
if what unfortunately happened hadn’t happened?
No.
Thank you.
Next question.
When does a film end?
Now?
When the end credits come on?
At the cinema exit, when we argue about it?
The next day, a month later, a year later?
Or every time we think about it?
Some films end with the closing credits.
Félix…
Rivero.
Fucking son of a bitch.
But others,
believe me,
may never end.