“It seems unfair to me that ‘Alcarràs’ has not won any prize, but it is further proof that the prizes are unfair”, says the director of ‘As bestas’
There was only one surprise: Denis Ménochet’s distinction as best leading actor for his work in ‘As bestas’. And it was a surprise to add, since the Frenchman was one of the nine Goyas that Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s film won, a suffocating rural thriller, with western ways, which has excited not only academics, but also the public. It did not seem easy for a story shot in several languages -Spanish, Galician and French-, but the bet of Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña, co-writers of this story based on true events, has been a winner. «It is further proof that you have to support cinema in the original version, because you lose a huge essence of the film if you dub it. and we are very happy with Acontracorriente, the distributor that dared, “explained the director of the film this morning.
Around two in the morning, after the gala, Sorogoyen, Peña and Ménochet would drop by the press room where the journalists put the last touches on the chronicles that all Spanish headlines now wear. “What’s happening? That this looks like a funeral,” Sorogoyen asked amused. “You are working very late, I want to drink”, completed next to him the actor who gives life to the man in a French couple who move to deep Galicia to make their dream of living off the land come true. A dream that will end up turning into a nightmare due to the presence of two neighbours, one of them played by Luis Zahera, best supporting actor, who will not make it easy for him.
With these wickerwork, Sorogoyen weaves a round film, an exquisite exercise in tension that touches on topics such as xenophobia, lack of communication, classism, male violence and emptied Spain. Yesterday the director of ‘El reino’ made it clear that the team had not made a pool but «there were sensations. The awards have exceeded all expectations, obviously. We are happy and overwhelmed », he pointed out. In his opinion, the most surprising big heads were those with the best direction and best leading actor. «I thought they were going to give it to Carla Simón. It seems unfair to me that ‘Alcarràs’ has not won any prize, but it is further proof that the prizes are unfair. It is a pity. But you don’t have to give it much importance either. ‘Alcarràs’ is a great movie, many people have liked it and it has won the Golden Bear”, he argued. The one that made him most excited is the one for best cinematography, which has fallen to the work of Álex de Pablo. “I had a lot of competition this year, but I was very excited because I love Álex very much, he dedicates his life to the cinema and he has done an immense job,” he said.
In a year where Spanish cinema has shone with its own light, the person in charge of ‘Mother’ recognized that winning tastes better but that it also has a “bittersweet” point because many films have been left out of the awards. «I already mentioned it with the nominations. Seventeen nominations in a year like this is an honor, but there are too many films that have had little or no visibility at all”, he pointed out.
Ten years ago, Sorogoyen and Peña premiered ‘Stockholm’, so it made sense to ask them about what it means to be a hit after these ten years. “What are we going to say, it’s a dream,” replied Sorogoyen. Next to her, Peña admitted that these reflections are only made when a journalist asks the question and this “forces us to take stock.” «The day to day has passed normally, because you get up, work and go to bed, but if you think about it in perspective we have been tremendously lucky to find each other along the way. I think we have known how to take advantage of those lucky moments and I think we have worked a lot, “he said.
“I help tell stories”
For his part, Denis Ménochet made it clear that he did not expect it at all. “He thought he was going to win Nacho,” he said in reference to Nacho Sánchez, the protagonist of ‘Mantícora’, present in many of the pools. He assured the Frenchman, very jokingly, that he was going to stay and live in Spain. “I’m going to live with Rodrigo,” he blurted out, causing the journalists to laugh. Then, more seriously, he explained that what he does is “help tell stories, and with stories there is no language, Spain is so great that I’m going to stay for the Spanish men and women, but not for the cinema », he concluded.
More than 600,000 people in Spain have already seen a film that has so far raised more than 4.3 million euros. It is to be hoped that with the nine goyas, the number of copies in movie theaters, where it is still very present, will rise again. What has made them reach so many audiences? «We do not know, it has connected. Sometimes there are movies that connect but you don’t know why. I’m sure this movie comes out at another time and doesn’t do as well. The whole path that ‘As bestas’ has taken from its premiere in Cannes to its premiere in Spain has been like landing on one’s feet. We have been very lucky,” said Sorogoyen.
“In France it was released in the summer – Ménochet continued – and had the same result. People identified so much with the movie. There was a queue in front of the theaters and there was a pandemic. People appropriated the film.” “This is what happened,” the actor concluded, already in Spanish.
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