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Much ofPain and Gloryfocuses on the protagonists struggles with his health.
Youve spoken of some of your struggles with migraines and other problems.
Ive been really lucky in my life.
All around me are thousands of thousands of people in worse situations.
But you talk about yourself, and I always did in my movies not only in this one.
In my other movies I represent myself in a more oblique way.
Sometimes I am behind characters that arent filmmakers; sometimes I am behind female characters.
But its true that this is the first time that I took myself as a reference for the character.
Was it your decision to make Antonio Banderass character look like you as well?Yes!
In my movies I am the one who decides everything.
There is a moment in preproduction when you start designing the faces of your main characters.
I thought maybe he should have my own hairdo.
Even the clothes I gave him some of my jackets and some shoes.
But above all, I gave to the character the same apartment that I live in.
The paintings were mine, and some of the furniture is mine.
This made the entire production process go much faster.
Everyone came to my house and replicated it in the studio.
What were those bad habits?Hes really a good kid.
Hes quite generous to be talking about these problems.
I was not comfortable seeing him do that, just giving in.
But you have to be pragmatic when you are shooting.
It was a lesson for him in a sense.
Ill leave myself in your hands completely naked, and you’re free to do whatever you want.
This doesnt mean that I dont like actors that come with their own ideas.
Its of course natural that an actor might have his own ideas about how to interpret the character.
Especially for experienced actors like Antonio, and actors who have been directors (like he has).
But in my case Ive always given them instructions.
Was this always your style with directing actors?Yes!
Even when I shot Super 8mm movies, I behaved exactly the same.
but what the spectator is going to identify with is the actor.
I became a director because I like to work with actors.
I admire them very much and Im always quite grateful for them.
Or they were not in a good place.
Or we had a very bad relationship that was projected onto the movie.
Its awful when this happens.
I remember the most painful one.
For the first time, I had to go to a psychiatrist just because of the anxiety.
The idea of not finishing a film is the most painful thing I could imagine.
Even if the actor and I died trying, we were going to finish that movie.
Its a really big adventure.
You dont know whats going to happen, and you have to be ready for it.
But this was an exception in my career.
In 95 percent of the cases, I had the right casting and they are wonderful for the film.
Can you at least tell me the name of the film?No!
If I tell you the name of the film, you will know the actor.
I know some of the response toLabyrinth of Passionat the time was quite volatile.
Were you afraid at all?I was never afraid.
I think I was unconscious perhaps.
Not just withLabyrinth, but alsoDark Habits.
Spain is officially supposed to be secular, but in reality were a very Catholic country.
InDark Habits, we had nuns helping prostitutes, heroin addicts, murderers.
One of the nuns also shoots up heroin.
In the context of Spain, it was a very difficult film.
Not in contemporary Spain.
Which means that Spain is worsenowthan it was in the 1980s!
This is bad for Spain, but it is happening all over Europe.
The Trump effect has been very damaging for Europe.
He has inspired these characters that are quite dangerous.
You had a lot of early success in the U.S. as well.
Were you ever approached by Hollywood to come make films here?Yes, a couple of times.
But I always hesitated about their intentions.
They always told me I could have the same freedom and independence that I was used to working with.
But I didnt believe it.
So when they tried to tempt me, I was mature enough to know what I wanted to do.
I would not know how to satisfy them and I would feel confused.
I knew the story by E. Annie Proulx, and I was fascinated by the project.
I hesitated during the two or three months that they were waiting for me.
In the end, I think it was much better that Ang Lee made that movie.
I love the movie and I think both actors are wonderful.
But my vision of that short tale was much more physical than it was in the movie.
I was sure that I couldnt do it as physical as I wanted to.
The final image ofPain and Glorymight be the most powerful shot youve ever directed.
And yet its so simple.
Just a mother and a child waiting in a train station.
This is what he missed the necessity of telling a story.
And he found it in that image.
So immediately he went home and started writing.
This is what saved him.
Because he thought making a new movie would have been impossible.
Here young Salvador is with his mother in the train station.
He says, Do you think there will be cinemas where were going?
She says, First I would like to have a home.
This is what the movie is about these two big necessities.
Im glad that the shot works.
But I had this as the ending of the film ever since I started working on this script.
