Rodrigo Prieto was on double duty at Camerimage.
This year, veteran winner Camerimage Golden Frog sat on the international competition jury alongside Cate Blanchett. Outside of official jury duties, Prieto has been around town showing and promoting pedro paramo, The elusive thriller he directed for Netflix.
Pedro Paramo It is Prieto's first directorial film. Born and raised in Mexico, Prieto is best known as the director of principles who shot a series of now-famous films that shaped the renaissance of Mexican cinema in the early 2000s, such as Alejandro González Iñárritu. Babel 21 gramsand Amores Perros. Prieto is now widely considered one of the most trusted and sought-after cinematographers in contemporary Hollywood. In fact, a lot of prep Pedro Paramo The film was shot while Brito was filming two of last year's biggest films, Greta Gerwig's blockbuster hit. Barbie And Martin Scorsese's Osage Odyssey Moonflower Killers.
“I was shooting Barbie At the time, I was working on making this film while constantly re-reading the novel [Pedro Páramo] “And articles written about it,” Brito told us about the balance he had to master to get it Pedro Paramo Above the line.
Pedro Paramo It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by the famous Mexican novelist Juan Rulfo. The story follows the tale of Juan Preciado, a young man who, after the death of his mother, goes to the remote village where he was born in search of his father, Pedro Páramo. But when he arrives in Comala, the place he's been told he lives, he finds nothing but violent memories of a city subjugated for decades by Páramo (Manuel García Rulfo).
After the premiere at TIFF, Pedro Paramo It was released on Netflix on November 6. Below, Prieto talks with us about the challenges of adapting Rulfo's novel and exactly how he managed to prepare the film during filming Barbie and Assassins. Brito, a Mexico City native, also delves into what he describes as an offensive and “completely unreal” experience he encountered while watching Jacques Audiard's latest film. Emilia Perezwhich is located in the city. The film was also in competition at Camerimage.
DEADLINE: Rodrigo, how are you?
Rodrigo Brito: I'm happy to be here. It's a new experience for me. I have been on the jury before in Morelia and in Venice. But I've never judged just the cinematography. And of course, my film is here.
DEADLINE: Yes, this is one of the most distinguished juries. I think you watch these movies and only discuss the cinematography?
Brito: Yes, but not always. I try to focus in this direction because this is our mission. But of course, everyone starts talking about the movie, and sometimes it's heartbreaking because if there's a movie that maybe the other jurors don't appreciate, that could take the movie industry down with it. It works in reverse too. It's difficult because the success of a film is closely linked to the success of its cinematography.
DEADLINE: Congratulations on your film “Pedro Páramo.” I was very touched by the story. I read that children read this book in Mexico. Is this correct?
Brito: Well, I read it in high school and sometimes in middle school. The funny thing about that is that I was offered this movie. It wasn't something I was looking for. I was actually in Oklahoma the other day Moonflower Killers. I got a phone call from one of my producer friends who told me that Netflix had bought the rights to “Pedro Páramo” and asked if I wanted to direct it. I foolishly accepted. It's foolish because, as you can see, it's a very complex and difficult story to adapt. During the negotiation process with Netflix, they wanted me to make it a PG-13 movie. I told them, guys, I can't do a PG13 movie. It should be rated R. Their argument was that people read the original book in high school. But all I can say is have you actually read the book? Have you really noticed? All these themes of incest, murder, and nudity. All of this should be in the movie. Fortunately, they relented and let me do it with an R rating.
DEADLINE: So, you read a version of the same script also written by Matteo Gil many years ago, but that movie fell apart? What happened? Was it just the usual complications of film financing?
Brito: Yes, that's what happened. I read this script. And yes, the movie just ran out of money. They started preparing for it and it is an expensive film because not only is it a structurally and emotionally complex story but the story takes place in different decades. The same city should look completely different. So it is very complicated and expensive. I was lucky that Netflix wanted to do it.
DEADLINE: Yes, the story is very complicated. There is a lot of time hopping, which makes the film quite off-putting. It's also a very ambitious film in terms of historical scope. Can you talk a little bit about how you approached this adaptation and built this production?
Brito: It was very difficult. I was working with Matteo Gil on re-editing the script. And he had his vision for it. But I wanted to bring my own take on things, which meant deleting some scenes and adding others. That was a big negotiation. He was an expert on the story. I was fired Barbie At the time, I was working on making this film while constantly re-reading the novel and articles written about it. And then I started working closely with production designers Eugenio Caballero and Carlos y Jack trying to figure out what each part of the film would look like and how to achieve it technically. The schedule and budget were tight. I don't even know how much it was in the end. But I remember we always needed more work but somehow the team made it possible.
DEADLINE: You share the cinematography credit for this film with Nico Aguilar. Why did you decide to work with another manager?
Brito: Yes, I didn't know if I would be able to do everything and that's why I asked Nico to help me because again it's a complex story with many characters. As a director, you pay a lot of attention to the story and emotional moments. I thought it would be best to prepare for the movie with Nico and figure out how to solve any problems. But when we started shooting, I realized I was working with the actors, blocking out scenes, and then I was looking for the director and thinking let's go. And then I remember waiting, I'm the Attorney General. This means I never stop. I didn't have time to do anything at all. Directors can usually block a scene and then go off to do other things. It was very intense, but I loved every second of it.
DEADLINE: I found “Pedro Páramo” terrifying in parts. I think this is because of its natural and “real” appearance. The terrifying things we see could happen to us. Was this natural visual style a deliberate choice?
Brito: exactly. I remember on the movie “Amores Perros” I had discussions with a special effects crew member who wanted me to shoot a car crash scene in slow motion. I kept saying why? The terrifying thing about accidents is how they happen. In this movie, for me it started with the novel because if you read it the characters themselves think everything is normal until it's not. For example, Juan Preciado encounters these people who he believes are just ordinary people. He doesn't realize that they are already dead. And some of these people don't know they're dead either. So I wanted to make the audience experience it that way. I tried to make it as natural as possible until it started to become increasingly surreal for the characters. That's when I allowed myself to take advantage of the weirder things.
DEADLINE: You've mentioned several times during this discussion that you were working on “Killers Of The Flower Moon” and “Barbie” at the same time you were making “Pedro Páramo.” How do you balance this workload?
Brito: My wife is great at multitasking. I'm terrible at it. I just can't do it. What I can do is focus. I think what happens is that I focus intently. So I'll shoot Barbie During the week, for example, but on the weekend, I focused on working with Matteo Gil on the script. I can separate the two pretty well.
DEADLINE: Are you not tired?
Brito: I am. I think I'll need a vacation.
DEADLINE: When I arrived in Poland, a colleague told me that you had been on a panel by Emilia Perez, and you had eloquently expressed some of the issues with the film's depiction of Mexican culture. What about the movie you objected to?
Brito: First of all, I'm not happy that the movie wasn't shot in Mexico. Second, why don't you include more Mexicans to participate in the production? Not even just as actors. We have Adriana Paz in the movie and she is amazing. I think it's great. It was a breath of fresh air when I saw her in the movie. It feels Mexican to me in an authentic way. Everything else in the movie feels inauthentic and it really bothers me. Especially when the topic is so important to us Mexicans. It is also a very sensitive topic. The whole thing is completely inauthentic. I'm not talking about the musical side of it, which I think is great. This is a great idea. But why not hire a Mexican production designer, or a costume designer, or at least some consultants? Yes, they had dialogue coaches, but I was offended that such a story was being portrayed in a way that seemed unreal. It was just a detail to me. You will never have a prison sign that says “Cárcel,” it will be “Penitenciaria.” It's just the details, and that shows me that no one was involved. It doesn't even matter. That was very disturbing to me.
I'm not against non-Mexicans making films in Mexico, but the details are important. Look at Ang Lee. It is from Taiwan and is made Brokeback Mountain. But he focuses on the details. Even I am with Pedro Paramo. I'm not from rural Mexico but I went and talked to people to find out how best to portray the culture. It's about the details.
