Alejandro Amenbar is the director of The Others and Open Your Eyes. His latest film is The Sea Inside starring Javier Bardem.
The Sea Inside is about Spaniard Ramn Sampedro who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Its also about his relationships with two women. Julia is a lawyer who supports his cause and Rosa is a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living. Though he could not move himself and despite his wish to die, Ramn taught everyone he encountered the meaning, value and preciousness of life.
Check out the website for The Sea Inside
Daniel Robert Epstein: Were you conscious of the fact that The Sea Inside is very different from your previous films?
Alejandro Amenbar: I truly believe that this time I didnt pick this story. I believe that the story picked me so I just thought of the proper approach which wasnt thriller and wasnt horror. This story had to do with these people that were dealing with their lives and life itself. Ramn has a great sense of humor so in a way I knew it was going to be different film from my previous films. But on the other hand I think that the way we are trying to communicate with the audience is as intense as the other ones.
DRE: How closely did you keep to the book Ramn wrote?
AA: The book actually is philosophy and poetry so you cannot find the story there. It was after I met one of his friends and they told me about the real Ramn Sampedro which wasnt in the papers. Its about his sense of humor, how all these women fell in love with him and how he gave meaning to the lives around him. Then I decided to tell the story.
DRE: Can you tell us about your choice to cast Javier?
AA: I really wanted to work with him so many years ago but I never thought that this would be a suitable character for him but also I think he is the best actor in Spain if not in the world. So my producer encouraged me to talk to him but I was really hesitant and it took him a few weeks to have a conversation with me. We started to talk about the character and we both wanted someone who could express himself in a very natural way just like Ramn did. But I still wasnt sure a sure about the age thing and it really worried me. I didnt want the audience to be thinking Why did I cast this guy in his 30s pretending to be someone in his 50s? So it had to be really natural and we needed very good makeup.
DRE: Your thrillers are obviously very personal and they are your original stories. How were you able to make this mans story personal for you?
AA: I think the concept of the sea is very important. When I finished promoting The Others here I went to the beach in Spain and I didnt know what my next movie was going to be about. But I knew it should start and finish with the sea. So I found a story where the sea was important. Maybe the biggest challenge for me was considering that I had all this material that would be ideal for a TV movie but I didnt want it to be a TV movie. We had to enter Ramns inner war. The war of dreams, desire and actual exploring human behavior. If you see my four films I think that sometimes I use things to talk about people.
DRE: There are early indications that your film and Javier will be nominated for an Oscar. How important is that to you?
AA: An Oscar means a lot of things because its like the ultimate award for a filmmaker so it feels great. But I think you have to consider awards with some distance and not get obsessed with it. When youre creating you shouldnt think about it. In this case it would help to bring people in the theatres.
DRE: What were the biggest challenges you faced: writing the screenplay or making the film?
AA: The hardest part is composing the music. The first three or four days I give up and then I go on and end up doing it.
DRE: Other foreign directors that do a movie in America dont usually go back to their country to do another foreign language film until they do something that isnt successful here. The Others was very successful. I was wondering what made you decide to go back and do this film in Spain?
AA: I just felt this story was fascinating and it had to be done in Spain and in Spanish otherwise I would have felt it would have been a wrong journey for all of us. Whats really exciting for me is communicating to other people and not just going somewhere to make a movie. Thats Hollywood to me and it would mean nothing.
DRE: How much of a collaboration is this film for you?
AA: There are things that I feel I have to do alone and this time it was the editing. On the other hand once I finished the editing I showed it to someone for feedback but I wouldnt say Im a very controlling person. For instance, when I talk to the actors I dont tell them exactly what I want because I want them to surprise me. I even encourage them to change some of the verses of the script if they need to.
DRE: Did you improvise any of the death scene?
AA: No. We knew how the agony had been and Javier really related what had happened. It took about 15 minutes to shoot and I was scared because it could break the tone of the film but afterwards I knew we had to show that he suffered.
DRE: Do you know whats next?
AA: Nothing at all.
DRE: What films have you liked recently?
AA: I loved Sideways.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
The Sea Inside is about Spaniard Ramn Sampedro who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Its also about his relationships with two women. Julia is a lawyer who supports his cause and Rosa is a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living. Though he could not move himself and despite his wish to die, Ramn taught everyone he encountered the meaning, value and preciousness of life.
Check out the website for The Sea Inside
Daniel Robert Epstein: Were you conscious of the fact that The Sea Inside is very different from your previous films?
Alejandro Amenbar: I truly believe that this time I didnt pick this story. I believe that the story picked me so I just thought of the proper approach which wasnt thriller and wasnt horror. This story had to do with these people that were dealing with their lives and life itself. Ramn has a great sense of humor so in a way I knew it was going to be different film from my previous films. But on the other hand I think that the way we are trying to communicate with the audience is as intense as the other ones.
DRE: How closely did you keep to the book Ramn wrote?
AA: The book actually is philosophy and poetry so you cannot find the story there. It was after I met one of his friends and they told me about the real Ramn Sampedro which wasnt in the papers. Its about his sense of humor, how all these women fell in love with him and how he gave meaning to the lives around him. Then I decided to tell the story.
DRE: Can you tell us about your choice to cast Javier?
AA: I really wanted to work with him so many years ago but I never thought that this would be a suitable character for him but also I think he is the best actor in Spain if not in the world. So my producer encouraged me to talk to him but I was really hesitant and it took him a few weeks to have a conversation with me. We started to talk about the character and we both wanted someone who could express himself in a very natural way just like Ramn did. But I still wasnt sure a sure about the age thing and it really worried me. I didnt want the audience to be thinking Why did I cast this guy in his 30s pretending to be someone in his 50s? So it had to be really natural and we needed very good makeup.
DRE: Your thrillers are obviously very personal and they are your original stories. How were you able to make this mans story personal for you?
AA: I think the concept of the sea is very important. When I finished promoting The Others here I went to the beach in Spain and I didnt know what my next movie was going to be about. But I knew it should start and finish with the sea. So I found a story where the sea was important. Maybe the biggest challenge for me was considering that I had all this material that would be ideal for a TV movie but I didnt want it to be a TV movie. We had to enter Ramns inner war. The war of dreams, desire and actual exploring human behavior. If you see my four films I think that sometimes I use things to talk about people.
DRE: There are early indications that your film and Javier will be nominated for an Oscar. How important is that to you?
AA: An Oscar means a lot of things because its like the ultimate award for a filmmaker so it feels great. But I think you have to consider awards with some distance and not get obsessed with it. When youre creating you shouldnt think about it. In this case it would help to bring people in the theatres.
DRE: What were the biggest challenges you faced: writing the screenplay or making the film?
AA: The hardest part is composing the music. The first three or four days I give up and then I go on and end up doing it.
DRE: Other foreign directors that do a movie in America dont usually go back to their country to do another foreign language film until they do something that isnt successful here. The Others was very successful. I was wondering what made you decide to go back and do this film in Spain?
AA: I just felt this story was fascinating and it had to be done in Spain and in Spanish otherwise I would have felt it would have been a wrong journey for all of us. Whats really exciting for me is communicating to other people and not just going somewhere to make a movie. Thats Hollywood to me and it would mean nothing.
DRE: How much of a collaboration is this film for you?
AA: There are things that I feel I have to do alone and this time it was the editing. On the other hand once I finished the editing I showed it to someone for feedback but I wouldnt say Im a very controlling person. For instance, when I talk to the actors I dont tell them exactly what I want because I want them to surprise me. I even encourage them to change some of the verses of the script if they need to.
DRE: Did you improvise any of the death scene?
AA: No. We knew how the agony had been and Javier really related what had happened. It took about 15 minutes to shoot and I was scared because it could break the tone of the film but afterwards I knew we had to show that he suffered.
DRE: Do you know whats next?
AA: Nothing at all.
DRE: What films have you liked recently?
AA: I loved Sideways.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
anderswolleck:
congrats on winning the academy award
abbiss:
Why didn't anybody tell me he made a new film??? WHY? huh?