After being blown away by Cannes crowd-pleaser, The Skin I Live In, Chris Sullivan gladly took the opportunity to hear more from the film's director and star, Pedro Almodovar and Antonio Banderas...
After a lot to drink the night before and not much sleep, I bowled up at 8am to Cannes' Palais De Festivals to watch Pedro Almodovar’s new picture, the utterly brilliant The Skin I live In, and was surprised to find myself awake and entirely captivated throughout the whole film. A work that is bizarre, intriguing and thoroughly entertaining I eagerly attended the press conference immediately afterwards and hung on each speaker’s every word. Of course, I won't reveal one iota of the plot as the mystery is the film’s strongest asset. I just hope this is a little teaser...
Your film is based on Thierry Jonquet's novel "Mygale" How true is it to the book?
Pedro Almodovar - "I read the novel 10 years ago. It's the type of book you can read on a plane flight. To be honest, the only character I kept was the main guy played by Antonio, who is seeking vengeance for the rape of his daughter, but in my film there is no brutal rape as such."
Why did you make Antonio’s character, Robert, Brazilian?
PA - "This was because there is a great tradition of cosmetic surgery in Brazil. Also, I love Brazilian music and there is a lot in the film. Music is very important to me but that is really the only reference to Brazil in the film."
Robert [Banderas] is quite an extreme character...
PA - "But the whole family is very ferocious. They employ a different set of morals. They are brought up in a Christian family and the mother says she carries madness in her womb. One son has been brought up on the street and the other is a surgeon, but both are very violent. In fact, even though she doesn’t know anything about what Antonio is up to, she is the perfect accomplice."
The film is a thriller...
PA - "Yes. For me at the moment that is my favourite genre. I like to move around genres but now I will make more thrillers. While I made this I was thinking of Forties' film noir - Hitchcock and especially Fritz Lang from both their silent and later periods. At one point, I was going to make this a silent black-and-white movie but moved away from the idea."
'The film is a tale of survival under extreme circumstances'
Your main character, Robert, is something of a monster...
PA - "Being a director is like being God and here I have created Frankenstein. But you can create your world in every way. Actors can embody what you want and Antonio is a creator who has invented this new skin, an organ that can change and protect identity. I wanted this psycho to have power. Such films like this are only possible if you have another character like Vera Cruz [Elena Anaya] who also has such power and who has this survival instinct. The film is a tale of survival under extreme circumstances."
Antonio, how was it working again with Pedro?
Antonio Banderas - "After 20 years, it’s been a wonderful experience. To think about creating and creators is only possible if you are where Pedro puts you. He forces you to grow and portray a character's strength. My character cannot feel for other humans. He is totally cold and the idea was to not to show horrible images but this horrible ogre that people will think about afterwards, Pedro forbade me to smile or use any of my actor’s tricks. But coming back to Pedro is so important for me as he was there at the beginning of my career, so it’s like going back to my roots. He gave me my artistic education."
The film is quite gentle in a way...
PA - "I did not want to make a gory film with blood and guts. I wanted a thriller without blood."
You mentioned Frankenstein...
PA - "Yes that was a reference. I also looked at mythology. Prometheus and The Titans. Antonio is both Titan and creator."
The Skin I Live In will be released later this year
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