22/03/2022 - Seven years after he triumphed at the festival with his feature debut, Nothing in Return, the actor and director is having another crack at it with a comedy caper

(© Álex Zea/Málaga Film Festival)

The award-winning Nothing in Return [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Daniel Guzmán
film profile] proved that Daniel Guzmán was not only a competent actor, whom we had seen in titles such as By Force, but also a skilful narrator of cinematic stories. Now, he switches register with his second directorial effort, Canallas [+see also:
trailer
interview: Daniel Guzmán
film profile], which he stars in alongside Luis Tosar and Joaquín González, one of his five non-professional actors. Ahead of its screening at the 25^th Málaga Film Festival, we sat down with him for a chat, during which he talked about working with them, and much more besides.

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Cineuropa: Your new film resembles your previous one, Nothing in Return, in terms of some of its locations and shots…
Daniel Guzmán: Yes, it’s all connected, and I’m thrilled you say that because when I made the decision to do something totally different and to make it a comedy, in order to challenge myself and take myself out of my comfort zone, and I gave the screenplay to other people to read, they told me: “What I like the most is that you are being yourself, with your specific point of view and personality.” I tried to shoot an audience-friendly comedy, but without watering down my character and without going against the grain of a type of film that I like watching and making myself.

In a certain way, the three protagonists of Canallas are a bit like the evolution of the teenagers who were at the centre of your feature debut.
Yes, that’s true. They’re like three grown-up children, and that’s why kids like it so much. They’re three brainless guys who still think they’re in primary school and are still laughing at the same jokes they used to laugh at.

Do you think that your codes, and the things that entertain you, are universally understood?
That’s a good question… Humour is universal, and I try to have respect for the viewer because they’re smart. If it works, it’s because what you’ve made is okay. I like mainstream comedy and the codes of the street: if it doesn’t work, it’s because I didn’t know how to convey it, but it’s entirely down to me, the narrator; it’s not a problem with the person watching. There’s only one audience, and they’re very clever, and they will either connect with the humour or they won’t, as it’s spontaneous: you’ll either burst out laughing or you won’t, and there’s no magic formula for it. Because this is a comedy that’s relatable and close to home, about normal, everyday people in the street, the audience can identify with the protagonists, as it’s a character-driven film. The other thing is that the situations are extreme, so they will work dramatically. There was a director who said that films do not come to an end; they are abandoned. I think you have to share them: they have to stop being your own. I haven’t delivered the film that I would have liked myself, but there comes a point when the movie has to belong to the audience.

In Nothing in Return, your own grandmother played a significant role, and in Canallas, old age is also important, which you don’t see that often on the big screen: it’s a proper homage.
That’s true. Now it seems as though nobody is fit for any job if they’re 50 or over, but in my cast and crew, I want to include people who are over 60, because I learn from them and they give the shoot another kind of feeling. I learned a lot from my grandmother. Sexuality also exists at that age, as do falling in love and being able to dream. For me, that generation is important, and in my film, they are the main characters, even though the youngsters think they’re the smart ones...

Your first film was distributed by Warner; now, on 1 April, it will be Universal that releases it in Spanish theatres.
I don’t know why they believe in my projects, because it’s a one-of-a-kind film that ventures off the beaten track, and when I see big companies throwing their weight behind a kind of cinema like this, it gives me a sense of responsibility, excitement and anticipation. Because they lent me their unwavering support right from the start, seven years ago, taking a punt on five non-professional actors in the lead roles… And furthermore, I told them that I wanted to make a film for the movie theatres, not for TV, and they agreed to it. I still believe in cinema, in the lights going down, in the huge screen and in the soundscape, as they can all make you a different person.

But you have mentioned that you’re going to quit…
Yes, I’m going to stop trying to get these death-defying projects off the ground – ones that take seven years. I’m going to stop losing all the things you lose during that time by believing in a story with so many challenges, with non-professional actors, searching out truth and credibility. It’s a lot of work… I wanted to make a comedy in order to enjoy the process, but in the end, I got dragged into a mess once again: it’s really complicated creating everything from scratch. Having Luis Tosar is a luxury, but having five non-professional actors is not the same thing. I think I hit the brakes too late.

(Translated from Spanish)