28/02/2023 - BERLINALE 2023: We spoke to the director about his protagonists as well as the location he used and the special aura it possesses

Argentinian director Martín Benchimol presented The Castle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martín Benchimol
film profile], an Argentinian-French co-production, in the Panorama section of this year's Berlinale. We talked to the filmmaker about his intimate portrait, which explores the borders between documentary and fiction filmmaking, his aesthetic choices and the friendship that links him to his protagonists.

Cineuropa: How did you find the location for The Castle?
Martín Benchimol: I was shooting another film, a documentary, in the area and found the place by chance. I saw Justina, and because of my class-based prejudice, I asked her if she could tell me who the owner was. She answered that she was. She told me the whole story of the house. I met her at the very moment when she and her daughter Alexia were moving into the house. We spent seven years together, getting to know each other, while I was collecting material for the film. We have a very pleasant friendship now.

Was the woman the castle belonged to before anyone famous?
No, not really. It's true, you might think that from the stories Justina tells about her, but she was just someone with a lot of money.

How true to reality is the film?
What we recount is Justina’s and Alexia’s story. When I met them, I was really impressed by their story. I immediately felt its narrative rhythm and its drama. I knew I needed to make a fiction film about it. In the seven years we spent together, I collected a lot of material, then I wrote a script with the most important points. Some of the scenes are a form of documentation, or observation, while others are fictional, but always based on their real-life experience. We only discussed what situation we wanted to recreate, without dictating the text. Then they just relived the situation.

The camera is mostly steady. Is that to show that the protagonists are in a state of inaction, just waiting? What were your ideas for the visual concept?
The house had to become a protagonist, too. That is why the frame is always a bit wider: we watch what is happening from a slight distance. The camera is the house. It is a strong, solid element. I played with the light and was inspired by old paintings as well as classical photography. As for Justina, she doesn't see it as a burden; she wants to stay there. But Alexia, yes, she wants to leave and makes several attempts to do so.

The music is very important to how one perceives the film. How did you choose it?
First, I thought we wouldn't use any music. But during the editing process, I saw that the film had something fairy tale-like about it. I then wanted to enhance this with music that would emphasise the feelings of the protagonists. My reference was music from the 1950s and 1960s. I imagined what the parties at the castle must have looked like when the country’s jet set visited it back in its glorious heyday.

How long did you shoot for, exactly?
We shot in four different phases, with a break of a year in between. We shot, I edited the material, and we came back again to film. The script was very flexible, and we were able to adapt to what was important to the protagonists. This was particularly the case for Alexia, the daughter, whose plans for the future changed a lot during this time. She was working through her options in order to leave, and as we proceeded with the film, it became more and more real and obvious that she would be able to achieve her plans. She hadn’t left yet, but I saw how her self-confidence was increasing constantly, and this was also thanks to the movie and our meetings.

You must have amassed a lot of material, considering the lengthy production period. Still, the film is fairly concise at 77 minutes long.
Yes, I had a lot of material, but still, I am not interested in making long films. I need each scene to have its meaning. This is how I work, and it’s what I like. I think it helps to maximise the impact of the film.