Javier Ruiz Caldera is competing for the Golden Shell at the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival with 5 More Minutes, a film starring its screenwriter, Berto Romero, alongside Belén Cuesta and Javier Cámara. At the María Cristina Hotel, one of the festival’s hubs, we sat down with the helmer for a chat.

Cineuropa: What’s a director like you doing at a festival like this?
Javier Ruiz Caldera: Well, I don’t know – that’s a good question. But I don’t have the answer. You’d have to ask José Luis Rebordinos and his team: I remember he saw the movie and called me straight away to say he’d loved it and could clearly see it being screened here. He recognised that, beyond the prejudice that some festivals or people might have about genre cinema – even comedy – ultimately, we’re dealing with characters in extreme situations. It’s true that the trappings, the fantastic genre or even its sense of humour might lead some people to see it as a less serious film. But its being selected here shows that others don’t think that way: that’s why the courage to programme a feature like this is greatly appreciated. Being here, in San Sebastián, is a dream come true.

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Comedy is always underrated... I’m a fan of 3 Many Weddings; you’re a great comedy director, and your films also work at the box office, but it seems that only intense dramas aimed at cinephiles compete at festivals. It’s good to see commercial cinema for all audiences here. Is that the spirit of your film?
Yes, I don’t draw distinctions between genres. I’ve always shot comedies, and I love them, but I’ve flirted with other genres. Some have been more fantastical, like Ghost Graduation or Superlópez; others action-driven, like Spy Time; or spoofs, like Spanish Movie. I like blending genres, making a cocktail out of them. That reaches its peak with 5 More Minutes because here, at this festival, you could see how people were having a bad time and enjoying themselves at the very same moment while watching it. There was laughter cut short by shock, and shock that turned into laughter.

There were definitely lots of guffaws at the Kursaal during your film.
Maybe that auditorium needed a good laugh; it was waiting for it after years of serious programming, and this movie came along to open the flood gates. In any case, there are laughs aplenty, but the feature also deals with serious things, like a marriage in crisis, and how that relationship can turn toxic and its two parties can join forces to do bad things: it takes some twists and turns through the world of couples that you don’t often see on screen.

When you read Berto Romero’s script, what resonated with you the most?
I was moved and struck by how the characters faced a world where they didn’t understand anything. This unease, this anxiety about not understanding the world and reacting to it as best you can is something I identify with because I don’t understand what’s going on...

Neither do I: we’re stuck in a loop. But perhaps the worst thing would be to be left eternally listening to a catchy Roxette ballad – that would be terrible.
Yes, I like using big musical numbers in my work and flipping them, and a song that’s apparently romantic, when placed over the most dramatic sequence in the film, creates a powerful cinematic contrast for me. And it was important to begin with another track, "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison, which alerts you to the fact that this isn’t a comedy in the usual mould and ushers you into a mysterious atmosphere, to keep you on your toes.

Of everything that audiences here at San Sebastián have told you about the film, what has shocked or surprised you the most?
How each viewer reaches a different reading of the themes it tackles: many are there, but some we hadn’t even realised ourselves. It has layers, with a hidden depth to them: it’s about human behaviour, how we handle things, how we justify our own actions, and having to face the consequences. I love how one man told me he laughed like he hadn’t in years, with tears streaming down his face. And another told me he'd had a terrible time, feeling such anguish. I find it stimulating, as a director and as a viewer, that the same film can elicit such different emotions.