After the excellent success of commercial films such as Fragile and Darkness and the two chapters of Rec, with which he charted a solid trajectory in the fantasy genre, Spanish director Jaume Balagueró has decided to change register entirely, abandoning the more traditional horror and exploring the more sophisticated mechanisms of a disturbing psychological thriller, where suspense and atmosphere are the main features.

With Mientras Duermes, written by trusted collaborator and friend Alberto Marini, Balagueró decided to go back and discover the more classic elements of the thriller genre, temporarily leaving out the horror genre. This is a classic suspense story, with a formula used over and over again, but one that differs from most recent products, making it truly interesting and terrifying, because of its closeness to reality and everyday life and because of the (shrewd) choice of the villain protagonist: not the typical serial killer, obsessive kidnapper or simple torturer, but a seriously disturbed, people-obsessed character with a completely original personality and modus operandi. Here the aim is not simply to kill or torture his neighbor, but to make life difficult for him, to see him suffer and suffer a life as miserable as his own. A psychopath who weaves his evil slowly, starting from the little things around us, seemingly insignificant things. But that is precisely what makes him more twisted, subtle and dangerous. The protagonist is perfectly played by Luis Tosar, a Spanish actor already admired in Cell 211, who gives life to a creepy, ambiguous, slimy, mythomaniac character who frankly creeps and holds up (almost) entirely on his own the entire film. The other characters become almost side characters (despite the albeit good Marta Etura who plays Clara), everything revolves around his foibles (order and cleanliness), his phobias (dirt and loneliness), and his mental deviation. Balagueró is an excellent director, technically no question, and he is also very good at storytelling (in this case packaged impeccably by Italian Alberto Marini). With Mientras Duermes he also shows that he is capable of dealing with different themes and tackling alternative genres to horror. There is no blood (with the exception of a single scene, which is moreover very raw and well done), there are no ghosts or other entities, and there are no infected. What does emerge is his talent.

 

 

Interview with Jaume Balagueró

The plot of the film is rather atypical compared to the rest of your filmography. After ghosts and infected–a thriller. How did the project come about?

It was not a premeditated decision. It happened that the script ended up in my hands almost by chance. My friend and writer Alberto Marini, with whom I had worked in the past, one day handed me this subject he had written to let me read it and give an opinion. I think at the time his idea was to direct it himself, but as soon as I started reading it I was immediately fascinated and captivated, and I liked it so much that I told him I would like to type it myself. He was so enthusiastic about my decision that the next month we were already working on the film. Alberto, besides being a great friend of mine, is an incredibly creative and passionate person. We worked together very closely, on fine-tuning the script, and we had a lot of fun doing it! He is a very generous person who focuses with all of himself on his work.

I find it to be an intriguing and very special story. It is not a traditional horror film, but the suspense and incredible tension drew me in and I am sure it will have the same effect on the audience!

Is the story based on actual events?

No, I hope not! Although I imagine that similar facts can and have really happened somewhere in the world. The doorman of a building is a person who tends to have some control over the residents and the environment in which they live. He knows many details about their lives and this gives him great power. I am sure that in real life there has been more than one terrible affair between the doorman and a resident….

Was it difficult to create an original story? There seems to be a shortage of ideas lately….

No, I don’t think it’s that difficult to create films that are original and different from each other. In fact many of the new stories that are coming out often surprise us positively. The problem is that the big studios and producers are not always prepared to stand behind them, they prefer to play it safe by funding a formula that has already been tested and successful.

What is the goal you wanted to achieve with Bed Time?

The goal of the film is not to frighten the viewer. The idea is more to engage the audience in this morbid game of tension and suspense by asking them to participate in it. The viewer plays a more important role in this game than one might think, and I am sure the audience will be surprised by their reactions. It all revolves around being part of this disturbing game.

How important in this kind of film is the presence of a great actor like Luis Tosar?

It was essential for me to have a really formidable and good actor for the lead role, whose presence had to be both disturbing and intriguing. We needed someone capable of disgusting and frightening the audience, and capable at the same time of captivating them. Luis Tosar was the perfect choice for such a complex and ambiguous role.

Are you satisfied with the final result?

I usually tend to be extremely demanding and self-critical as a filmmaker. I’m satisfied with the outcome of a film when I see the audience enjoy it and experience the emotions I had in mind while making it. And I must say that the reactions of those who have seen it so far have been incredible, so I am very happy.

 

Interview with Alberto Marini

This is not the first time you have worked together with Jaume Balagueró, not only as a screenwriter.

I joined Filmax in 1999, a few weeks before Nameless was released here in Spain. I remember that the film impressed me very much. And the chance to work with the director on his following project was one of the reasons that confirmed to me that Filmax was without a doubt the right place to stay. From there, I got to know Jaume in meetings of the project development department. Meetings where there were four to ten people each time. One of Jaume’s qualities is that he has very clear ideas, ideas, however, that he matures by listening. He always has a humble attitude, no artist snobbery or unbridled ego. He listens to whatever suggestions or comments come his way. And so, little by little, a professional relationship of mutual esteem and trust was born.

On that occasion then we felt we were on the same side of the fence. One of the stakeholders in the development of Darkness was Miramax. We worked well with them, but they had different criteria and a different working system. Having to respond to their comments on the script, being together (with the help of Brian Yuzna) on the eternal conference calls with Dimension executives, actually fortified our professional union.

To sum up, it was and continues to be very easy to work with Jaume because, talent aside, he is an absolutely normal person. Frankly, I think I was lucky to have had the opportunity to work with him in Darkness. If he had been a minimally haughty director, unable to listen to an intern…I don’t know where I would be now…certainly not here.

After Darkness, Fragile as story editor, the two Recs as executive producer, the episode Para entrar a vivir as screenwriter, it was the turn of Mientras duermes again as screenwriter. Considering your work alongside Balagueró over all these years, how do you consider its evolution?

I think that especially Rec (let it be said, here with Paco Plaza) and Mientras duermes represented an important change of register in his filmmaking, a proof of versatility on the one hand and stylistic personality on the `other. If with Darkness and Fragile Jaume proved that he can make commercial genre cinema according to American standards, with the latest productions he has also shown that he holds a clear stylistic personality, despite the change in genre and language. Rec and Mientras duermes belong, in fact, to different genres, they use a distinct visual language … but you recognize in both the same stylistic imprint of the director. A trademark.

I believe that Mientras duermes represents his most mature film as a director, a film in which Jaume moves away from effect solutions and where he is able to portray tremendous, perverse events and situations with an elegance that makes them in a way, beautiful, attractive.

Anyway, and Jaume himself says this, I think he is a director who continues to learn and improve. He has not yet reached his peak. So I look forward with great curiosity to what he will do in Rec 4.

Mientras duermes is an atypical story in Balagueró’s filmography. Perhaps only the episode Para entrar a vivir has similarities in location and some situations. How did the project come about?

Frankly, I wrote Mientras duermes with me as director in mind. It was supposed to be a personal project to take the big leap. And, as a matter of course, once I finished the script, I passed it on to people with criteria close to me. Jaume was one of the first to have the script in his hands. I expected to get some suggestions … however, another proposal came. I remember my surprise when he told me that if I wanted to direct it, he would support me unconditionally, but that the thing he would be most pleased with was something else. “Are you sure?” I told him, “It’s not a horror film.” “I know what it is,” he replied. There was no need to add anything else. In retrospect, it was all a fortunate (again, luck) concatenation of episodes: after Rec Jaume had just come to the internal conclusion that he wanted to try his hand at a new genre, a classic thriller; I had this script, which met Jaume’s new needs; and Filmax wanted to announce a major project in Cannes. 1 + 1 + 1 and everybody was happy.

On balance, I am very happy with how things have turned out. Because, with Jaume, the project has grown and turned into a fantastic reality. It’s a film that I’m enormously proud of and, speaking of career and purely personal benefits, it’s opening new doors for me as far as film writing is concerned… Also, with the giving up directing, I tried my hand at an idea that was there but would remain in the drawer: writing a book inspired by the same story. And the book is coming out now in Spain, published by Random House. And, at the moment, it’s coming out in six other countries, including Italy (Mondadori editions).

Is the story inspired by some real-life news incident or is it a fictional story?

This is a fictional story with some constraints on reality. A first constraint is my personal experience. Nothing transcendental. Simply in our house, the concierge had the keys and it was normal to come home and see her in our quarters. We had blind trust in her and never thought she would do anything wrong, despite the fact that she was a stranger. In fact, she never did anything wrong … but, thinking back now, she could easily have done anything, and we would never have noticed. Working on this possibility seemed interesting to me.

The second constraint is an article I read about people living in other people’s houses, without the owners being aware. It sounds strange, impossible, but in the States, according to the article, there are several cases a year. And not one or two, but about thirty to forty. And in New York then I met a producer, Ted Hope, who had personally gone through a similar experience with a girl who had been hiding in their house for a couple of weeks, without them realizing it. After all, who looks under the bed when they come home?

How long did the writing phase take?

The writing took about 18 months. The first six solo. The last 12 with Jaume. A usual process in script development. There were no major problems, except for readjusting the location from New York to Barcelona, thus changing not only the spaces, but also the form of speaking and even the characteristics of some of the characters. Also, the version I had written for me was very introspective… Jaume, on the contrary, insisted on a more visual thriller, where the emotions were strained by the images, by what happens and not by what is said.

Did you also follow the shooting of the film? Does the end result match what you had in mind from the very beginning, or were some aspects changed on the run?

Clearly I followed the filming. Filmax offered me the position of executive producer, and there was no reason in the world not to accept. The result, as always, is different from what I had in my head, but it does not depend on having made last-minute corrections. Always between imagination and reality there is a difference. And, in this case, I am happier with reality. The film is even better than I expected — and I expected a lot.

You have always worked in Spain together with Spanish producers and directors of a certain level. Looking at Italy, even from the outside, are we that bad compared to them?

I wanted to do horror. That’s why I left. And I went to Filmax because I had read about the Fantastic Factory project of Julio Fernández, who had called Brian Yuzna to Barcelona to create a genre film factory. As for Italy, I don’t think Italian cinema is in bad shape. At least, that is not the feeling in Spain. What you need is that you have the idea that only comedies, a few good political or social exposé films, and a few auteur pieces (like Moretti)…. can come out of Italy. Little more. Maybe it is a wrong opinion, however, no more Italian films are seen here.

To sum up, there are and you can see good things from Italy. But there are no horror-so I stay here, very happy to stay here.