Larrain co-wrote and directed the film, which debuts in Competition atVenicethis evening forNetflix.
Its beautiful, Larrain said of his work with the streamer.
He has decided to stop drinking blood and abandon the privilege of eternal life.
Pablo Larraín on the ‘El Conde’ set.Diego Araya Corvalán/Netflix ©2023
Veteran Chilean actor Jaime Vadell is Augusto Pinochet in the pic.
The brutal dictator is still one of the most divisive figures in Chilean history.
Pinochets violence and the legacy he left behind have been a constant theme throughout Larrains Chilean-based work.
Alfredo Castro as Fyodor in ‘El Conde.’ (Netflix)
To Larrain, very little separatesEl Condefrom his English-language work.
Im a political filmmaker, he said.
Jackieis a very political film.
Politics is always in a story.
Cinema can never be apolitical.
DEADLINE:Firstly, Pablo, youre an extremely prolific filmmaker.
Youve made 7 films this decade and several TV series.
How are you feeling right now?
PABLO LARRAIN:I feel good.
I feel blessed that Im busy.
This is a challenging job.
It requires a lot of work, patience, passion, and love, and I still have it.
Ive been able to make movies that I care about, and thats a good place to be in.
DEADLINE:Well, congrats onEl Conde.
Many of your films have discussed Augusto Pinochet in the past.
Can you tell me about his legacy in Chile and how it has impacted your life?
LARRAIN: To me, Pinochets legacy is divided into two main branches.
We had this figure who could act with impunity, and that impunity created a lack of healing.
Today, we still havent reached that healing.
We have not reached an agreement where we say this should never happen again.
That movement created a pact where most Argentinians now know that what happened should never happen again.
This lack of justice, in Chiles case, might be eternal.
And thats the origin of this film.
I was shocked when I read that.
How did you land on this narrative structure?
LARRAIN: This is a movie that has an origin in three elements.
Firstly, these famous black and white pictures of Pinochet back in the day by an Argentinian photographer.
We see him wearing this cape.
The other thing is Jaime, who plays Pinochet.
I dont know anyone else who could play the role.
Hes a precious, wonderful actor.
And then the third thing is that there are no other movies or television shows about Pinochet.
This is the first one.
So I thought, can we do it?
DEADLINE:Why were you surprised by Castro describing El Conde as your most important film?
LARRAIN: Its very generous.
Hes a friend and a master for me.
I dont exactly know what he meant by important.
I dont think Ill refer to the subject again.
Do you see that difference, and is it intentional?
LARRAIN: No, Im a political filmmaker.Jackieis a very political film.
Politics is always in a story.
Cinema can never be apolitical.
As long as youre describing a society, youre making choices.
These are political visions.Jackiehas an element of the American collective disturbance with violence.
And she needs to get out of there because she didnt accept that reality.
DEADLINE:How didEl Condeend up at Netflix?
LARRAIN: I had originally thought Netflix would want to do a limited series.
So Guillermo [Calderon, co-writer] and I designed the story.
We wrote the first episode for a potential pilot of a four or five-episode series.
I said I thought you wanted television?
He said, No, we do everything.
And this is better for a movie.
I said of course, sure.
And then we wrote the script, they approved it, and we made it.
Im happy because this movie is going to be in a lot of living rooms.
DEADLINE:How does being on Netflix change the way you work as a filmmaker?
We work with our hands.
And if I am going to have an audience in a cinema, I know I have their senses.
As such, my timing can be different.
I could use the sound space.
I could be more ambiguous.
I could be even slower or faster.
Youre doing the job incorrectly if youre unaware of where your movie might screen.
And if you ignore that, then the movie will probably fail on a service like Netflix.
He said it was wonderfully creative but tough to produce and secure funding because you were all so young.
Is it now easier for you to make films in Chile?
LARRAIN: A movie is always a miracle.
Easy is not the right word.
We have more experience, especially my brother, Juan, the producer.
We have learned how to make movies.
You just start to understand who you are talking to.
And how to put it together.
But its always very difficult.
Even the most known filmmakers struggle.
Its just a challenging medium.
DEADLINE:Youre currently one of Latin Americas most successful filmmakers.
The continent has a rich cinematic history.
What do you think of the Latin industry today?
LARRAIN: Latin America is a great place for arts in general.
We have to struggle with our political and economic situations compared to other societies and countries.
But its a healthy place for cinema.
Because even during the bad days, we have found ways to say what we want.
Every generation has interesting voices.
One of the challenges is to get past the language barrier.
Spanish can be challenging for people because theyre not used to reading subtitles.
We have to focus on making more universal content without losing our perspective and point of view.
Youre talking to the world.
DEADLINE: Pablo, youre a prolific filmmaker.
What can people expect from you next?
LARRAIN: Im making a movie about Maria Callas.
So Im preparing that.
Well see what happens and how it comes out.
DEADLINE: Do you think that production will be disrupted at all by the strikes?
LARRAIN: I dont think so.
Were not financed by any of the studios.
Its a completely and purely independent movie.
So we should be fine.
We should be part of the group of films that the SAG permits to shoot.
