Thats a really tough question as a director.
Ruizpalacios has a point.
StarringRooney Maraand shot in a crisp digital black-and-white,La Cocinais hard to define.
La Cocina.Juan Pablo Ramírez / Filmadora.
Pedro is a dreamer and one of the kitchens largest characters.
But when an unexpected revelation about Julia is revealed, Pedro spirals, causing an explosion in the kitchen.
Kitchens become a microcosm of how the world works.
A caste system develops.
And what attracts me to that subject matter is how one survives a place like that.
And the only way is through friendship and camaraderie.
La Cocinamarks Maras first feature acting credit since 2022s Oscar-nominatedWomen Talking.
I get sent things like that a lot, and most of them are bad.
But Alonsos was so personal and poetic.
I really wanted to work with him.
Mara stars alongside Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgard, and Robin Wright in the thriller.
And then I sawCarol.
She was just so good at the subtext in that film.
She was so frail and could communicate so much with very few words.
Shes a lady of few words.
But shes really intense, and I needed that for this character.
I dont speak Spanish very well, but I can understand a lot of it.
But it was just the best collection of people ever.
Its great to be in a different country working.
Pretty early on, I had some very negative experiences.
After working with David Fincher, I realized the director is everything.
Thats who I follow.
Thats my North Star, she says.
Its all about whether the experience will be good.
So I dont think about that.
To me, its about the experience because thats what Ill have to take with me.
Its my time and my life.
La Cocinais Ruizpalacioss fourth feature and, curiously, his fourth time opening a film at Berlin.
The film screens in competition tonight at Berlin.
Hanway is handling sales.
Unlike Cannes or Venice, the screenings in Berlin are sold to general audiences.
So it has a very different feel.
I had so many f*cking Hollywood meetings.
But thats the film, he exclaims.
So we didnt budge, and luckily, I have wonderful producers here in Mexico that have my back.
And then, finally, Fifth Season came along, and they said, we believe in this movie.
Very little has been heard about the project since.
We just dont know when that will be.
It doesnt look like that will happen this year.
But were all committed to the project.
The project is not completely dead, Mara says of the Hepburn biopic.
Luca is no longer going to be directing it, but the project is still very much alive.
She adds: I cant say more than that right now.
La Cocinascreens this evening at theBerlinalePalast in the German capital.
TheBerlin Film Festivalruns February 15-25.
