Expresso talks to actor Javier Bardem and director Alejandro González Iñárritu as they gear up for the Academy Awards 2011.
On a cold Autumn morning in 2006, a character came knocking into acclaimed Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s head. “Hola, my name is Uxbal”. After nursing the character for three long years, Iñárritu finally bought him to life in ‘Biutiful’. The movie follows Uxbal (Bardem), an underworld figure and devoted single dad, through his attempts to reconcile with a past love and secure a future for his children as his own death draws near.
A character torn in contradictions, Uxbal is “a primitive, simple, humble man with a deep supernatural insight. He was dismissive and full of contradictions,” says Iñárritu.
The director said that the theme of the movie, fatherhood, is something that he has obsessed with for his entire life. “It is about fatherhood — about the fear of losing a father, of being a father and that moment when you start becoming your own father and your kids start becoming you. It is about loss — because in the end, we are what we have lost, too”, says Iñárritu.
‘Biutiful’ is his first directorial venture since ‘Babel’, and has been nominated for the Academy Awards in 2011 in the category of best foreign language film.
Bardem’s performance has also received nominations for best actor making his performance the first entirely Spanish language performance to be nominated for that award. The director said, “Since I first started writing ‘Biutiful’, I always thought of Javier Bardem for Uxbal. Nobody else could have brought to the character what he has brought.”
Spanish actor and Academy Award winner Javier Bardem steps into the shoes of Uxbal in his latest movie ‘Biutiful’. Portraying what can be called one of the most captivating roles in his career, Bardem gets candid about his role, working with director Alejandro González Iñárritu and his Oscar nomination.
How do you feel, having been nominated for an Oscar?
JB: It’s a great honour. It’s something that you never dream of. And then, it happens and you are there, and you try to share it with all the people that mean so much to you, but you don’t have the time, so you have to choose which people. But, they understand. They’re your people because they understand.
What was it that made you want to play the role of Uxbal?
JB: I’m a huge fan of Alejandro González Iñárritu, and his work, to begin with, but, I was more drawn toward the script itself. It was beautifully written and the character was very complex. I knew it would be a very rewarding challenge for me to convey all those aspects to his character.
How did you establish this complex character?
JB: This movie was a whole new experience for Alejandro and me. For him, it was new to work with only one actor, for five months. And for me, it was new to have such a multi-layered character for so long. So, we really had to trust each other and be aware that it was going to be a journey filled with turmoil, but a satisfying one, creatively.
After this amazing performance, has it made you see life differently?
JB: Of the many gifts of being an actor, one is that you are beautifully forced to see the world with different eyes. Death, for Uxbal, is different. It’s a wake-up call to realise and re-evaluate his life. You cannot get attached to what that character feels about some issues. You have to pull yourself away and be him, but you know that you are being somebody else who’s not you. We all understand things intellectually, but the actor has the obligation to experience it. It’s not that I know how it feels, but I know that experience in a very emotional way. That’s different from knowing it intellectually.
Did it help that this film was done chronologically?
JB: Yeah, that helped a lot. Otherwise, it would have been too crazy to be able to go through that journey randomly. That was one of the great luxuries of this shoot. I also had the whole crew with me.
What was it like to work with Maricel Álvarez, who played Marambra?
JB: She’s an actress, but it was the first time that she’d done a movie. She’s the opposite of her character. She’s very clear and rational and healthy, mentally, emotionally and physically. And then, they would call action and she would turn into this monster. It was great. Good actors are good actors, wherever they are, whether it’s TV, theater, the circus or the movies.
What do you think about the themes that Alejandro is presenting with this film?
JB: We are speaking a different language here. This is not a movie that’s so easy to just present in words. It’s not one of those movies where you can pinpoint, “It’s about this, and then you take home this other thing.” It’s deeper than that. You have to see it and really have the courage to make the journey. If you take the journey, you’re going to bring back with you a lot of good things. But, if I name them, that will disrespect the journey itself.
How was Alejandro, as a director?
JB: He’s one of the greatest directors of all time. He’s also an actor’s director. I can tear my heart into pieces, but if the camera is not in the right place, it doesn’t matter. He knows where to put the camera. He knows how to work with silence and when to put the music in. He knows how to cut and how to work the cut. All of that helps you to put the best performance out there.
Did you approach your character by seeing the good and bad in him?
JB: A great actress from Spain said, “We, the actors, are lawyers of the characters we play. We have to defend them.” I saw him as a human being. I don’t believe in stereotypes. We all have shades of grey. We are doing right and wrong, at least 20 times per day. As an actor, you can’t judge.
