Chile 1976: Portrait of a woman who says no

HelloCine: Chile 1976 Born from the memory of your grandmother, whose death is shrouded in mystery. Does your film fantasize about the fate of your grandmother?

Manuela Martel: For me, this question had more to do with her depression than with her grandmother’s death. When I started researching the film, I first asked my immediate family about my grandmother, and what struck me was that depression was seen as something internal that defined her or was part of her personality.

There may be some part, a special sensibility, but also something bigger than that, something cultural, political, social. For many years women have had this intuition but no words to define it.

Betty Friedan called it that in the early 60s “The Problem That Has No Name”. But in Chile, things were much slower, and then came the dictatorship, which froze all progress for twenty years. So I thought you couldn’t think of the Depression without thinking of the horrors of dictatorship.

Why did you decide to set the action in 1976? Why is this year special in the history of Chile?

It was the year my grandmother died and for me, choosing this year was a way to make amends. Declaring the date of his death as the date of his birth gave him a chance for a new life.

But that year is also important, it was one of the most brutal years of the dictatorship. I think, in a way, this was a crucial year, when the repression took full measure. From there, no one dared to do anything.

The audience is really inside your character’s head. Looks unread to everyone but us…

I think this is related to what I was saying earlier, it is not said because there is no place or because there are no words (which of course is related). I think that’s why the character is so mysterious. Carmen gains insight as the film progresses, not only politically but also personally.

Aline Kuppenheim It’s fascinating. How did you work with him?

We met many years ago on the set of My Friend Machuca and ended up in La Buena Vida. So there was already some complicity between us.

I was thinking about him when I was writing the script. Then we started talking a lot. I told him about my grandmother, and he told me about himself. I discovered an incredible character, a transgressive woman, ahead of her time, completely liberal.

So we started building the character together. I added a lot of things from Alin’s grandmother to the hero. There was nothing more to say on the set. Aline is a great actress, so talented, smart and generous. He understood the film perfectly, so I just had to let him play.

Sound is especially important in your film, it really conveys your character’s doubts and weaknesses.

Sound is very important in the film because it deals with the idea of ​​the invisible. What better voice to reflect that? It is an invisible issue that is always there. I thought it was a great way to portray the feeling of a dictatorship. In the film, the voice plays this role, but as you say, it also became subjective, revealing Carmen’s spirit.