“Forcing People to Look at the Old Body”: Discover REC Director Abuela

Awarded the Jury Prize at the Gerardmere Fantastic Film Festival, Abuela is finally coming out in French cinemas. This gruesome new feature film from Paco Plaza, to which we owe the first REC films and the very successful Veronica, tells the story of Susanna (Almudena Amor) going to hell, a young Spanish model who is about to break into Parisian fashion. World.

But when Grandma Pilar (Vera Valdes) is the victim of an accident that leaves her almost paralyzed, Susanna must return to her old apartment in Madrid, where she grew up, to look after her only family. With their joint anniversary approaching, old memories are born again with strange events and the grandmother’s behavior becomes more and more disturbing …

AlloCiné was able to talk to director Paco Plaza about the theme and metaphors of this new horror film and how it fits into the difficult and absolute period of the Abuela pandemic.

AlloCiné: How did La Abuela come up with the idea for this movie?

Paco Plaza: This is a mix of different items. I had an aunt who had Alzheimer’s disease and it was really shocking to me. Looking back, I know I was greatly influenced by being next to someone and seeing the emptiness in their eyes.

I was also disturbed by the shooting of my film Quien a hierro mata (eye for an eye), for which I spent several weeks in a geriatric hospital. I worked with everyone and the residents not only did extra work, they also worked with the team to do the chores. I was really amazed at how much fun they had every day. And I think it’s because they know they don’t have many days left. It was a special experience.

And at that moment I started thinking that in our society we no longer look at old characters and put them aside because we think they are no longer useful. No one wants to grow old. Aging is considered a bad thing when it’s the only way to stay alive. This is very paradoxical for me and, above all, is a false nostalgia that, I really think, makes our society unhealthy. And not so in Mexico. This is not the case in gypsy culture, where you enjoy old age and stay with your family.

The fear of old age is finally greater than the fear of death …

Half big. Death is like pressing a button to turn it off and that is it. But it is painful to expect death alone. There is a time in life when you are an adult and you are caring for the elderly and it is really painful.

And I think it was not like that before. Years ago, at least in Spain, living with a family was natural for grandparents. My grandparents died at home. It was like that. They took care of you, so take care of them until death. And so it is no longer.

I was talking about not looking at old characters anymore. There was little thought about the pandemic as they were most affected by COVID. Did that make you even more surprised? And how did the pandemic affect the film?

I think every film forms a kind of dialogue with the world and the world has changed and the perception of the weakness of older people is stronger now. The film does not mean the same thing now. There was a certain twist in the film at the beginning of filming, which is now much less noticeable in all the images we have seen and experienced in the dramas, far or near. The connection between film and reality is now very different and perhaps stronger.

There is a moment when the granddaughter helps to take a shower. We talked a lot in advance about this scene, which is much longer than necessary. But I wanted to make people look at the old body and I wanted to make you feel a little awkward and then wonder why they are so uncomfortable. If I had chosen to show the girl’s body, people would not have experienced any discomfort.

Fear of aging and the social pressures surrounding old age affect women more than men. That’s why you chose female characters for the film?

Yes, of course. And I think that pressure and that fear will not go away any time soon. I think the body is somewhat of a woman’s fortress. And so I wanted the female characters and Susanna characters to be the model to show the culmination of the beauty cult and the competition between the women. There will always be someone younger, more beautiful, more ambitious who will come and push you up the stairs. And I wanted to show this toxicity too.

You put a very old woman in the center of the story, which is very rare in movies. And you will not hesitate to show her from every angle, through her strengths and weaknesses, but also naked.

Yes, I wanted to disclose that. For example, there is a moment when a grandchild helps him to take a shower. We talked a lot in advance about this scene, which is much longer than necessary. But I wanted to make people look at the old body and I wanted to make you feel a little awkward and then wonder why they are so uncomfortable.

If I had chosen to show the girl’s body, people would not have experienced any discomfort. But seeing wrinkles, old and tired body makes you think. And I think that’s what art should be about, that is, to make us think about ourselves and our way of life, to look at the world and understand ourselves and the society that surrounds us. And it may sound a bit pretentious, but I think the only idea in art is to ask us who we are and how we treat other people.

Abuela reminded me of a lot of Veronica with its similar construction and the closed side of this family that goes wrong. Is this new film part of a continuum in your cinema?

I think our filmography is cumulative. Every movie you make depends on the movies you have shot before. Veronica and Abuela have similar themes. In Veronica’s case, she was a person who did not want to grow old because she was a little girl. He does not want to be an adult. In Abuela, on the contrary, an adult should be a little girl again.

So they reflect each other to some extent. And it is true that both are similar to each other. A lot of darkness is involved and danger comes from your family and your place of safety, which is usually your home. So I think they are somewhat related.

Do you continue to study the genre in your next films? Are there topics that interest you more than others?

I really want to continue working in horror movies in general because that is what I have loved since childhood. And I think this is the best way to approach important issues for you, because imagination gives you the tools to expand the playing field and you are not limited by the logic of reality.

I do not like horror movies that will explain everything to you. I love it when you come out of the cinema with different theories. I want to leave room for secrets. And yet I do not know what topic I want to touch on in the future, but I know I always wanted to make a movie about vampires.

Do you have models or directors that inspire you in your cinema?

I think Bunuel and Polanski are both directors I appreciate the most. And I think they taught me how to get closer to reality through their films. And Claire Dennis, too, with problems every day. This movie made my brain feel like popcorn. That I look crazy. And the last movie that had such an impact on me was Titanium. I saw it three times.

How did it affect you?

I already loved Grave, which was a very good horror movie. But Titanium is a game changer. This is as important a film as Pulp Fiction. It does not matter if you like the movie or not. I know there are a lot of people who have responded negatively to the film. Which suggests that this is a movie that can not be ignored. I went through a few emotions and questions while watching the movie. I did not even know if I liked it or not. And at the same time, as if to ask someone if he likes “Guernica”. It does not matter, but studying the background and impact is important. And Julia Dukurnau is very talented.

Megan Shockett’s interview on February 4, 2022 in Paris.