(This article is from the first station of film and television life Time Network)
Interview with Oreole Paul
Time Network News To evaluate the words of "The Invisible Guest" - "It's like riding a high-speed train, the speed is getting faster and faster, you have to see the last to get off." And driving this high-speed train is the Spanish suspense film "old driver" Oriol Paul. At the Beijing press conference on September 12, he used this metaphor to evaluate his "children."
Arguably the best suspense masterpiece of the year, "The Invisible Guest" is also a Spanish film that has rarely been introduced to the mainland. Numerous perspectives and clues play the film out of 4 layers of reversal and 5 endings, and Oriol Paul, who is also a writer and director, was directly named "Reversal King" by Chinese fans.
Although this is Paul's first visit to China, The Invisible Guest is not his first work to be released in China.
Born in Barcelona in 1975, Oriol Paul was a new generation of directors in Spain, debuting as a screenwriter in his early years, writing scripts for local Spanish tv shorts, until 2010, when he participated in "Julia's Eyes" as one of the screenwriters, a word-of-mouth thriller directed by [Gullam Morales] and produced by [Gilmo del Toro], and he began to emerge in the film industry, and "Julia's Eyes" was also introduced to Chinese mainland in 2012. It seems that his relationship with China began five years ago.
Subsequently, he was successfully nominated for the best director of the 2013 Goya Awards in Spain with his first self-written and self-directed thriller "The Mystery of the Female Corpse", although he did not win, he was affirmed by the "Spanish Oscars", which made his directing career to a new level. Five years later, we also saw another peak of his film career, "The Invisible Guest".
"The King of Tricks"
In this interview with Time.com, Paul revealed the inspiration for his filming, including a tribute to his favorite films, such as Laura (Barbara Laney), who died in the secret room at the beginning, named after "Laura" ("The Secret History of Lola"), which was nominated for multiple Oscars in 1944; for example, the "prosecution witness" mentioned many times in the film to cause psychological oppression to the male protagonist and the courtroom-style dialogue presented, drawing on Billy Wilder's "Prosecution Witness". There is also South Korea's Bong Joon-ho's "Mother", which also tries his best to clear his son's suspicions, and Paul says that this is the role he likes, and he likes to create a strong woman.
In addition, Mario Casas, who plays the "King of Lies" Adrian in the film, and Ana Wagner, who plays the "Queen of Tricks" Goodman, undoubtedly adds points to "The Invisible Guest", for which Paul also shared his original intention of casting, and will start filming a new science fiction suspense work "Phantom" next January.
"Details"
Time.com: "The Invisible Guest" has received quite good reviews in China, and the completeness of the script logic and the amazing details are worth pondering. How long has it been preparing for such a script? Where did the inspiration for this story come from?
<b>Oriole Paul:</b> When I was a kid, I loved to read suspense novels, like Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, John Dixon Carr, and others, with all sorts of "impossible crimes" like murder in the Chamber of Secrets. When I read a book, I can't help but think about how to solve the puzzle and what is the truth. So when I'm writing this play, I often look back at my childhood feelings and <b>try to document the process of deliberation. </b>I thought the script could have the feeling that reading the book gave me at that time.
<b>It took me almost a year to write this script. </b>I wrote the first draft in the first six months. With the first draft, I went to finalize the filming location and the actors, especially the male protagonist Mario Casas, and then it took me another six months to adjust the script.
"Lola"
TIME: Did any movies inspire you?
<b>Oriol Paul:</b> Yes, I like that there is a Hollywood film called "The Secret History of Lola", probably in the fifties, and the film also revolves around the death of a mysterious woman named Lola, which is the same as in "The Invisible Guest", and <b>I deliberately followed Lola's name. </b>
There is also a film called "Prosecution Witness", directed by Billy Wilder, and the story of Agatha. <b>I wanted to make "The Invisible Guest" a "courtroom-style" film. </b>Start with the "Chamber of Secrets case", and then the two characters of Adrian and Goodman are also locked up in an interrogation "chamber". To put the character in that situation, only words are their only weapon.
Time.com: This film is also reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon.
<b>Oreole Paul:</b> Yeah, yeah, there's actually a point. I think sometimes, there is not necessarily a specific reference work in the mind, and even I don't know. Indeed, Rashomon is also a story about the scrutiny of lies and truths, each with its own interests and motives behind it.
<b>Time.com: So you're also going to pay attention to some Asian movies, have you liked them in recent years? </b>
<b>Oriole Paul:</b> Well, yes, in fact I pay attention to all the world's works, but I especially like Asian films. Asian films will always try more new ways to communicate with the audience, whether it is the way of telling the story or the language of the camera. For example, I like "Mother" directed by Bong Joon-ho in South Korea. A strong mother does everything in her power to clear her son's suspicions. I was also inspired when I wrote (invisible guest) scripts.
"Mother"
<b>Time.com: The goodman lawyer in the movie uses various psychological techniques and traps to pry open Adrian's mouth, Adrian from the beginning of the reservation to the final indifference to admit the truth, Goodman's performance throughout the whole process is not a little too witty too strong, can't believe that she is really just a good theater actor? This is very different from her side as a weak mother. What do you think of goodman's character. </b>
<b>Oreole Paul:</b> That's her specialty. And that's how her character is, in order to achieve her goal, to get Adrian to go to jail, she can do whatever it takes. I've always liked the role of the lawyer, she's like the Iron Woman, that's Goodman, and all the necessary means are used. <b>I especially like the strong woman character at heart. </b>
A strong woman who was once out of control
TIME: Before she went to Adrian, it was equivalent to rehearsal before "going on stage", right? Can it be understood that she rehearsed it before the moment Adrian took the initiative to say it (--blocking spoiler auto-silenced?). After that, she basically "improvised", which is what everyone calls "golden ten minutes". What do you think of this reversal.
<b>Oriole Paul:</b> Yes, she had rehearsals beforehand. At that moment (Adrian offered to say "that message"), she didn't think about it at all, and it was the only information she hadn't grasped before, so you can see that her emotions in that period were a little out of control, and her mother side was a little hidden, and then she calmed herself down and returned to the role of "lawyer".
<b>Time.com: She often looks out the window, and that's how she calms down. </b>
<b>Oreole Paul:</b> Yes, looking at her husband across the street gave her reassurance. It is also a foreshadowing for the audience.
<b>TIME: How did you find Mario Casas and Ana Wagner in the first place, and how did you work with them? </b>
Adrian-esque confusion
Oriol Paolo: Mario Casas is a very famous young actor in Spain, almost the no.1 popularity in Spain now. But Mario had played too many teenage roles before, and my feeling at the time was that Mario needed a movie that would allow him to "grow" and become more manly. <b>Mario, as an actor, has achieved high grades so far, but he is very young, like Adrian in the play, a person who has achieved high commercial success at a young age, so the two of them are quite similar to some extent. </b>I wanted to find the most suitable person for my role, and I was lucky enough to do it.
As for Ana Wagner, it was her first film to play a leading role, she was mainly a TV series and theater actress before, I wanted to find an actor who <b>was not too familiar, not too famous</b> to play Goodman, and I also wanted to give her a chance to star in the movie, I liked this actor, she was very worth it.
Several actors took a group photo
<b>Time.com: The Invisible Guest is your second self-written and self-directed film, and compared to The Mystery of the Female Corpse five years ago, do you think there have been any changes or improvements in all aspects of yourself? </b>
<b>Oreo Paul:</b> It should be more secure. "The Mystery of the Female Corpse" is my first director's work, and there are many lessons learned at that time to apply to this work. I think The Invisible Guest is a more complete work. The script of "Female Corpse Mystery Case" has a total of 97 scenes, and "Invisible Guest" has more than 250 scenes, which is a more complicated story, and the reason why I dare to shoot it is that the sense of security also comes from "Female Corpse Mystery Case".
But in fact, I think "The Mystery of the Female Corpse" is slightly better in terms of actor acting, photography and sound effects. I also hope that the next work will be better than "The Invisible Guest".
The Invisible Guest is more complex than the story of The Corpse of a Woman
<b>TIME: So the next work is already in the works? Or is it a thriller suspense category? </b>
<b>Oreole Paul:</b> Yes, in progress, the next one will be more sci-fi, <b>a sci-fi suspense film based on a romance novel. </b>(Science fiction will need more budgets) <b>Yes, more money is needed haha but with "The Invisible Guest" the next money is not a problem (laughs).</b> We'll be up next January.
<b>TIME: So it's in the script preparation phase? </b>
<b>Oriol Paul:</b> The script is currently written, between The Mystery of the Female Corpse and The Invisible Guest, called "Mirage" (Spanish for phantom).
<b>Time.com: Before you became a director, you were an experienced screenwriter. Director and screenwriter, what kind of work do you prefer to do next? </b>
<b>Oreole Paul:</b> When you're just a screenwriter, you just have to deal with words, more like a conversation with yourself. But as a director, I have to take care of everything and communicate with the crew, which requires me to have more output and more extroverts. <b>At present, I hope to do more directing work, but if I can, it is best to direct my own script. </b>If the situation allows (laughs).
"Reverse King" came to China to announce the film
Time.com: This is the first time to Asia, the first time to Come to China, what do you think of the Chinese film market?
<b>Oriol Paul:</b> The Chinese film market is arguably the most important market in the world at the moment, and many Hollywood films have higher box office revenue in China than in North America. For me, it is a great honor for the work to enter the Chinese market this time.
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