Official Competition (Competencia oficial)

HAPPY 80TH, DON HUMBERTO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I couldn't sleep last night.

I was thinking and thinking.

Alright...

How do people see me?

How do they see me?

As a man who started from nothing

and today is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry

and feeds almost 10,000 families.

What do I care about that?

I'll tell you how they see me.

As a millionaire,

with an obscene fortune,

but with no prestige.

Well, through your foundation you've helped to set up projects...

Everyone knows what foundations are for.

That building is practically unused.

I've turned 80.

I want to be remembered differently.

I don't know,

to do something that lasts.

A bridge, for example,

designed by a famous architect.

A bridge with my name on it.

To finance it, then donate it to the State.

The Humberto Suárez Bridge.

Or if not, a movie.

A movie?

You want to direct a movie?

No, you idiot, how can I direct a movie?

To finance a movie.

To be the maker.

So that people know I'm behind it.

But not any movie.

A great movie,

with a great director, famous actors,

with the best.

A movie.

Yes, it's the best option.

A movie.

Sorry, excuse me.

What would it be about?

How should I know?

Lola Cuevas, the director.

She's the most prestigious now.

She snaps up all the awards.

Highly prized by the critics.

She never grants interviews.

She's kind of strange.

Her films: The Inverted Rain, from 1996.

Her first work, acclaimed around the world.

The Void, 2001. Very weird, not as celebrated as the previous one.

Haze, 2015. Considered her masterpiece.

She's been waiting a few minutes.

Remind me a bit about this project.

It's all fine, we have the book rights.

- It was a tough negotiation, but... - Sure, I found out what we paid.

You asked me to prioritise it.

One thing is prioritising, another is getting fucked.

But anyway, we've got it now.

- Lola...? - Cuevas.

Iván Torres and Félix Rivero. They're the perfect actors for this.

They're being sounded out now, and it's all go,

despite loads of difficulties, which was expected.

They belong to different worlds.

Iván is the master actor, very prestigious,

and Félix is...

a worldwide star.

I'm interested in that tension, I think it'll help us a lot.

And they've never worked together.

I don't know...

I want the best.

Are they the best?

Better, worse...

I...

wouldn't use those terms to define an artist,

but I get your question

and the answer is yes, they're absolutely the best for this.

Excellent.

- You really don't want any? - No, you go ahead.

Well, getting the book wasn't easy.

But that's it.

We have it, it's mine now.

You know I'll do a very loose version of the novel, don't you?

It was the first thing I said when they called me.

But there will be something of the book left?

It cost me a fortune.

Tell me,

what did you think?

It's meant to be good, isn't it?

It's a Nobel Prize winner.

I'd love you to tell me what it's about.

I haven't read it yet.

I'm not much of a reader, actually.

How do I tell you?

Rivalry is...

Alright then...

It's the story of two brothers:

Manuel is dull, introverted,

and his brother Pedro, his older brother,

is very sure of himself, and rich.

1970: a country town.

Manuel is driving his parents down a road.

It's night and he's drunk.

He loses control and the car rolls over and over.

I hate drunks.

The parents die in the crash. Manuel is unhurt.

Pedro, the other brother, reports him to the police.

Well done.

Then Manuel is sentenced to several years in prison.

Meanwhile, Pedro goes on with his life

and has a relationship with Lucy, a whore at the town brothel.

Everyone is suspicious of Pedro's luxuries.

He has a foundry,

but nobody believes that the money comes from there.

Years go by and Manuel gets out of prison.

Pedro knows his brother is free but they never meet.

Until one day Manuel goes to the brothel and sleeps with Lucy.

His brother finds out, proposes to Lucy and offers her a life of luxury.

Lucy says yes.

Manuel sinks into a terrible depression.

Then he finds out that Lucy is pregnant.

He begins to wonder if the child is his.

The baby is born.

But is it his or not?

Wait, I'll go on.

One day Manuel steels himself and goes to Pedro's house.

He knocks on the door.

Pedro opens up.

Manuel sees Lucy with the baby

in a scene of devastating ordinariness.

Manuel asks, almost begs to talk to his brother.

The brothers walk around the estate at night, in darkness.

Manuel apologises to Pedro.

Pedro relents.

The brothers embrace and cry like children.

Because men do cry.

I love it. It ends well.

I like the ending. The brothers have reconciled.

Wait, it doesn't end there.

There's still the ending.

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

Take care of it!

Maestro, we meet at last.

It'll be a real honour to work with you.

Thank you.

Let's go.

Well...

First rehearsal, eh?

Good luck.

You'll need it.

Sure.

So will you. Don't get too confident.

Coats.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Look, there she is.

Lola, good afternoon.

I really rushed to finish it, but it's turned out very well.

A lot of work, loads.

It ended up a bit bulky.

With all my notes.

I can't stop.

How about we do a short exercise?

Okay.

How do you see your character, Iván?

I've thought a lot about Pedro all these months.

I think Pedro's...

driving force has been to outdo his younger brother

in front of their parents.

So let's say that Pedro has done everything right,

he's always been steadfast, secure, even with women.

A football fan,

a touch of the macho, aggression, nationalism...

He channels the primitive side,

joining other primates on the bleachers of the stadium.

He gets up early.

He's a simple, optimistic man.

And I think that he never wanted children,

although he ended up with one at this late stage.

I love the idea of two brothers forming a single entity,

but split into two bodies.

Look.

They try to lead their lives on different paths,

but an unexpected event puts them in opposition.

Yes, yes.

The fate of one is irrevocably linked to that of the other.

In fact, what happens to one,

- happens to the other, right? - Exactly.

Félix, how do you see your character?

Manuel, my character, doesn't exist.

Pedro, his character, doesn't either.

- Oh no? - No.

They're black ink on white paper.

I don't need to know my character's past, because he doesn't have one.

I'll study the words and say them with conviction and authority.

That'll be enough, the people will see Manuel.

When you go to the doctor,

you don't need him to tell you his life story to believe him.