Two years ago, after hitting cinemas in Spain, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s feature debut ‘Lullaby’ was described by Pedro Almodóvar as ‘undoubtedly the best Spanish debut in years’. So the big question during a set visit last October was what she would think of her first TV series, “Querer.” That regular visit gave some suspicion.
Now the full answer is known, as the premium miniseries, selected outside the competition in San Sebastián, was shown to the press for the entire 212 minutes on Thursday evening.
This total screening is understandable. “Querer” begins with Miren, the woman in a seemingly perfect marriage, going to a police station to accuse her husband of 30 years of sexual assault. This and subsequent episodes capture the varying impact of her decision on her eldest son Aitor, loyal to his father and his attitude, and his younger brother Jon, who supports his mother, as Ruiz de Azúa carefully interweaves a legal thriller with family drama.
Notable for its twist and calibrated pace, “Querer” asks big questions, like what many men think is loving, or how to prove a lack of sexual consent in marriage. It crosses boundaries and leads to an unexpected emotional reward. In images – when used, for example, in medium-distance, fixed-frame shots – ‘Querer’ is pure cinema.
It will also likely bring more recognition to four fine Spanish actors, Nagore Aranburu (“Irati,” “Intimacy,” “Flowers”), who plays Miren, who could be in the running for best performance in San Sebastian as “Querer ‘ that would be. in competition, Pedro Casablanc (Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life”), who takes on the role of husband. Miguel Bernardeu (“Elite”) plays Aitor, Iván Pellicer (“Paraíso”) plays Jon.
The miniseries, written by Ruiz de Azua, Eduard Sola and Júlia de Paz, is produced by Movistar Plus+ with Kowalski Films and Feelgood Media. Movistar Plus+ International takes care of international distribution.
As San Sebastian entered its final troubles on Friday, the series was hailed by Spanish critics as the Spanish series of the year. Variety spoke to Ruiz de Azúa ahead of this year’s festival:
In terms of setups, the series favors largely fixed, medium shots, rather than relying heavily on close-ups. The camera only moves at certain crucial moments, such as when Miren walks resolutely towards the courtroom…
We always thought it was good that it was a series because of the ellipses that the episodes allow, but in terms of language, I think I was thinking from a cinematic point of view. It’s a series that has a lot to do with judgment, how we judge what we see, what we see in intimacy and in court. It seemed important that the camera not be very manipulative and keep its distance from both characters. The camera doesn’t push you in any direction. When he moves, it’s almost always justified by the characters’ movement or something very, very specific.
I guess one of the advantages of making the series with Movistar Plus+ is that you have had the time not to think about the setups, but to photograph them….
Exactly, I must say that the journey with Movistar Plus+ has been one of complete creative freedom. I also had a lot of resources to execute the vision I had for the story. I don’t know if this is always the case. We wanted to make a very, very adult series. They really liked the vision I had and in that sense I felt supported.
The series is about sexual abuse within an apparently stable marriage.
One of the questions that fascinated me most about the premise of a woman leaving her husband after years of marriage is simply: how does sexual violence occur in a marriage or a relationship? It probably started somewhere in the traditional place of consensual relationships. Then suddenly the line is crossed. This woman is in a situation of sexual violence. The construction of the violence and the mechanisms by which this can happen by someone who loved you or said he did: how does that happen?
By holding a trial, it provides an unusual opportunity to explore the views of both Miren and her husband
Yes, there was always the idea of putting the viewer in a real trial, where the viewer would have to witness all the testimonies. They should listen to all the stories to understand the characters. And what went through her mind to get to the point she did, but also to see the tragedy in the aggressor, or potential aggressor. It was important to show both sides.
You could say that the series describes the tragedy of machismo, which affects both sides.
Machismo is a tragedy. It is a tragedy connected to our mental structures. Of course it is related to many other things, but it is also related to how we think and how we perceive ourselves. That is the core of the tragedy of being an aggressor. They often justify and argue for their actions through the lens of romantic love or by saying they are protecting the family or other similar justifications.
Nagore Aranburu’s performance was very controlled. Despite what she goes through, histrionics are few and far between. Can you comment?
Nagore [Aranburu] was a revelation during casting. She is an incredible actress. One of the things we talked about while building the character was how to avoid the cliché of the victim. We discovered through rehearsals and talking to real victims that keeping yourself very composed, as you said, is real. Of course, not all victims behave the same way, but in the case of the story we built for this character, this was crucial. Sometimes self-struggle is the only option to get through such a painful and intense journey of being questioned, feeling lonely and having to rebuild your life.
The two sons are also in conflict….
The internal conflicts these characters have are obviously enormous. There are always two or three forces pulling them in different directions. I think that makes them more human. Miren and her sons have to make decisions without any certainty, but they still have to make them to move forward. They cannot make decisions. And that always puts them in an awkward situation, where they don’t really know if they’re doing the right thing 100%. So it was an incredible journey to make this feel human, to really convey the complexity of human nature. It had to be done this way.
Callum McLennan contributed to this article.