José Sacristani: “Revival of echoes of late Francoism raises my hair”

He’s given life to assassins, villains, Republican soldiers, radio announcers, and just about any character imaginable, but José Sacristan didn’t take part in a horror movie pure and simple. Right now, at the age of 85, the actor made his debut in the genre. He did this by giving life to the priest performing the exorcism. Who else can become our father Merrin. If The Exorcist had Max von Sydow, we have Pepe Sacristan, who brought Father Olmedo to life in 13 Exorcisms, a new commitment to terror from the production company Bambú, which already tried its luck with Malasaña 32 and wants to repeat the move that was. It was successful at the box office.

In this case, they also go to real events, the testimony of 15 exorcist priests in Spain and the exorcism protocols they carried out. With them, they illustrated the case of a teenager who lives under a repressive religious upbringing by his family and who, after a bottle ending in a session of spiritualism, begins to exhibit strange symptoms. A film that uses fear and horror to talk about more mundane horrors like bigotry.

His voice, cavernous and deep, was the only one to utter the verses against Satan, and it is taken advantage of by Jacobo Martínez, who, after working with him as director of photography in almost all the Bambú series, now directs him in his debut. feature film that opens in theaters this Friday. Sacristan continues 13 exorcisms with a commitment to young and new directors, which marked the last stages of a career in which there are titles such as La Heifer, Solos en la Dawn or Magical Girl.

How did you get this role of Father Olmedo?

Once again, as always, through Ramón (Campos) and Teresa (Fernández-Valdés), the producers responsible for Bamboo, who are friends and with whom I have already made many films. With them I have a guarantee that whatever I am going to do will always have quality. So through them and logically through Jacobo, the director who was his first film as a director, but with whom he had already worked as director of photography in all the Bamboo series. So this is because of the complete and utter trust that I have in this production company.

Something beautiful about Bamboo is that it has created a kind of family of actors, technicians and directors who always trust each other.

Yes, I certainly feel that way. That’s how I feel, and of course I celebrate.

Looking at his filmography, I saw that he has no horror films.

No. Some have had horrible results… just kidding. No, it wasn’t really genre-bending yet.

Are you a fan of the genre?

Actually, I’m a fan of the genre. Especially James Whale, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. From the films of Roger Corman, the films of Hammer, with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Yes, I love the genre. In addition, 13 Exorcisms is a chronicle, without making a social film, about facts inspired by real events that speak about some people and their way of understanding religion and science. It is also a chronicle of a certain country at a certain time.

Ultimately, the religious fanaticism in the film is almost scarier than the demon that seems to possess the girl.

Yes, it goes here, because, in principle, the case remains open and each viewer makes his own conclusions, indeed, the last diagnosis of this girl, all her symptoms, will be perfectly solved by a medical diagnosis. But someone said it’s something else. And there each. I’m not religious so I don’t believe it, but I deeply respect each point of view.

The movie is based on real exorcisms and exorcisms in Spain, did you read about it to prepare Father Olmedo?

I’ve read a bit, the news… but it’s not the job or activity that worries me much. A counselor came to the shoot to explain a bit about the ritual, the elements and the timing of the ceremony, but otherwise I didn’t care. I didn’t need to delve into that either. I am not at all interested in the merits of these procedures.

What scares Jose Sacristan?

I am not afraid of demons, I am afraid of people by name and surname, and they even hold positions and are elected by the people. This is what scares me. Some hair-raising echoes of late Francoism are still being revived.

You lived under a dictatorship, are you afraid of what might happen in Spain, do you see echoes of 1936, as some say?

Yeah, back to 36…didn’t a few kids sing that a while ago? No, I don’t think so. I don’t believe that servility is far from provoking situations like what unfortunately happened in 1936 or anything like that. But it is true that I thought that certain positions had already been overcome, certain positions related to another historical event, and unfortunately this is not the case.

How do you see the current moment of Spanish cinema?

I admire the talent, effort, sacrifice and courage of every filmmaker in this country. Regardless of whether the results are one or the other. In addition, there are very talented young people, especially aunties. Some women claim that they do it as mothers. But always in the world of entertainment the word crisis or difficulty or vulnerability go hand in hand. Perhaps the best thing that has happened to me is to spend so many years in this and continue to work with young people. That seems like a luxury to me.

It is true that you have placed a lot of bets on debut directors, is this something intentional?

I don’t bet the phone rings and there’s a young man on the other end as good as an old man can be. Fortunately, they hope for me, but they claim me. I am not moving anything, they are the ones complaining about us.

What do you think about the new audiovisual law?

There are a number of details on which it would be unwise to comment because the world of production is not mine, it always eludes me, but in order not to repeat the whining, complaining, begging and hell, yes, I am going to say that cinema is a source of income for the state, it There is an audiovisual industry and they are brave and talented people who continue to make films.

Had Terror not been done, are there any other roles that you miss in your career?

Brígida del Tenorio remains for me to do. I am dying to do this character but I don’t know if I will be offered. Look, I’m still older (laughs). no no no. I have no predilection for any historical or dramatic character. Fortunately, I can choose and if I like it, I do. Of course, I have to tell you that any scenario that puts a “night out” dimension, I don’t. Rest hours must be observed. At dinner time I am at home or in a restaurant, I am not in the field with a lunch box.

Source: El Diario