11 · 04 · 10

Acorazado praised at Cinépolis Universidad

Clara Sánchez translated by Cindy Hawes

In his film debut, Curiel follows the story of Silverio Palacios, a Mexican whose dream is to go to Miami in his old taxicab that he converted into a raft. But because of his inexperience and bad weather, he ends up in Cuba, where he faces a whole series of adventures.

At the end of the screening, the director, who spoke briefly with the audience, said nearly all the actors in the film were professionals except Terry Holiday who played the part of Manuela. “I prefer [to hire] actors to achieve what I want. Very often people have a hard time playing themselves,” he said.

Manuela is a transvestite who is Silverio’s friend and accomplice. “I was afraid that an actor would end up making a caricature of the character and for that reason I preferred to give the part to Terry who in real life has had some of the same experiences as Manuela. Terry was very touched after reading the screenplay. He told me he cried and told his mother that this film was about him.”

Curiel, who has also directed various chapters of the television series Terminales, Mujeres asesinas and Los Simuladores, said it was hard shooting in Cuba because their permits were denied at the beginning.

“The original screenplay was more like a novel and made many references to the Cuban Revolution. My producer in Cuba suggested that I leave out anything that might offend the government.”

Acorazado has various scenes shot at sea.The director said that in contrast to what happens in the majority of big budget films, where these kinds of scenes are shot from more comfortable circumstances, they filmed them below the surface in the open sea.”

“We used a scuba, and that is why the sensation of movement in the ocean is so real. We suffered a lot shooting those scenes. I was the one who felt it the most, vomiting all the time.”

Curiel said the reason why he chose to make the raft from a VW bug is that this is the car that best represents Mexicans: “In Cuba many people who build rafts use old cars.  It seemed to us that there is no car that represents Mexicans more than the bug.”

Also present at the screening was actor Salvador Sánchez and musician Ricardo Martín, who spoke about the sound track of the film.

Martín said he chose music that was organic and for this reason opted for using a chorus. He also spoke about the song written about Yemayá, the Cuban goddess of the sea. He thanked the audience for their comments, saying, “I also liked how it turned out.”

Curiel, who has worked as a director’s assistant in movies like Los sultanes de Sur y Kilómetro 31, ended the question and answer session with a phrase from Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier.

“He would say, ‘ If you go to church and they ask for a collection, you must contribute.’ I wanted to tell a story, a kind of false comedy, that we could all identify with. In the final scene in Cancún, we all reflect on Mexico, [a country] which is both unequal and multiracial. There we see the mestizo and Latin American class system reflected -- I was surprised to find social classes even in Cuba. In addition to making us laugh, I hope this film also makes us reflect.”
The program “The Best of FICM in the DF” will continue at the Cinematógrafo del Chopo from Nov. 5 to 7 and in the MUAC from Nov. 12 to 14.