definitely had to make “La mala educación”,
I had to get rid of it before it turned into an obsession.
The story had been in my hands for over 10 years already,
and I knew I could still wait another ten years. Due to
the multiple combinations possible, putting the writing
of “La mala educación” to an end was
only realizable once the film was shot, edited and mixed.
“La
mala educación” is a very intimate film.
It’s not exactly auto-biographic –i.e.,
it’s not the story of my life in school, nor my
education in the early years of “la movida”*,
even though these are the two backgrounds in which the
argument is set (1964 and 1980, with a stop in 1977).
My memories have definitely paid a heavy burden in writing
the story –after all, I’ve lived those times
and scenarios.
“La
mala educación” is not a settlement with
the priests that “miseducated” me, neither
with the Clergy in general. If I needed to take vengeance
upon them I wouldn’t have waited forty years to
do it. I’m not interested in the Church, not even
as a rival.
The film is neither a reflection on “la movida”
in the early 80s, even though a major part of it is
set in it. The thing I find most interesting about that
period is the sense of endless freedom Spain lived then,
as opposed to the darkness and oppression of the 60s.
Thus, the early eighties provide the ideal framework
for the grown-up characters to deal with their own fates,
bodies and desires.
The film is not a comedy, even though it is sometimes
funny (especially Javier Camara’s character),
nor a musical, even though there are children singing.
It’s a noir, or that’s how I see it, at
least. |
