Pedro Almodóvar Talks ‘Julieta’ At NYFF Screening

Pedro Almodóvar talked of Runaway, a collection of short stories by Alice Munro, which his film Julieta is inspired from.

Almodóvar expressed his surprise and fascination with the simplicity and strangeness of Munro’s stories. The film is based on three particular stories from Runaway: “Chance,” “Soon,” and “Silence.” His opinion was that the three stories were very much dependent on one another, and he wanted to tie them together in a way that reflected his own artistic flare. Initially, it was difficult to forget the original story in order to transform and express it in ways that would embrace his version of creativity. At the most basic level, the setting had to be changed from Canada to Spain—and thus the film carries European influences both in terms of style and content. His motivation for changing Alice’s stories were largely due to the fact that Mediterranean culture is very different from North American culture.

The film is preoccupied with the idea of pain, and especially pain that comes with or is caused by other family members. Almodóvar wanted to talk about this pain, but was careful to do so in a very respectful manner. When asked about the lack of physical resemblance between the Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suárez, who both play the role of Julieta, the director expressed that he was not so much concerned with the two actresses looking similar, but more so with Emma Suárez ‘s gaze that conveyed the pain in which she had suffered. “When she talks about herself (Suárez), she goes back into the story.” The character mirrors the historical significance of the 80s, when Spain adopted democracy—Julieta begins her life in the 80s, and she symbolizes the struggle that come with the “start of life.”

We screened the film at New York Film Festival.