In 2018, Sandra Bullock faced blindfolded a post-apocalyptic future in which a mysterious supernatural presence pushed a large part of society to suicide in A ciegas, a film directed by Susanne Bier. The success of the film has pushed the streaming platform to now sign the brothers Álex and David Pastor to take the reins of a spin-off that places the story in a desert Barcelona, ??where Mario Casas tries to survive the devastating annihilation together with the daughter, and also allying with other survivors played by Lola Dueñas, Michelle Jenner, Patrick Criado, Gonzalo de Castro, the Mexican Diego Calva or the British Georgina Campbell. , which arrives July 14 on Netflix after the massive premiere at the Tivoli Theater on June 29, goes beyond the interesting foray into science fiction of the Shepherd in Infected (2009) and the panic in the form of a mysterious disease that threatened the Ciutat Comtal a decade ago in The last days.
The film surprises with the level of special effects and the display of a phantasmagoric city surrounded by voices that invite you to take off your blindfolds and see what is in front of you. “When it enters the digital world, the film grows a lot, especially outdoors, and I had the opportunity to see destroyed streets as we see in the film”, he explains in a conversation with La Vanguardia, which has shot in Barcelona the latest films and much of the directorial debut, Mi soledad tiene alas, which hits cinema screens in August. “Barcelona is in my veins. I lived here from the age of four until I was 18, I have my grandmother and many friends in this city, and it’s true that I always end up recording here. I love coming.”
The actor was blown away by Bullock’s film and, when he received the script, he didn’t hesitate to get fully involved in the project: “It was a gift and I was very attracted to the character of Sebastián, a father of family walking the streets of post-apocalyptic Barcelona with their daughter. And, above all, when we go back to the past and gradually discover things about him, the shadows, the lights and nuances he brings, the emotion and everything that has happened to him. I was interested in finding out why he behaves in this way.”
Casas says wonders about the two girls who appear in the film, Alejandra Howard, her daughter in fiction, and the German Naila Schuberth, a girl who is looking for her mother and who protects the woman embodied by Campbell. “I was drawn to the light, to the energy they gave off, because they convey purity and that reaches the public”. The Goya winner for No mataràs admits that the emotional part of the performance wears out more than the physical part, and that it is not easy to disconnect from the role once the directors shout “Cut!”. “I wore the same clothes for four months. But I was taking a shower, huh? It’s something I like to do when I work and from the first moment it helps me to be in character, and I don’t leave it. The team also helps, as does growing a beard and long hair. I like to compose from what is physical”, he points out.
He also feels happy about the multicultural casting that Bird Box Barcelona boasts. “It was a very interesting mix and the feeling was that we were all immersed in a project that excited us”. Casas defends himself very well speaking English and German in the film. “German is the most complicated language that exists and it scared me. I rehearsed the scenes I had a lot, I had a coach and Nayla looked after me and told me “Gut, gut!”. I was interested in her understanding me, because she was the one who had to understand me, and that reassured me a lot. Because it wasn’t just the phonetics, but conveying the emotion.” The actor believes that in a situation as surreal as the one presented in the film “it is difficult to guess how people would act”, although he dares to advance that “there would be a lot of selfishness, that people would look out for themselves, to survive, and there would also be someone who would look out for others, the pearl that is always there and takes care of others”.
It is an opinion that is also shared by Georgina Campbell, who is working in Spain for the first time. “I had already been to Barcelona before on holiday and I really wanted to go back,” says the actress, winner of the 2015 Bafta award for best television performer for Murdered by my boyfriend. She gives life to Claire, a “very empathetic and optimistic” psychiatrist. The British woman praises Bullock’s performance in the original film and emphasizes that during filming “we had some things that you could see a little bit of and others that you couldn’t see, and what you were trying to do was not to be very matusser”, he recalls with a laugh.
Diego Calva, known for his role in Babylon, was interested in “exploring the horror genre”, and says that “it has been a lot of fun working with the Pastors. I think they are suspense geniuses.” His role is that of Octavio, “someone completely practical who only thinks about surviving, and I like to think he’s like a Mexican migrant suddenly caught up in the apocalypse.”
