Julián López plays Matusalén El Alber, a rapper in his forties who works as a home pizza delivery man and whose motto is “getting old is inevitable, but maturing is optional”. He lives with his grandfather, but when he decides to get married, El Alber returns to his parents’ house. His mother (María Barranco) welcomes him with affection, as if he were a child, and his father (Antonio Resines) challenges him to go to university and pass all the subjects of the first year if he wants to go back to sleeping in his room and have a paycheck. At the faculty, he will be reunited with Amaia (Miren Ibarguren), the love of his youth, who works as a teacher and announcer, and will have his daughter and her group of friends as classmates. David Galán Galindo’s hooligan comedy, which talks about second chances and unexpected stories, hits the hip-hop beat on Friday after passing through the Malaga Festival.
You worked with David Galán on the short film Push up in 2013. How did he propose this new project to you?
David has been a big fan of the Chanante universe and I think he had us in mind. When he proposed it to me, he was very clear that I could tackle the project, and what made me most excited was to have another opportunity to make a comedy that I saw was very funny. When he told me about the plant he had in mind, I thought that I could also be reunited with many friendships. So, I had all the ingredients, and the highlight was obviously playing a rapper, which is a character I had never done before, and flirting with this musical discipline, which is very difficult and was a challenge for me.
He also dared to sing all the songs…
Yes, because it was essential that it be as real as possible, despite the fact that it is a comedy and has a commercial vocation. And that gives authenticity to the character. Above all, I wanted to do it well, which was what I was most excited about. They helped me a lot, because I knew I was controlling sensitivities. Like any musical discipline, rappers are very much their own and they love what they do.
Are you a fan of rap or hip-hop?
I have to say no. I’m a music lover and a great lover of classical music since I was a child, and I’ve also played many genres: rock, punk, black music, flamenco, jazz… In high school I listened to rap passively and didn’t give it the ‘opportunity I have given him with the shooting of the film. And not because of rejection, not at all, but because of the fact that not all things fit in a person’s life [laughter]. Ever since I was immersed in doing Methuselah, it has won a corner in my heart.
How did it feel in the shoes of El Alber?
The lesson he has given me is that you have to be authentic in life. With all the displays we make on social media and the way we’re bombarded by a thousand stimuli, we make it harder and harder to be ourselves. And I thought: “Ostres, Julián, you have to be more authentic and more yourself, and stop thinking about the opinion others may have about you”. I’m very passionate, and I think that’s the point I have most in common with him. He is an individual who wants to take his passion wherever and whenever he is at his age, and it is something I struggle with. And then the character offered me things or places I hadn’t been to. Such as this way of dressing and the slang of the hip-hop culture.
The fact of maturing does not help him at all. And with you?
I don’t think much about the question of maturity, but after a while you look inside and see that you have more poise, that you reflect in a way, that you like to listen more than talk… I guess that comes on its own .
What would you say is your maxim?
I believe that each of us must do what we want when we want, within certain limits and with respect for the rest. And I try to be true to myself. We would be better off if we were true to ourselves.
You studied teaching in music education. If you were to go back to college now, what major would you pursue?
I think something related to philosophy. I consider myself a reflective person and I like to think about life, and nowadays that would do me a lot of good. We lack time to think, and reflection is being lost.
