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At the Santiago Film Festival (Sanfic) to talk about his upcoming shoot in Chile, “The Misunderstanding” (“El Malentendido”), Spain’s Alex de la Iglesia (“The Bar,” “30 Coins”) could not have been more effusive. He
relates that it was at the festival last year where he met his Chilean producer Pablo Díaz of Rio Estudios (“Hidden Island,” “Berko”) through Sanfic Industria head Gabriela Sandoval. At the same time, he was developing a film in Argentina, where he met his lead, Benjamín Vicuña (“Envious”) who also stars in his upcoming Netflix comedy, “Felicidades.”
“In a way, Sanfic set everything in motion and made all of this possible. I also spent time scouting locations back then to get a sense of how the film could be made here. And now, we’re shooting next week,” he told Variety of his first time to film in Chile.
Described as an absurdist comedy combining the Marx Brothers’ farcical humor with the existential anguish of a war film, the titular misunderstanding refers to an incident between two fictitious countries, Lithovenia and Stalovakia, which have been on the brink of war for years. Tensions erupt at the United Nations Assembly when Field Marshal Stroheim storms out after taking offence. Apparently, a perfectly respectful remark — “You look magnificent, strong” — has been misconstrued as “You’re fat.”
“It was a wonderful chain of events, with everything falling into place along the way,” said Díaz who is currently editing his own directorial debut, political thriller “Box 205” (“Habitacíon 205”).
He added: “When I first read Alex’s script, my immediate thought was that we could recreate all the battle scenes here in Chile. We have the right landscapes to offer excellent locations for the trenches, barracks and everything involved in the battle sequences. But when Alex came for a location scout in June or July, he also fell in love with downtown Santiago.”
Plans for the next four weeks is to shoot at some mansions in Santiago, including the former U.S. embassy, and outside the city to the create the battlefield with trenches.
Vicuña, who plays a hapless Minister of Foreign Affairs, agreed: “It’s lovely to look at it that way: as a series of fortunate events, one leading to another. Because, ultimately, getting a film made is a small but extraordinary miracle, isn’t it? Bringing together the right people, securing the resources—all the pieces have to fall into place.”
“Perhaps this project was simply meant to happen, and perhaps there is a real need to talk about war today. It’s a film that will resonate with audiences and challenge them to reflect. In that sense, I’m just one more link in this chain of fortunate events and good news that made the film possible.”
Holding forth at the press conference, de la Iglesia, whose Pokeepsie Films produces alongside Rio Estudios, noted: “The story reflects something we are all experiencing today: a sense of chaos, bewilderment and absurdity in the world around us. It feels as though the world is being run by madmen, terrible people—or perhaps they’re simply incompetent. Or are they monsters? Who are these people?”
“I’ve chosen to portray them, in part, as deeply stupid. I think there is an enormous amount of incompetence, as there is in every aspect of life, but here its consequences are magnified because the stakes are so enormous.”
“As you grow older, reality seems to increasingly resemble what goes on inside your head. You begin to question whether the world has changed or simply whether you’re seeing it through a distorted lens. Perhaps we don’t just observe reality; we reshape it through our own perceptions.”
He added: “I’ve always used my work as a way of protecting myself from life’s hardships – from pain, anxiety, and boredom. My profession allows me to build a parallel world through which I can make sense of reality. But now, with the world in its current state, that has become increasingly difficult, because reality itself has turned into my parallel world.”
The rest of the cast includes Maria Barranco (“Harikiri, I Miss You”), Mona Martínez (“Terminator: Dark Fate”), Hugo Silva (“The Body”), Fernando Tejero (“The Captive”), Oscar Casas (“Idols”) and Miguel Rellán (“Spanish Shame”).
“The Misunderstanding” is backed by Spanish broadcaster RTVE, streamer Movistar+ and Beta Entertainment.
