“The current tax exemptions bring many international productions closer to our country and result in our economy”
Javier Gutierrez plays the character of Paco Bajo in the theatrical version of ‘The Holy Innocents’ by Miguel Delibes. Gutiérrez embodies the role immortalized by Alfredo Landa in the unforgettable film by Mario Camus.
What does this version of ‘The Holy Innocents’ contribute both to the novel by Miguel Delibes and to the film by Mario Camus?Although it may seem audacity to consider making a theatrical version and stage a masterpiece of literature such as ‘The Innocent Saints’, added to another cinematographic masterpiece such as the Mario Camus film, I think it contributes and adds more than it subtracts. In no case does the contribution of Fernando Marías and Javier Hernández-Simón, who at the time is also the director of the show, attempt to match, or compete with, two jewels of that magnitude, but instead attempts to shed some light. And it is interesting, above all, for those who have not had the opportunity to approach the work either with cinema or with literature. I think that the version respects the spirit of the novel. Yes, it is more intelligible and is seen in a much simpler way because, unlike Delibes’s novel, in our show there is a beginning, a middle and an end, and the story, respecting the spirit of Delibes, follows in a easier way.
Some characters are part of the collective unconscious of this country due to the brilliant interpretations of Alfredo Landa, Juan Diego or Paco Rabal.And they have gone down in film history. That is why this version is a very brilliant piece of work in which the actors who play those roles have not wanted to compete with those references either. Perhaps, in my case, in Paco Bajo’s, I have drunk from Alfredo Landa, and there is some inspiration, but I didn’t want to make a copy of his work at all because it would be unintelligent on my part.
It is very striking how it is scenographically.There is something dreamlike and symbolic, with those birds that are constantly flying over the show. And then, it is an almost empty space, with very few elements, but very symbolic that, together with the light, invite a certain aesthetic similar to the novel and help to add these elements to travel through Delibes’ novel.
“This version is more intelligible than the novel or the film by having a beginning, middle and end”
That heartbreaking Spain of the novel, does it still exist?The novel is set in the late sixties and, despite the years having passed, the social gap continues to exist, and the rich are becoming richer and more powerful, that wealth has made them enjoy certain privileges, and the invisibility of who has little, and who is in the lowest social stratum, is still very unfortunate. Proof of them is the minimum vital income, the soup kitchens, and what we have experienced, which has increased and accentuated with the pandemic. And in that sense, the two Spains that Delibes reflects, unfortunately continue to exist no matter how much we do not want to see it.
What does this title mean for your theatrical career?It assumes many things. It supposes a challenge. You know that a theatrical project is going to have one or two years of life. Getting up on stage many nights, if you don’t have something substantial on your hands and you know that it’s a winning horse like this, seems very difficult. It’s not the same as a film that you’ve been shooting for two or three months, it’s over and it has very little to do with the future of events. In this case, once you finish the rehearsal period and the curtain goes up, you are very responsible for what happens on stage together with the director. Therefore, in my case, choosing to embark on a project like The Holy Innocents makes it a real challenge for me, from embodying Paco el Bajo, since in the memory of this country everyone has Alfredo Landa very much in mind, that speaks of the reality that existed and that, unfortunately, continues to exist. And I also want to get bogged down and roll up my sleeves and tell a story like this because I believe that theater not only has to entertain, but also has to make us debate, reflect and hit the table and get us out of our comfort zone and I think that with this show we get it. Not only is the audience excited, but I would even dare to say that they are annoyed.. Yes, it is true that there are still certain tails in this country that we should have gotten rid of after so many years of democracy. But after 40 years of obscurantism, that there are still certain flashes of that time, citizens like me are concerned and bothered. And in that sense, The Holy Innocents is an open door that tells us ‘be careful with this, we still haven’t overcome certain ways of acting’ and we should be aware that they don’t happen again.
A past praised by certain political parties.The far right got more than three million votes and they are representing many Spaniards in Congress, with which in this country there are still many young Ivans who like to squeeze the boot and the neck of the one below. And that is what Delibes’s novel tells. I believe that a law like the one on Historical Memory is necessary. I suppose there will be people willing to forget, but there will be many others who want to bury her dead and it is worthy that they reach the end and that we can live at least in peace and in a calm way.
In what field have you developed best as an actor?It’s complex. Some case is not even a movie, but a sequence or a moment. It is being proud of a way of doing or of having come to understand a character. But, if I had to choose, I would choose The Minimal Island. First because it was a qualitative leap in my career. I, who until then was an actor closely related to comedy and television, because the doors of a certain cinema were opened to me and I was able to access jobs that had to do with drama and thriller, and to prestigious directors who even that time had not come to me. And, of course, for me in theater, having been able to work for so long with Animalario has given me access to so many texts such as Hamelin by Juan Mayorga, with which we won the National Theater Award. But if I had to choose just one show, it would be Alejandro and Ana, which Spain could not see from the wedding of the president’s daughter, directed by Andrés Lima. Or the Algerian follower of two masters who spoke of immigration, who was a version of Alberto San Juan de Arlequino, servant of two patrons of Carlo Goldoni and with whom I won the Max in 2009 at Cuyás. And television, which for a long time was a reviled medium, has brought me a lot of joy, where I did Águila Roja, with a character like Sátur, who brought me a lot of popularity and affection towards the public.
“I claim the national product because if there is something good in this country, it is its great comedians”
Which actors do you admire?I am an admirer of a generation of comedians, as Bardem said when collecting the Oscar, which ranges from Alfredo Landa to José Luis López Vázquez, Paco Rabal, Fernando Fernán Gómez or José Bódalo. I claim the national product, because if there has been something good in this country it is great comedians. I am a great admirer of Italian neorealism and to see ‘El little apartment’, ‘The stroller’, ‘The world goes on’, and so many works from previous decades, is a delight for any fan. And there is part of our cinema that is unknown to a large part of the public that would be surprised by its great quality.
A Spanish cinema which was reviled a few years ago.It had more to do with political intoxication, where the world of culture spoke out for the war in Iraq and there was a crusade against us, like we are subsidized, parasites and people who don’t work. Something unfortunate when one looks at what the state coffers receive thanks to Spanish cinema, and how little Spanish cinema receives from state subsidies. And the current tax exemptions make many international productions come closer to our country and result in our economy. If we explain to these people the enormous job creation that cinema generates, they would have a totally different idea.