Unselected roads - how the film was made

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Director Sally Potter, in her new puzzle film, takes viewers on a painful journey through the minds of someone struggling to cope with dementia. Learn about filming and working on Roads Unselected (2020), the plot of the drama, and the search for an actor for the lead role. Release date in Russia - April 28, 2020 in online cinemas.

Synopsis

Writer and director Sally Potter, in her film "Unselected Roads," tells the story of a day in the life of Leo, who moved to the United States from Mexico as a child and now lives alone in New York. He is assisted by a social security officer and his beloved daughter, Molly, who has become a journalist. On that day, she comes to her father to take him to the dentist, but the routine actions of the heroes will turn into tragic consequences.

Leo's eccentric behavior, distraction and occasional incoherent speech suggest that he suffers from a serious illness, possibly some form of dementia. Although from Leo's point of view, things look different. When Molly and everyone around him think that he is “lost somewhere”, has fallen out of reality, in fact Leo finds himself in one of the parallel worlds. He lives where it is impossible to get, becomes what he never became, makes other decisions at the fork in his life.

The protagonist sometimes remains with his first love in provincial Mexico, then turns out to be a writer on one of the Greek islands. In his youth, Leo sacrificed these paths of life for his wife and daughter and stayed in New York, becoming a loving and responsible father.

Over the course of a day, the veil of mystery over Leo's travels begins to gradually lift. At some point, Molly realizes that behind the symptoms, her father hides a completely different reality that no one else is able to see. Towards the end of this epic day, Molly finally accepts what she cannot fully understand.

At this moment, Leo "returns" to his body, realizes that these are only memories, and accepts the life of his father that he once chose.

Director's message

- The idea of the script for the film "Unchosen Roads" was born from reflections on the existence of parallel universes, in which everything that could happen to us happens. At one time, I knew two people with mental disabilities that make it difficult to communicate. Looking into their eyes, I tried to imagine where they really are and how they feel. Perhaps they knew how to infiltrate these parallel worlds and come back.

Our story will be close to anyone who wondered how his life could turn out if he made a different decision at a certain moment in his life. Maintain a relationship or break up? In which industry to build a career? Live in this country or move to another? After the fact, these thoughts can cause regret or be a simple reflection on the topic “What if …?”, But sooner or later, almost everyone asks these questions.

I asked myself a question: what if we, making this or that choice at the crossroads of life, leave some part of ourselves to live in another, parallel world, the life that we did not choose.

Gradually, the story began to take on more or less concrete outlines - the main character, Leo, appeared, whose life is full of unexpected turns. His daughter Molly chooses between helping those in need and her own professional career. This test is familiar to many, especially married women.

I tried to put myself in Leo's shoes, imagine each of his lives, look at the world from his point of view. The deeper I plunged into history, the more mysterious it became.

In the chain of three interconnected lives, Leo's character remains practically unchanged - only the environment, occupation and personal relationships change. His illness seems to be some kind of paradoxical, almost magical gift. In the blink of an eye, he can overcome any boundaries of reality, despite the fact that the world around him is trying to close these boundaries for him and those like him.

While working on the script, I wanted the film to be sensual and uplifting. It should have both gloom and tragedy, but on the whole it should have turned out bright and life-affirming.

The most important thing is that Leo's story helps the viewer understand the complexity and ambiguity of his own life path.

Sally Potter

Leo's Quest: Javier Bardem

Already in the process of working on the script, Potter realized that the film "Unselected Roads" would reach wide distribution only if all Leo's alter ego was played by a charismatic actor who could attract and hold the audience's attention.

"This actor had to look harmonious in any of Leo's personality manifestations," explains Potter. Sally didn’t have a specific actor in mind while working on the draft script. “It took me a long time to figure out who I would like to see in this role,” the director laughs.

The situation changed when Javier Bardem became interested in the project. Both filmmakers and audiences are well acquainted with the talent of the actor, who has played many of the most diverse roles throughout his career. Both the role of the Cuban poet and novelist Reynaldo Arenas in Julian Schnabel's Until Night Falls (for which Bardem was nominated for an Oscar) and the role of the cruel Anton Chigur in the Coen brothers' modern western “No Country for Old Men” (for which the actor received an Oscar). However, the role of Leo was difficult even for such a professional as Bardem. He had to play several personalities at the same time.

“This was not an easy task,” Bardem admits with a smile. - Several people get along in one person at once. These are different aspects of Leo: one is more emotional, the other is thoughtful. Living in Brooklyn, Leo seems to be disorganized and out of control. And only the stories inscribed in the plot help to understand who he really is”.

The script interested Bardem, although it made him nervous. “I felt the story well. It was scary, but on the other hand, such roles are a gift for an actor. Playing several different characters at once, collected in one person, is a serious test. Besides, it's a huge risk,”Bardem recalls with a laugh. - But on the other hand, the reward is appropriate. There is an opportunity to address the audience, invite the viewer to think about what would happen to him if he made a different choice? It is very interesting to work on a role that should not only entertain the viewer, but also has interactive properties. It’s not difficult when you are dealing with material as high quality as the script for the film Unselected Roads.”

Potter couldn't believe that Bardem had agreed to play the part of Leo. “Javier is an incredibly charismatic person,” she says. - It's hard to look away from him. His brutal appearance is combined with vulnerability and vulnerability. I was happy to tweak the script to match Javier's character and watched with delight as the camera focused on his expressive face."

However, Potter also appreciated the fact that the actor agreed to the role for worthy reasons.

“I could not but rejoice that Javier took the script so seriously,” she admits. - He was attracted not by the scale of the role. The only thing he worried about was whether he could play this role correctly? This approach required serious preparatory work."

Working on any film is a collective effort. This is the best proof of the collaboration between Sally Potter and Javier Bardem. Long before filming began, they met frequently in Madrid to discuss the details of the upcoming filming.

In parallel, Bardem conducted his own research on the topic of mental illness that interests him. According to him, he was not immediately imbued with the script. At first it seemed to him that Leo was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and he himself was too young to play this role. “Then I realized that frontotemporal dementia is a completely different disease,” explains Bardem. "I began to study the history of this disease and was amazed at how many young patients with this diagnosis."

“On the other hand, it helped me understand the story better,” the actor continues. - I realized how the consequences of this disease can destroy youth. If the patient is active, impulsive and physically strong, it is much more difficult for the nurse to stop him, to prevent him from hurting himself. " In Spain, Bardem enlisted the support of specialists from the Association for the Study of Frontotemporal Dementia. Bardem was imbued with touching stories of nurses and family members of the sick. “It is unbearable for them to see how the speech of a loved one is distorted, how memory fails, how motor skills are impaired,” says the actor. “At the same time, I was inspired by the love that surrounded these people. It was hard not to notice how much they were willing to sacrifice."

Interestingly, in Russia the film "Unselected Roads" (2020) is being released in online cinemas, wide screenings were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Learn about filming and drama actors to enjoy the premiere at home.