Even The Rain

Director's Statement

The script of EVEN THE RAIN has come a long way over several years. Paul began with a story set entirely in the age of Christopher Columbus, recounting his voyages and his first years in the "New World", and continuing with Bartolomé de las Casas. It was a very focussed and exciting story, but Paul decided to go further, to bring it into the present day, and to relate both the exploitation and indigenous resistance enacted and encountered by the Spanish in the 16th century to the contemporary situation in Latin America. The Water War, which took place in Cochabamba in 2000, furnished a perfect example of civil resistance to the privatization of a commodity more valuable than gold: water. Paul's script manages to unite past and present In a story of the filming of a period movie in Bolivia that is disrupted when the water conflict breaks out. Directing Paul's script presented an enormous and exciting challenge: to make three movies in one. Firstly, a period drama, secondly the near-contemporary story of the water conflict and finally, a film connecting the shoot itself to the personal journeys of the main characters, Sebastian and Costa, and the decisions they are forced to make. Maintaining the tension and drama within and between each of these three stories and leading the audience from one to the other was the greatest challenge. But in truth this complexity was a gift - a director is rarely given such an original story, with such compelling and multi-layered characters, and one that resonates so richly with one of the most crucial conflicts of this century. Given the complexity of the script, it was a priority to highlight Costa's personal journey, his evolution and his relationship with Daniel, played by the Bolivian Juan Carlos Aduviri, the character who most directly affects him. During the shoot and the editing, I always tried to find those moments that showed this evolution - sometimes nothing more than a look, a moment of loneliness, a silence. I felt very clearly from the outset that the movie's emotional heart (and power) would arise from the conflict of these two prominent characters and from Costa's developing perception of Daniel's reality: a reality much harsher, much harder than his own. Although I had already worked with non-professional actors, the challenge here was one of scale. Not two or three non-professionals, but 20 or 30, with some cast as protagonists not extras. For me, the effort was fully rewarded: when the casting is good, the performances possess a great truth, they turn out to be very touching and truly authentic. And when you add generous professionals like Gael, Luis and Karra, the results are very convincing. I have to say the Bolivian extras were impressive. They performed wonderfully and as many times as necessary, with an unflagging enthusiasm without which the film wouldn't have half the life it has. All In all, EVEN THE RAIN is by far the most complicated movie I have made. It has been an adventure and a great challenge for everyone involved, but very exciting. How do you eat an elephant? Bite by bite, as the saying goes. How do you shoot a movie with so many extras, characters, and so much action? Shot by shot. That's how I faced it, planning every scene meticulously, casting and directing all the extras individually, working phrase by phrase with actors who had never acted before, and relying on a remarkable cast and crew, Spanish as well as Bolivian.