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film & t.v.

A Bloody Good Show

Renowned Mexican writer and film visionary, Guillermo Arriaga pens his next movie, The Burning Plain, and this time takes a seat behind the director’s chair.

Mexican writer, producer and film director Guillermo Arriaga speaks slowly and thoughtfully. The voice on the other end of the phone belongs one of most acclaimed filmmakers in Mexican cinema history.
Arriaga is considered one of Latin America’s most important writers for film. He has received scores of accolades including a Best Screenplay award for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada at the Cannes Film Festival.
The writer of 1999’s Amores perros and the Academy Award nominated 21 Grams and Babel, he sounds relaxed yet excited as we discuss his fascination with violence, his distaste for the word “screenwriter” and the dark themes that permeate each of his films.
He pauses frequently as he answers questions, but is obviously elated to discuss his latest endeavor: both writing and directing The Burning Plain. The emotional film centers on a set of characters at different points in their lives experiencing, overcoming and otherwise dealing with loss.

Hispanic Magazine: Some of your films—especially your first works Un dulce olor a muerte [The Sweet Smell of Death] and Amores perros [Love’s a Bitch]—bring violence and death to the forefront. Why the fascination with gore?

Guillermo Arriaga: Man, more than being fascinated with it, I think death is just a reality—something quite honestly that a lot of people don’t really pay much attention to, but it’s there. Death is unavoidable and we’re all headed in the direction. It’s part of our lives.

HM: How much of the unrest and violence you experienced growing up is projected through the lens when you’re at work?

GA: Without a doubt it was a part of my life that had a tremendous effect on me and to this day built me into the person I am. You know, you hear ‘ What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’ well ...

HM: Speaking of making you stronger, you developed quite an athletic resume as a boxer, professional soccer player and basketball player before engaging in writing. How did your experiences as an athlete help shape you—if at all—in your current profession?

GA: It’s really made me stronger ... Stronger in believing in what I’m doing and that there is no quit in me when I roll with an idea. You have to have a strong conviction in this industry, and it’s quite difficult to knock me out when I feel strongly about something.

HM: Why are you so opposed to being called a screenwriter instead of a writer?

GA: I really feel it understates the value and work [of screenwriters] as such. We’re writers, doing works [of film]. I’ve always felt it’s sort of an insult and slap in the face, to be totally honest with you... Would you like to be labeled in such a way that understates your work and what you do for a living?

HM: Do you consider yourself a more a teacher or student at this stage of your life?

GA: I’m going to have to think. Well, you know, maybe a little of both because I’d like to think that I’m still learning about how to be a better person, a better writer, director and all else each day. But I’d also like to think that I’m educating the world through my work.

HM: And that brings us to your latest project, The Burning Plain. I would say there’s a pretty strong message of hope behind it, as if you’re willing to give yourself a second chance?

GA: Yes, you can say that behind Mariana—the teenager daughter—there’s a ray of hope and that sometimes we do indeed deserve a second chance at life, if we so desire it.

HM: What was the most difficult part about working with two movie stars such as Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger on a daily basis?

GA: That it had to end. They are both truly gifted actresses and very demanding ones, which made it even more of a pleasure to work with them. It was an unbelievable experience and one I won’t soon forget.

HM: So can we expect a little more violence coming around the corner?

GA: I have a few things in mind for the immediate future, but you’ll have to stay tuned.