Reality and fiction are confused in The silence of the swamp, A mysterious psychological thriller with Pedro Alonso, Nacho Fresneda and Carmina Barrios which runs through Valencia, from the Albufera to the Cabanyal. In the film, a writer narrates bloody murders against the backdrop of political corruption and the rottenness of the human soul. But his crimes may not be limited to the fiction of the pages of his novels. In his first film after directing series such as The Ministry of Time, Malacca o Red EagleMarc Vigil launches into a story where nothing is what it seems.
A dream cast originating in The Ministry of Time
The silence of the swamp It has a luxury cast, from its award-winning supporting actors (which has two Goyas and many other nominations) to its protagonists. They lead the film Peter Alonso y Nacho Fresnedawhom we have seen in The Money Heist, Berlin o The beach of the drownedin the case of the first, and in The kingdom o The Ministry of Timein the second one. Thanks precisely to the famous series on La 1, the paths of Pedro Alonso, Nacho Fresneda and Marc Vigildirector of both The Ministry of Time as of The silence of the swamp.
Marc Vigil, director, with Nacho Fresneda and Rodolfo Sancho rtve
Fresneda, who gave life to Alonso of Entrerrioswas under the command of Marc Vigil during the four seasons of The Ministry of TimePedro Alonso, for his part, participated in two episodes of the series as Lieutenant Martín Cerezo, one of the last of the PhilippinesThere he had the opportunity to meet both of them.
When Marc Vigil proposed him to star in his first film, Pedro Alonso did not hesitate. a season without making movies and that was the perfect occasion to shoot a movie again, and what better than playing the mysterious Q. The role of the thug Falconetti fell into the hands of Nacho Fresneda, witness to the birth of the project sharing long days of filming with Marc Vigil. They are not the only ‘ministerials’ present in The silence of the swamp: the scriptwriter also participates Carlos de Pandothe director of photography Isaac Vila and the actor Jose Angel Egidowho played Alfred Hitchcock in the series.
The transformation of Nacho Fresneda
In The silence of the swampboth Pedro Alonso and Nacho Fresneda manage to get into the skin of two men with a dark background. “This character is an absolute contradiction“, assured Alonso in Spanish version when talking about Q, a crime novelist with a hidden face. Falconetti’s evil, however, is in plain sight: it is the right hand of the mafia Puri and follows all of her boss’s orders.
Nacho Fresneda as Falconetti in ‘The Silence of the Swamp’
This is a character that is distant from the actor, who had never done anything like it, but at the same time close to him. To play it, the Valencian was guided by memories from his childhood. The bad guy at his school was his role model when it came to getting into Falconetti’s shoes. The challenge was not only at the interpretive level, but also physical: Nacho Fresneda gained 15 kilos for filming. “The last month I had to push myself to reach 92 kilos,” he revealed in RNE mornings with Pepa Fernández.
The cast is completed by actors of the stature of Luis Zahera (The beasts, The kingdom), Jose Angel Egido (Mondays in the sun, Red Eagle), Alex Monner (Red bracelets, The wild children), Raul Prieto (Anti-disturbance, May God forgive us), Zaira Romero (Carmen and Lola) and, of course, Carmina Barrios (Carmina or burst) in the role of Puri.
Free literary adaptation
Although it is inspired by the journalist’s novel of the same name Juanjo Brauliothe truth is that the script of the film It strays quite a bit from the original material. As Marc Vigil recognized in It’s not just any other day“in the novel there are two stories, two tales, two films” and he wanted to keep “the elements of the story to develop them in another direction“.
What does keep this free adaptation is the double story which already existed in the pages of The silence of the swampas well as its two-faced characters. “That’s what interested me, playing with what a writer does, what the writer writes and then seeing what the writer writes or if what is happening is actually real,” the director revealed in Spanish version.
Where is it filmed?
50 locations make up the mosaic of The silence of the swampshot over seven weeks. The film is full of “small roles that shape the landscape,” said Marc Vigil in reference to his cast, and “the same thing happens with the locations. It’s about seeing Valencia from different angles.” The Palau de la Generalitat, the City of Arts and Sciences, the circuit of Formula 1, the Cabanyal neighborhood or the Albufera These are some of the places that the characters in the thriller visit.
The Albufera also stands as a metaphor that connects with the heart of the film. It is an idyllic, beautiful setting, but what is hidden beneath the water? Power and corruption, also moralappear in this interesting thriller with Pedro Alonso, Nacho Fresneda and Carmina Barrios that is now available on RTVE Play. The platform’s catalogue includes films such as What burns y Happy 140th.
