Pablo Larraìn: “My Diana martyr, between fragility and freedom”

“We had no intention of making a docudrama: we wanted to create something by taking elements from reality and then using the imagination to tell the life of a woman with the tools of cinema. This is why cinema is so fantastic: there is. it is always room for the imagination “. Thus the Chilean director Pablo Larraìn talks about his ‘Spencer’, the film about Lady Diana, played by Kristen Stewart, presented today in competition at the Venice Film Festival. “A fairy tale taken from a true tragedy”, Larraìn writes at the beginning of the film, which is not new to biopic with an interpretative front, as it was already with ‘Jackie’, centered on the first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and presented in 2016 also at the Lido . “I made this film thinking about my mom. About what a person like my mom saw in Diana,” explains the director. “We all grew up knowing what a fairytale is, but Diana Spencer changed its paradigm and redefined the idealized icons of pop culture, forever. This is the story of a princess who decided not to become queen, but chose to build her own identity on her own. It’s a fairy tale in reverse “, underlines the director who decided to frame the story of Lady D in the three days of the last Christmas spent at court, in the Sandringha residence, before walking away, crushed by the betrayal and the overwhelming protocol that required her to hide her emotions. “I have always been very surprised by her decision and I always thought it must have been very hard to make. This is the heart of the film. I wanted to delve into the process behind Diana’s choices, as she oscillates between doubt and determination, finally choosing. , freedom. It was a decision that defined his legacy: a legacy of honesty and humanity that remains unmatched “, explains the director who in the film, in a game of dreamlike apparitions, compares Diana to Anna Bolena, mother of the future queen. Elizabeth I, beheaded on charges of high treason while many considered her the victim of treason. “I don’t think there is a need to explain why I chose to compare them. It seemed like a way to tell that history repeats itself,” says the director. As for choosing such a short period of time to describe the character, the director points out: “Framing someone during a crisis means having the opportunity to know that person very well. It was a great opportunity to create a story with a different structure. . Diana was an icon, but also a mother. She just wanted to be herself. This fairytale starts with Diana being a broken character, then she becomes a ghost and then heals. “For the film’s protagonist, Kristen Stewart the task is not. was simple: “We all had the feeling that we knew her well but she was one of the most isolated human beings in the world. I know what it means to be famous but I have never experienced the exposure she experienced, having to face the whole world. very frustrating to know that the story being divulged is not the truth. Turning Spencer I felt how much Diana felt like an outsider. I can make mistakes, while she didn’t have the ability. ability because it had to represent an ideal and keep a nation united “. But the story of Diana, at least for the way the film frames it, is also the story of a great freedom and self-determination: “The film conveys freedom. In life there are always forces, ideas that hold you back. I think it is important not to let it go. things happen to you. Every step you take is important. You can choose what you want to do. You can take control of your life “, concludes the actress.