“I have to replace the chip, it can’t be work first and then family and health,” he promises
For his first job, he received 30,000 pesetas, which he melted into a black-orange jacket. It was 1987 and Karra Elejalde (Vitoria, 1960) appeared in the credits of ‘Lauaxeta, to the four winds’ as Carlos Elejalde. That kid who was with the people of Hertzainak and with theater troupes loading the stage in vans and putting spotlights on, is today the most sought-after actor in Spanish cinema, only to premiere two films in theaters in November. For one of them, ‘Vasil’ – in cinemas this Friday – has just received the prize for best actor at the Valladolid Seminci together with his counterpart, the Bulgarian Ivan Varnev.
The feature film debut of Valencian director Avelina Prat addresses issues of isolation and immigration based on the relationship between a Bulgarian immigrant and a retired architect who welcomes him into his home. They have nothing in common and don’t even speak the same language, but they are united by a passion for chess, of which the newcomer is an accomplished master. The film, which was also screened at the Warsaw Film Festival and the Mostra de Valencia, is inspired by the director’s real-life experience, who discovered one day that her father had welcomed a Bulgarian immigrant into their home. Alexandra Jiménez, Susi Sánchez and Sue Flack complete the cast.
“Looks like if they give you a tie you have to be half as excited, but it’s twice as exciting for me,” Elejalde told EL CORREO of Valladolid. “I’ve had very good chemistry with Ivan Varnev. Despite the fact that I don’t speak English or Bulgarian and he doesn’t speak Spanish, we understood each other perfectly, we’re a fucking tandem». His character of Alfredo, the retired architect who welcomes the immigrant into his home to his daughter’s astonished gaze, is a taciturn and bitter man. Come on, the antithesis of the real Karra.
“I was interested in the movie because the character was the opposite of my visceral way of being, of my biorhythm. He is a sour, grumpy, orthopedic man, similar to the Unamuno from ‘While the war lasts’. He lives with the blinds down, you know our manias are accentuated with aging,” describes the actor, who still has the comedy “La vida padre” on the billboard, where he plays a cook with no memory. “‘Vasil’ talks about the difficulty we have in communicating, both with our loved ones and with an immigrant,” he explains.
“It seems like we are Europe, but a Bulgarian has enormous bureaucratic problems, even if he is an eminence,” laments Elejalde, who likes the film’s subtle handling of the immigration issue. «The director does not make an accusation or a pamphlet, but a reflection that the viewer has to fill in. This is a very author’s film, in which the actors say a lot with silences and pauses».
Nominated four times for the Goya, a statuette that he won twice as a supporting actor for ‘Also the rain’ and ‘Eight Basque surnames’, Karra Elejalde is experiencing a very beautiful moment in his career. Everything changed after the success of his character Koldo in ‘Ocho surnames vascos’, which in 2014 became the highest grossing Spanish film of all time. The interpreter from Vitoria has not stopped working since then and welcomes roles that were on the other side of the spectrum from the Basque Koldo, such as Unamuno in ‘While the war lasts’ or the protagonist in ‘Vasil’. On November 18, we see him as the grumpy King Melchor in ‘Reyes contra Santa’, by Paco Caballero (‘Perdiendo el este’), a family comedy aimed at blowing up the box office this Christmas.
“When I was doing theatre, I always asked to be changed to position number 25 because I don’t like repeating myself. I’m like a bee that sucks from flower to flower, an ass with a bad seat,” clarifies the actor, who also premiered a year ago with Imanol Uribe’s ‘They Arrived at Night’, in which he brought Ignacio Ellacuría to life. “I always have to feel ideologically related to the script. Unamuno heals me from Koldo and the sages will heal me from ‘Vasil’. I never had any Hollywood intentions, if I don’t even speak Basque how am I going to speak English? I can’t deny ‘8 Basque surnames’, but I’m the same actor as before I did it, with the same possibilities and limitations».
Fame, yes, has changed his life. “I no longer go to a disco or eat on a terrace,” he complains. “People are very polite at noon, but at 2am with a gin and tonic in hand they are borderline and flawed. It has changed my life, I celebrate the celebrations at home». The brutal pace of work, he promises, will vary soon. «I have to replace the chip, it cannot be that first is work and then family and health. I’m like a goddamn tuna caught on the hook, I don’t know where I’m going.
The 67th edition of the Seminci awarded the Golden Spike for Best Picture to “Return to Dust,” the sixth feature film by Chinese director Li Ruijun, which tells the drama of a couple evicted from their respective families and forced into an to conclude a contract. wedding. Best director was veteran Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski for ‘Eo’, an original film in which Europe’s problems are seen through the eyes of a donkey. The award for female performance went to Belgian actress of Moroccan and Spanish descent Lubna Azabal, star of ‘El caftán azul’, a drama by Marian Touzany set in a traditional kaftan shop that has just been released in Spanish cinemas.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
