[...] There have been before free
versions of Fuenteovejuna and La Celestina, but a screen adaptation
of a work from the Golden Age that respects the verse and doesn't
resemble a theater play, has not been made until now.
I have always thought that such a thing is a very strange
phenomenon. I believe the reason for it might be that historically
our film industry was and is still somewhat strange. And lately,
when it seemed like Spanish producers were daring to break the
existing molds, it turned out that they only did so with young
directors who were starting to make films and that the films in
question were about issues concerning today's young people. In the
meantime, I thought this was an important pending matter, until one
day I said to myself: I am the one who is going to do it [...]
Once I decided to tackle a Spanish classic and make a screen
version of it - and I knew it was going to be hard to convince a
producer as well as finding the appropriate actors -, I looked for
a work that was innovative or new for its time and progressive as
it veered from the molds of its day. I chose this one: DOG IN THE
MANGER because I am absolutely convinced about its efficacy and its
timeless nature, i.e. it is of current interest, although it deals
with an unusual subject for the 17th century when it was written: a
countess who fights for what she wants, for the man she loves,
while lying to him and behaving a thousand different ways in order
to make him, a commoner, fall in love with her and then marry
him.
PILAR MIRÓ