The first building block of the story
consisted of its leading characters: an honest, young man who falls
in love with the teenage daughter of the corrupt entrepreneur for
whom he works. I became interested in the problem of loyalty, which
such a situation generated. The protagonist must decide between
being faithful to the entrepreneur who has protected him for many
years and who became wealthy in a shady way, or to break up with
everything, confront the crisis that surrounds him and recover his
self-esteem. There lies the origin of the story. It isn't based on
real events. It is a conflict very much along the lines of a noir
film.
I like films wherein mysteries and
crimes accumulate without the viewers suspecting what is going to
happen at the end. In "La voz de su amo" (The Voice of his Master)
I tried to do something similar. I used the same cinematographic
reference points as other directors fascinated by noir cinema: from
Hitchcock to "Chinatown" used. Curiously, one of the things that
encouraged me most to continue working on the project was the
success attained by "L.A. Confidential", a film that revitalizes
classical noir schemes.
Right from the start I wanted
Silvia Abascal to play the role of Marta. She has a voice and a way
of talking that are very special. She conveys the impression that
she is very fragile and sweet, but then behaves like a very
quick-witted young woman, who plays at being a little girl when it
suits her. I hope the spectators feel as attracted towards her as
in the case of Charlie. Actor Eduard Fernández, on the other hand,
is someone who can be rough and affectionate at the same time. He
has a melancholic smile and a sad look, but he knows how to speak
like a tough guy.
The love story is encouraged by
her; she who seduces him. Charlie is trapped; he doesn't know how
to get out of the situation and it takes time for him to react.
When he does, the big conflict in the film arises and they are
united by something that isn't exactly love [...]
I realized that the atmosphere
around ETA (the Basque Terrorist pro-Independence group),
particularly in the early 1980s, was the best possible setting for
the film as far as the action was concerned. It is a suitable
atmosphere for violence and corruption. There, the characters of
the bodyguard and the girl would stand out like a couple of odd
birds amid a big bunch of scoundrels.
In the film, the corrupted
policemen behave like corrupted policemen and the terrorists act
like real terrorists. I needn't give my opinion in that regard.
Their deeds speak for themselves. Other than that, as people they
can be friendly, unfriendly, ugly, attractive, rich or poor….just
like in real life.
EMILIO MARTÍNEZ - LÁZARO.