In an interview with the Spanish Film Academy, the director said that the movie explores themes such as pain, grief, and loss. “The film is full of metaphors because we decided that there wouldn’t be much dialogue. We didn’t want it to be a textual reflection on the subject of death”, Pérez stated.
El camí més llarg per tornar a casa stars Borja Espinosa, who is known for his roles in television series such as Plats Bruts, Gran Nord and Porca Misèria on the TV3 channel, La que se avecina on the Telecinco channel, Un paso adelante on the Antena 3 channel, and Pelotas on the TVE channel.
“It’s a movie made from the gut”, Pérez explained. “For me, that’s the perfect definition of El camí més llarg per tornar a casa, which was the result of a long and unusual creative process. It was filmed in three parts and shooting was confined to just 16 days over the course of a year. The script evolved in parallel with Borja's performance and the plot was modified to suit the tone he created. There was enough time to rewrite the script in order to transform Joel [the main character] as the story progressed and to make him increasingly darker, even wilder, given the inner conflict that raged within him”.
“The work we did on the dramatic tension was very special, because we played with the idea of a slow-burning passive-aggressive energy that was articulated through long takes, very slow zooms and tracking shots that were more nervous and dynamic. I used this contrast as an aesthetic response to the main character’s emotional journey and, perhaps, to the tension felt by the audience", the director continued.
The film was financed through the Verkami crowdfunding platform and produced by Niu d’Indi. According to Pérez, in an interview with the newspaper Diario de Sevilla,“Being outside the system means you suffer a great deal. You have no security; that's what wears you down most. Although we were a team, I funded the project and organized the crowdfunding initiative. I lost 16 kilos in the process! The real trauma was the logistics. Because we filmed in different places, the same people weren’t always available, and we had to find locations that were free, because we couldn’t afford to pay for any. We want to be a part of the system. We don’t like being marginalized”.
Despite the financial difficulties of funding the shoot, the final outcome was brilliant. El camí més llarg per tornar a casa was the only Spanish film to be included in the official section of the 2014 Seville European Film Festival, the Barcelona International Auteur Film Festival (D’A), the Tarragona International Film Festival (REC), the 18th edition of the Malaga Film Festival (in the Zonazine Focus section) and the Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz.
The film was commercially released on Friday, 29 May 2015, and can be seen at the Zumzeig, Boliche and Balmes cinemas in Barcelona and the Truffaut cinema in Girona.
Synopsis:
Joel (Borja Espinosa) is a man who has been plunged into deep depression following the death of his wife in a car accident. Having lost the desire to do anything, he stays at home, his only refuge. One day he wakes up and finds his dog, Elvis, dehydrated and close to death. Wishing to free himself of this responsibility, Joel decides to leave the house and abandon the dog to its own fate. However, he fails to realize that he has left his keys inside. El camí més llarg per tornar a casamarks the feature film debut of Sergi Pérez, previously known for directing short films and music videos.
Critical Reception:
“Stands out for its forcefulness, formal excellence and refusal to compromise”. Carles Matamoros, Caimán Cuadernos de Cine.
“One of the most brilliant, oppressive, devastating and dazzling Spanish films of the year”. Luis Martínez, El Mundo.
“Tense, hostile, radical”. Sergi Sánchez, Fotogramas.
“A magnificent first work. A powerful meditation on the pain caused by loss”. Nando Salvà, El Periódico.
“With your heart in your mouth and virtually breathless, you leave the cinema with the sensation of having lived through (in the best way) one of the most promising and stunning debuts in Spanish cinema of recent memory". Joan Sala, Filmin.
About Sergi Pérez:
Sergi Pérez holds a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and is a graduate of the Film and Audiovisual School of Catalonia (ESCAC). He specialized in directing with his final project, El buen aviador (The Good Pilot, made in 2005), which was officially selected at major cinematic events such as the San Sebastian Film Festival. In 2007, he released Vestido nuevo (New Dress), which enjoyed great success throughout Spain by winning prizes at the Malaga Film Festival and the Soria Short Film Competition and the Spanish Language Award of the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE). It also garnered an Academy Award nomination in the Student category.
Pérez has filmed a number of music videos for artists such as Manel, Mishima and Joan Dausà, and has received awards for Best Music Video from publications such as Cinemad and Rockdelux. He has also won accolades for his advertising work, including a silver medal from the International Federation of the Photographic Arts (FIAP) and inclusion in the Young Talent section at Cannes in 2008.
Pérez has taught degree and master's students at the ESCAC since 2006, and degree students on the UIC Barcelona's Communication Sciences programme since 2012.
El camí més llarg per tornar a casais his first feature film.
