‘Magdala’: Damien Manivel portrays the last days of María Magdalena

VALENCIA. After its premiere in Cannes, magdala has arrived today at the official section of the Valencia Film Festival from the hand of its director, the French Damien Crank. A recreation of the biblical character of Mary Magdalene that the filmmaker captures in the twilight of her life, withdrawn from the world, living in harmony with nature, and remembering her lost love, Jesus himself.

The idea of ​​tackling the figure of María Magdalena, explained the director after the screening of his film at Babel Cinemas, arose when he was editing his previous film Les Enfants d’Isadora in which the renowned African-American dancer, choreographer and actress elsa wolliaston raise your eyes to the sky: “I found a mystical accent in her and told myself that I had to make a film with her about the sacred. First I thought of the figure of the nun to discover later that it was the saint who interested me. The journey of Mary Magdalene raises the question of exile, faith, mystical contemplation and, above all, crazy love.

The paintings, poems and legends of the Middle Ages were sources of inspiration for Manivel to capture the essence of his protagonist: “There are few representations of an old Mary Magdalene. There is, however, a magnificent sculpture of Donatello, where she is emaciated, with her clothes in tatters. What encouraged me as a filmmaker was dreaming about what could have happened in that forest. How did she feed herself, sleep, observe the world around her and what did she think about? The film is, therefore, “a daydream about his hermitage and more specifically about the last days of his life. There is very little documentation on it. We only know that she spent thirty years there and that when she died, the angels took her to heaven. It’s not much, so it leaves room for my work as a filmmaker.”

Beyond the religious theme, for the French filmmaker María Magdalena continues to be a figure of full actuality: “She says no to the world, she chooses to end her days, alone, in nature. Her radicalism is timeless, it could be a response to the current times. She fascinates me and inspires me in the practice of my art.”

In magdala the memories and visions of its protagonist are represented literally: “I wanted to film miracles by hand and naively. I have seen paintings in which saints literally offer their hearts. It’s such a clear image that I wanted to allow myself the same cinematographically. Very soon I had in mind the image of the resurrection of the bird. I saw a small bird, tiny compared to Elsa’s huge body, and I thought there was something moving in this relationship of proportions”.

For Manivel, making a film means having at least two projects, “a surface project that must be felt, personal, and below this surface, there must be a second, more secret project that keeps my emotion alive.” In ‘Magdala’ he films a biblical character who is linked to a heritage and at the same time offers “a cinematographic death to Elsa Wolliaston”, her secret project: “I have been working with her for thirteen years, filming her and I still want to film her. The most important thing for me was to give her a leading role that was worthy of her talent and her power. I needed to give him that gift. And in return, she gave me a huge one too.”

Regarding the character of Jesus, the filmmaker assures that he did a casting and found Saphir Shraga, who immediately impressed him: “He is not very present in the film because he felt that he should not appear much. And she kept a face, a hand, a bright smile, a voice. I tried to capture him as a man like you or me. He and María Magdalena are two flesh and blood people who love each other.” In this sense, it was essential for me to film the imprint of what they were for each other by bringing them together for the river scene. memory of Mary Magdalene, her dream?I wanted to film the way they look at each other, the sensual touch of their joined hands, the simple beauty of their naked bodies in the sunlight, the silence before a fate tragic part them.

Regarding the death of María Magdalena, Mannivel did it in a very specific way: “So that the viewer feels that death can happen peacefully, that it is only time that passes, that despite the pain, it is not so serious. . And at the same time, he wanted this death to be grand and bright and sweet. The fact that it took place in a cave changes everything, it brings us back to painting”.

Compared to other directors, Manivel conceives writing as an ongoing process: “I already have images in my head because I have been preparing the shoot for many months, but my pleasure as a director is to arrive at the shooting location without knowing what I am going to do. to do, discover, for example, a tree with a particular shape, show it to the team and create a scene with that tree at that moment. I know from experience that I always like what surprises me more than what I have written. written. If a detail, a light or an accidental gesture catches my attention, he modified the scene to integrate it. Everything is constantly being invented, in the present”.

Faced with the possible reactions of believers, the filmmaker assures that with this film he tries to achieve a sensitivity linked to very simple, very material things, such as the body, old age, suffering, and also to more interior questions, such as spirituality, loneliness, exile, mourning, passionate love: “I don’t know if I’m a believer, I don’t approach the question in this way, but I am convinced of the presence of Mary Magdalene and of the fact that, through Elsa, I have tried to capture a part of this presence. It’s what Donatello did in the sculpture of him. What Rilke does when he writes a poem. We try to capture things. There is a spirit, that’s for sure, and it can be captured by photography, by painting, by poem or film.”

‘Magdala’: Damien Manivel portrays the last days of María Magdalena