Director’s statement

Aguas Verdes (Green Waters) is a much cherished film that took a long time to come into being.

            Mala Época (Bad Times), my previous film, was directed in collaboration with Nicolás Saad, Salvador Roselli and Rodrigo Moreno, shortly after completing my studies in the Film University (a University-level Film School headed by Manuel Antín).  When Mala Época was finished, I wrote a number of episodes for TV Programmes, among them, “Aguas Verdes”.

            Originally, it was called “The family tale”, but I fond it too cynical and changed it.  As it turned out, after writing the story my own family was made up by parents, an adolescent girl and a much younger boy.

            When I realized my own group was similar to the family in the script, I changed the title of the film for the more laconic and ambiguous “Green Waters”.

            The inspiration for the story came from many other ideas based on personal interests.  I had once read about a rapist in the beaches of Punta Lara, a resort close to my home town, La Plata.  The family and the way human groups function was also an attractive issue, particularly when there is love and concern; as well as the way love and ‘feelings’ are distorted and shattered in the midst of crises. 

            At the same time, pathetic situations have always fascinated me. This may be due to the style of drama in Argentina, plus my Italian and Jewish heritage.

            During my studies at the Film University, I had watched “Teorema” and “La Dolce Vita”.  Teorema had a profound impact on me and once my story was finished, I realized it had several points in common. La Dolce Vita is a model for me and in this case too I unwittingly used the image of the fish but with a different role, or so I believe.

            In my view, a film must fulfill several requirements before I decide to tackle it. To begin with, it must be the kind of film I’d like to watch.  I have watched many films, some I’ve seen hundreds of times and they never tire me.  Those are the ones I find attractive.

            On the other hand, I have always enjoyed films based on an original, creative story which depicts something unusual in daily life and that would call people’s attention if it did happen, moving them to discuss it upon learning about it.

            As production is very difficult in Argentina, shortly after Mala Época I abandoned my line of work –production and editing.

            Some 5 years later I yearned to come back and try my luck at the prize for First Films run by the National Institute of Films and Audio-visual Art, in 2004.

            Harsh production conditions notwithstanding, I decided to use scarce resources in favour of the film, as opposed to what had been the case with Mala Época.   I planned to film several simple, Romher-style shots. As to editing and sound, I conceived them as breaking-off: they would create visual shocks which would serve a classic story.

            Mala Época taught me not to allow the means of production to impose conditions on me.  Therefore, I drew fairly complete storyboards from which I subsequently selected only those that were true expressions of the spirit of the film.  They should also be easy to film, contrary to the opinion of Pablo Schverdfinger, Director of Photography and Cameras of the film.

            This was present from the very start in the script of “Green Waters”.  Over 10 years, only some lines of dialogue were altered and a few scenes were left out because they were unnecessary.  The rest remained practically unchanged.

            As to the plot itself, I found it exciting to see social scientists overcome by their own human experience, trying to reason out their experience but unable to fully understand it.

            Roberto is someone they fail to understand completely.  He is such a charming and meddlesome character that at times he seems unreal, almost out of a fantastic or detective story. But, in fact, people like that do turn up in public video libraries every now and then.

            Roberto’s perversion always amused me, as it is both methodical and very naïve.  We used to laugh with Diego Cremonesi when we worked on this character.  I would obviously not enjoy coming upon Roberto along the street.  In that sense, I feel closer to Juan, played by Alejandro Fiore.  Alejandro did a very conscientious and committed job.  Although he is well known in Argentina, this was his first leading role in a feature film.

            As to Juan, the main character of Aguas Verdes, a rather serious guy, prone to fairly methodical doubting, what I found attractive was that at the beginning he was a bit of a ‘loser’, quite a jerk, but as the film unfolds his personality becomes stronger and isolated, with an explosive potential.

            The clash between these two characters I found particularly exciting.  In fact, Juan’s experience is paranoia at its best: Someone who believes there is a plot against him is paranoid. Juan, who believes there is a plot against him, discovers that “there is a plot against him”.  Nothing could upset him more deeply.  In that sense, “Aguas Verdes” deals with something I find fascinating: denial.  Juan perceives that Roberto is dangerous for himself and his family.  But the family does not see it that way, nor do the friends of the family.  Juan does believe it but he gradually lets others persuade him that he is wrong, though the evidence he sees tell him that Roberto is in fact dangerous.  On the other hand, the other members of the family undergo the same feelings, but in the opposite direction.  When it becomes obvious that Roberto spells danger for the family, they insist he is not dangerous, probably out of stubbornness, or maybe they are unable to acknowledge he is dangerous.

            Anyhow, I did not care to interfere or take sides with one or another character.  My aim was to go into the reality of the situation itself:  The clear reality of the feeling of unreality that befalls all the characters and situations in the plot. 

In that sense, the sound is very complex and varied.

Editing was an extremely delicate and intricate task too, as regards timing of the scenes; especially considering that I did it all by myself.

            Filming was great fun.  The team was full of shared enthusiasm, despite the major obstacles we encountered.

            After the film was completed, in June 2007, I devoted six months to its editing, followed by the sound track and mixing.  We were four working on that, with all sorts of limitations and scarcely surmountable hurdles in view of our limited resources.  Despite all that, I am sincerely proud to have produced “Aguas Verdes” the way I did, taking over a massive number of technical and creative processes and overcoming all the obstacles along the way.

MARIANO DE ROSA

Film Review: Green Waters

By Neil Young, febrero 10, 2009 09:03 ET

Raucously intense tale of family paranoia announces an audacious new talent from Argentina.

Berlin International Film Festival -- Forum

BERLIN -- A family beach holiday turns into a nightmare of paranoia for a stressed-out dad in "Green Waters," a startling debut from writer-director Mariano De Rosa. Bold, fresh and vibrant, the picture is a pleasantly surprising change of pace from what we've come to expect from younger Argentinean art-cinema. Indeed, with only a couple of minor tweaks here and there, you'd have a pretty broad, mainstream comedy.

This tangily offbeat combination of moods and genres won't be to all tastes, and may well polarize audiences and critics alike, restricting its commercial potential. But it would be a major shame if such an accomplished and distinctive effort merely remained a cultish find among film-festival attendees....

...Taking its title from the name of the resort where most of the action unfolds, "Green Waters" ("Aguas Verdes") isn't exactly subtle. Indeed, De Rosa -- shooting on pungently colored Super16 -- seems as much influenced by 1970s horror/thriller/crime cinema as the more classy forebears (Pasolini's "Theorem" and Fellini's "La Dolce Vita") he dutifully cites in his press notes. ..

...He amps up sequences of excruciating social awkwardness to the very edge of absurdity -- with sometimes hilarious results, and without crossing the line into the camp or cheesy. It's a giddy, risky balancing-act, and there aren't that many directors out there, regardless of age or experience, with the nerve to attempt it and the skill to pull it off with such aplomb.