Arts & Leisure
Posted on May 09, 2016 07:28:00 PM
Road to Ignacio de Loyola
By: Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
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NO INTRODUCTIONS were made. I went straight to the point: “Why would we watch Ignacio de Loyola?” I asked its leading man, Spanish actor Andreas Muñoz, who was recently in the country to promote his movie.
Spanish actor Andreas Muñoz in a scene from Ignacio de Loyola
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“Despite what the people will think about the movie -- that it’s about a saint -- we are talking about a human being who wants to become a better person and change the world. He throws everything away and follows his calling. We are talking about a life of a human being. It’s interesting for people who are struggling sometimes, because life is hard and you don’t know if you’re doing it right. The film might probably help them to see that they’re not the only ones struggling,” the 26-year-old actor said during a one-on-one interview on April 29 at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).
Ignacio de Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family who had a spiritual conversion after being seriously wounded in 1521, and went on to become a priest and theologian, and founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Considered the patron saint of soldiers, the Jesuits, and the Basque Country in Spain, Loyola’s feast day is celebrated on July 31.
Produced by Jesuit Communications Philippines and megged by Filipino director Paolo Dy -- who also wrote the story and script -- Ignacio de Loyola chronicles the life story, including the failures and triumphs, of the founder of the Jesuits, and by extension, the founder of ADMU.
The film tells the story of the young soldier who was forced to give up his dreams of knighthood when he was crippled in battle. “He didn’t achieve [his dream] to be a legendary soldier, he even wanted to die. But he did a pilgrimage, listened to others, and helped them,” said Mr. Muñoz.
“It has love, action, drama, a bit of blood, war, conversion,” he said, and added, in whisper, “sex.”
“We are talking about a sinner soldier who became a saint.”
Mr. Muñoz, who started acting when he was nine, was generous enough to confess that he didn’t know anything about the saint before he started working on the movie. Few Filipinos do as well, I told him, well, except perhaps the devout and those from the Ateneo.
“To be honest, I didn’t know anything about him. That’s why we made the film because the first movie about him was in the ’30s, in black and white... I was like ‘Wow, how much has changed since then.’ That’s why it’s good to see the movie. It’s more than just Ignacio. He’s the first Jesuit and we have a pope right now who’s also a Jesuit. He achieved small changes probably at that time, but now it’s really big. Who was this guy who deserves a pedestal in history?”
So he brushed up on his history -- and perhaps the audience would do so now, too.
“I enjoy studying about history. I believe that an actor is an eternal student. I love studying,” said Mr. Muñoz who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Acting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasglow. Prior to that, he studied for two years at the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramatico in Madrid.
“I wanted to have a better skill. I want to embody a character and explore the textures of their being. I needed to train my voice as well,” he said.
Besides getting a better grasp of history, he added that another compelling reason for Filipinos to watch the film is because it is relatable.
“Sometimes we know about the kings and the queens, but why shouldn’t we know about an ordinary human being who’d eventually became a saint?”
GOOD SCRIPT
He told BW that he has been in the industry long enough to know when a movie is good or mediocre. After all, his first movie job was for The Devil’s Backbone when he was nine. He said a good movie has a good script as its foundation.
Without batting an eyelash, he told BW this film is good. “When I received the script, I said to our director -- and I’ve been playing Hamlet and Macbeth before -- the script is like a modern Shakespeare. The script is good. It has everything all rolled into one.
“It’s all about a good script.”
Having watched On the Job by Erik Matti, he said he would love to see more Filipino films. “I think there are a lot of good directors in the industry. Filipino filmmakers have something to say, and I want to be part of that change. I am looking forward to working with them.”
MEANT TO BE
When asked if he sees part of him in the saint, he said no. He would not dare compare himself with Loyola. “I am not the religious [person] you’d think. I don’t go to church every Sunday. I am not going to lie to you, but I never liked to catalogue something, because for me, all religions are one. What they preach is love and something above us. We are a just speck of dust if you think of it.”
At first, it seemed like things were conspiring against his getting the part.
It was in early 2014 when the Filipino movie crew called for an audition in Madrid. At that time he was in London doing Hamlet.
“I couldn’t go. So I sent my younger brother, Omar, to send my CV and I said: ‘Man you need to get in that room and talk about me and tell them I want to do the part,’” he said.
As it happens, Omar Muñoz, his younger brother, is an actor who has done more movies than him. And it turned out that the producers of Loyola asked Omar to audition for the role.
“He did, and I was like ‘Bastard, man,’” said Muñoz of his brother. “He’s an actor, too. He’s good. But he’s different. After that, he called me and said: ‘I think they like me’.” But Omar did not get the part. “I would have helped him, like he helped me, if he got in,” said the older brother, smiling.
In October 2014, Mr. Muñoz got an e-mail invitation to go to another audition in Spain, this time in Barcelona. But he was still working in London.
“I checked my schedule and I took a flight to go to Barcelona. But when I went to the airport, I lost my plane. I was waiting for a train for half an hour, which got stuck. There was miscommunication. I missed the plane by five minutes. I was asking for another flight, but it was £350, which was a lot of money -- almost like coming to the Philippines. So then I called my family and they checked flights on the Internet and found a cheaper flight and booked me to Barcelona. The next day I auditioned.”
And he got the part.
So here he was in the Philippines, after roughly a month of filming, promoting his movie which is scheduled to open in July in time for St. Ignatius’ feast day. He said the shoot went smooth and it was fun. They filmed at the preserved house-turned-museum of de Loyola. It was surreal he said.
“And then we had another location in a tower in a mountain, and after a week, Game of Thrones filmed there after us. They’re following us,” he joked. -- Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
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