‘Way down’: how to assault the Bank of Spain in the middle of the World Cup final

A Jaume Balagueró he had always been identified with the horror genre since he directed films such as ‘The nameless’ O ‘[REC]’, next to Paco Plaza. However, it now demonstrates its versatility thanks to ‘Way down’ an action ‘thriller’ in the style of a ‘heist movie’ in which he plays with the conventions of heist cinema to bring them to his own ground and print tension, suspense, dynamism when using cinematographic tools and veteranism to orchestrate international castings .

If in ‘Darkness’ I work with Anna Paquin, on ‘Fragile’ with Calista Flockhart and in ‘Musa’ with Franka Potente, now gather Freddie Highmore (‘The good doctor’), Liam Cunningham (Sir Davos in ‘Game of Thrones’), Fanke Janssen (Jean Gray in ‘X-Men’) and Sam Riley (Ian Curtis in ‘Control’) who, along with Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Jose Coronado, Luis Tosar and Emilio Gutierrez Caba, complete the spectacular cast of performers.

To put us, ‘Way down’ begins with the rescue of a treasure hidden in the depths of the sea for centuries in an operation directed by Walter (Cunningham) outside the British government. His most precious piece, a trunk with three coins that indicate the coordinates of a fortune, will be seized by the authorities and sent to the Bank of Spain, where one of the most inscrutable vaults in the world is located. To try to decipher the enigma of this engineering marvel, he will recruit a young prodigy, Thom (Highmore), who is disputed by all the oil companies for his ability to solve problems. Instead of betting on the safety of a safe job, our protagonist will accept the challenge and join the gang of thieves.

“There is a fundamental thing in the film that is the call of the adventure. Thom’s father seems to have already planned his future, and he rebels against it all to make his own decisions, even if they are bad. Here it was about identifying ourselves with those who play, with those who take risks, not with those who protect the board & rdquor ;, says Jaume Balagueró.

‘Way down’ is Telecinco Cinema’s big bet for the fall season. The film was shot two and a half years ago and due to the pandemic its premiere has been delayed until it finally reaches our screens this Friday, November 5.

In parallel to the match

One of its biggest peculiarities is that it is set during the 2010 World Cup, so that the whole plot is linked to the successive advances of the Spanish team until reaching the final, which brought together thousands of people in the Plaza de Cibeles. “One of the virtues of the story was being able to play in parallel with the phases of the match during the robbery. First part, second part, extension and victory. And then the challenge of rebuilding all that climate of excitement in the streets & rdquor ;, continues Balagueró. To do this, they managed to cut off the center of Madrid for twelve hours and used five units to mount the entire device, which in addition to extras included giant screens where the game was broadcast. Thanks to Mediaset, they were able to count on the original images and Iniesta’s goal.

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Freddie Highmore He acknowledges that participating in this film meant closing a circle. In perfect Spanish he tells us that he was in Madrid at that time and went to see the Spanish team after their triumph. In addition, for a year, he was doing an internship at a law firm that was located in the same building where we do the interview, in the offices of Sony Pictures, the film’s distributor. “I think that in addition to all the connections I have with ‘Way down’ for me it is a celebration of Spanish and European cinema, the realization that we don’t have to do things the same as Americans, that there are other different and more original ways & rdquor ;.

In ‘Way down’ there are no shots, no blood, no violence, everything is born of ingenuity. An adventure story, of contemporary pirates that, as Jaume Balagueró says, gives off a good vital lesson: sometimes the most difficult problems have simple solutions. “As a director and as a person I prefer not to complicate myself. Getting complicated is a hassle and messes are wrong & rdquor ;.