Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directs Millie Bobby Brown in 'Girl', a 'modern and rebellious' take on classic stories

This Friday “Damsel” arrives on Netflix on March 8. A fantasy adventure film directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Which recasts the classic tale of princesses and dragons “from a more modern and contemporary place” which Millie Bobby Brown the hero of the story Weird things“, like a big star. An update that follows in the footsteps of Elodie, a young woman who, after agreeing to marry a prince, refuses to accept the fateful fate the royal family has prepared for her: being cast as a tribute into the lair of a fire-breathing dragon. .

“I found in 'The Girl' a bold and courageous story. I would almost say that it is rebellious to propose a medieval fairy tale from such an exciting and irreverent place,” Fresnadillo explains in an interview with Europa Press where he highlights the possibility that this story I showed him “Inverting the entire tradition” is what prompted him to embark on this project, his first feature film as a director since he released “Intruders” in 2011, a psychological thriller starringP Clive Owen.

The Spanish director finds it “very interesting to revise these kinds of traditional structures and stories” to take them “to the new generation with this contemporary twist that really speaks to them” and takes them “to a more real and closer place.”

“I honestly believe that there is something happening in our world that is a just and logical development,” Fresnadillo says fearlessly. “I believe that ‘Girl’ accurately reflects those new values ​​on which we are building our world.” That this revision of the classic structure of fairy tales is described as “woke” propaganda by more conservative and reactionary sectors, as has already happened with other projects such as the remake of “The Little Mermaid” or, more recently, with the final season of “True Detective”.

“Girl” is also, as the Canarian director highlights, “a tribute to women in every sense of the word” and specifically to an aspect “as essential as motherhood.” “This film is about mothers and the importance of motherhood. But it is also about universal values ​​that will in some way affect everyone,” sums up the director, highlighting the epic journey of the protagonist, who, after being sacrificed for himself to appease the wrath of a terrifying dragon, rebels against his fate. He “fights to survive his misfortune.”

“This is the great driving force of the film. The fact that no one comes to her rescue, that no one comes to save her, is very interesting and builds a heroine who speaks in an adult and free voice,” the director emphasizes. I've been immersed in the world of “Damsel” for five years, a project that suffered a hiatus due to the pandemic that led to a rethink of many aspects of the feature film. A hiatus forced by dire circumstances, but for Fresnadillo it was “almost like a blessing.”

“It was a wonderful moment of reflection, as I was able to delve into the foundations of the story and develop it with the team. I admit it was very good for us because one of the great advantages of filmmaking is sometimes a director of films like Intact or 28 Weeks Later who in This film “fully embraces fantasy for the first time”, but also gives it that layer of suspense, excitement and darkness so typical of his filmography.

Thus, when it came to “elevating” this story of princesses and dragons and “making it more creative and modern”, for Fresnadillo, it was necessary to develop the “mystery and suspense” tone typical of “almost a Hitchcock film”. “It was something that had to be exploited to take the film to a more challenging and exciting place in every way.” Also in the visual section, he revealed that his major reference for compiling some of the shots was Goya's “Black Paintings.”

“I've always been a huge fan of Goya's black paintings, but specifically for 'Girl' it was a great reference for achieving that amazing thing that Goya does which is that he recreates landscapes and figures that are disturbing but at the same time there's a 'deep beauty in them.' This combination of something dark and beautiful at the same time seemed to me a good source of inspiration,” explains the director, who pays tribute to his heroine, Millie Bobby Brown, who he highlights “is very effective despite his young age and his special appeal as a global star.”

“What impressed me most about working with her was meeting a woman who was so young and at the same time so experienced and who had really fine-tuned her working tools to a level of effectiveness that was truly overwhelming. Then there is something very attractive, that really very few actors and actresses have, And it's that ability, as a spectator, to not be able to look away from it. It captivates you, it literally draws you in, it takes you on the journey with it, in “any kind of journey does that,” he says.

With a script by Dan Mazo (Fast & Furious, Wrath of the Titans), alongside the Stranger Things protagonist, Damsel's cast is completed with names like Ray Winstone (The Departed). , “Cold Mountain”), Nick Robinson (“Jurassic World”, “Love Is Everything, Everything”), Shohreh Aghdashloo (“House of Sand and Fog”, “Star Trek: Beyond”), Angela Bassett (Black Panther), “Strange Days”) and Robin Wright (“Forrest Gump”, “Unbreakable”), among others.