Raquel R. IncertisSpecial envoy Talamanca del Jarama
Special envoy Talamanca del Jarama
Updated Sunday, March 24, 2024-9:30 p.m.
January 1724. An alienated
Philip V
unexpectedly abdicates in favor of
his son Luis
. The prince is 17 years old and is not yet ready to reign, but he has to do it. Married to a cousin recently arrived from the French court,
Louise of Orleans
, and heir to the throne of Spain,
his life is about to experience great changes
. Fortunately or unfortunately, the problems will be resolved quickly:
seven and a half months or, to be more exact, 229 days
. In August, the monarch
will fall ill with smallpox
and put an end to the
shortest reign in the history of Spain
. A lightning reign to which barely a chapter is dedicated in the biographies of Philip V, as it is inconsequential for most historians.
La vida Breve
is built on this curious premise
, a fiction
halfway between comedy and drama
about the figure of Luis I, created by
Cristóbal Garrido and Adolfo Valor
, the creative tandem behind the successful
Kings of the Night, Better Days, Fariña
and
I leave it whenever I want.
"We came to this episode almost by chance, after reading a report in the newspaper," says Garrido. "So I copied the link and emailed it to Adolfo, putting in the subject: 'Here's your next series for Movistar Plus +," he laughs.
Indeed: we traveled to Talamanca del Jarama, a picturesque town 48 kilometers from the capital, where this story begins... in a pigsty.
A story about royalty that begins among pigs?
You can already get an idea of the rest.
"It was difficult to achieve the perfect balance between comedy and drama. Doing historical comedy is something very unusual, we are not used to it, but in reality the story of Louis I involves a very great family drama.
The touches of humor, the gags 'that the characters themselves contribute in their moments of intimacy, is what softens that tension
,' explains Argentine director Diego Núñez, whom Garrido and Valor contacted on Instagram to direct the first three episodes after marveling at his work in
División Palermo
( Netflix).
We attend the filming of the last sequence of the fourth episode, directed by
Adolfo Valor
, where the plot surrounds the execution of the portrait of the royal family. "To achieve the ideal tone we have been inspired by works like
Amadeus
and
The Favorite
," says Valor, who also explains that
they have had to fill the gaps in the story with credible creative licenses
- such as anachronistic references with which the viewer can connect. , taking care not to lose rigor.
Shouting "action," the actors and actresses hold their breath under their wigs and period costumes and pose like statues, holding back their blinks and flashing shy smiles. "The photography and the sets of the series have a gloomy air, which does not introduce you at all to a comedy, but to a palace drama.
Grotesque, grotesque and surreal, yes, but the budget alone shows that everything is designed more as drama than comedy
," says
Javier Gutiérrez
, who plays Felipe V, "a king with a constant moral dilemma between his sex addiction and his deep religious faith."
The new Garrido y Valor has an exceptional cast, made up not only of the veterans
Javier Gutiérrez
and
Leonor Watling
- who plays the stepmother
Isabel de Farnesio
-, but also of the undisputed protagonists
Carlos Scholz
and
Alicia Armenteros
. "We have learned a lot from their experience, but they have let us play and we have had a lot of freedom to propose and improvise, something that is appreciated," says Scholz. Armenteros plays the consort
Luisa Isabel de Orleans
, a teenager with borderline personality disorder whom Luis I, embarrassed by her inappropriate attitudes,
imprisoned for six days in the Buen Retiro
.
"You realize how difficult it was to be a free soul and have such a peculiar character at a time when psychologists did not exist"
Alicia Armenteros, actress
"At first you stay with what everyone says:
that the queen was crazy, that she ran around the gardens naked and made obscene comments at anyone who crossed her
, but as you empathize with her you realize how difficult it was to be a soul. free and have such a peculiar character at a time when psychologists did not exist," says Armenteros. After the death of the king and the accession to the throne - again - of her father-in-law Philip V, Luisa was sent back to France, since she enjoyed little sympathy in the rigid Spanish Court, which considered her a "useless" one. "Even with their differences,
they were two young people who were very fond of each other
. She was by his side, taking care of him, until the end. In reality, it is a love story that does not turn out well due to the circumstances in which it was born but that ends up becoming in a great friendship," adds Scholz.
The Charterhouse of Talamanca del Jarama, a semi-ruined estate owned by the Carthusian friars where agricultural activities were once carried out, dates back to the 16th century and consists of a winery, a cloister, a chapel and an area of corrals and stables. This chiaroscuro-filled place is just one of the exterior locations where
The Brief Life
is being filmed ; Scenes from other historical fictions such as
Águila Roja
or
Alatriste
were recorded in it
.
Thanks to a collaboration agreement with National Heritage, the filming of the series has also taken place in other emblematic locations such as
the Palace and Gardens of Quinta del Duque in El Pardo
,
the Royal Palace
and
Gardens of Aranjuez
and
the Royal Palace and Gardens of the San Ildefonso Farm
, in Segovia. "I loved the Quinta del Pardo Palace, because it cannot be visited and I felt very privileged, but I must admit that the Farm, which I had visited before, I perceived in an extraordinary way, dressed like this and with Farinelli singing to us. It's amazing, this job is lucky," says Watling. "The fountains, the gardens... you see everything differently, you understand how great the kings thought they were because you think 'all this is mine,'" Gutierrez laughs.
With filming in the final stretch and post-production in its infancy, the release date of
The Brief Life
is still unclear, but is estimated
for the first quarter of 2025
.