The story of a motorist who confronts drug traffickers on the streets of Montevideo to defend his small territory is the first film made in Uruguay in Netflixdirected by Adriano Caetano. To go will debut Wednesday, October 5 on that platform and the main character, named after the film’s title, is played by also diego.
Caetano is also scriptwriter and executive producer, along with Luis Ara and Ignacio Jaunsolo, of this story that he himself describes as a kind of western these days, set in his hometown.
It is in those streets that a taciturn and solitary former boxer, with a past that is slowly being revealed, resists the advances and extortion of a group of young people who try to settle in his area to sell drugs.
-How did the idea for this story and this character come about?
Caetano: Walking the streets of Montevideo, basically. I left Buenos Aires at the end of 2020, in a pandemic, with the feeling that we all had, that we did not know what would happen, and less so in Argentina, with that very long quarantine, where it seemed that everything would be eternal.
Did you choose Uruguay because it was your native country, or for something in particular?
Caetano: I went to Montevideo because, apart from Mexico, it was the only place in Latin America where you could film. I crossed paths a bit to see what was happening, I left with a suitcase and a backpack and little else, and I settled in Montevideo. I began to write, to walk a lot, which you couldn’t do in Buenos Aires, to see me with friends.
– And did you come across stories like that of Togo on the street?
Caetano: I went to a bar for a drink, tried to lead a normal life and felt it was a suitable space for imagining movies. If you don’t have a normal life, it’s very difficult for you to come up with movies. And I began to observe the phenomenon of car attendants.
– A common phenomenon in Buenos Aires, right?
Caetano: Yes, common to many Latin American cities, but with its nuances. The people who live on the streets in Montevideo, and they are many, are not necessarily on the street for economic reasons. There are other reasons: loneliness, for example. There is like a community that lives on the street, they are like small tribes.
-What did you find that you were interested in portraying?
Caetano: Show diversity. Obviously there is everything, because when one stigmatizes, one believes that in the lower class they are all the same, that diversity only happens in the middle class.And the reality is that there is a diversity of characters as the film shows, which is a lot wide. People who are on the street because they feel useful there or because they find a space of belonging and friendship.
-To this reality is added the issue of drugs, which is also very widespread in large cities.
Caetano: The drug issue, which happens all over the world, in Uruguay what the film says happens: they are recruited to sell drugs, sometimes they are extorted, or they take out their jobs. And always, for there to be a film, there must be someone who says no. And in this case it is the Togo character who says no.
-The protagonist, the hero of the story.
Caetano: Of course, it’s also a somewhat Western premise, someone who gets tired of injustice and encourages themselves to act, and even decides to do without the police because they know the police won’t be of much use in these cases.
-With this logic of the western, you can see that Togo has something of a superhero, but a little battered, and that it becomes a vigilante as the film progresses. How did you approach the character, Diego?
Alonso: I prefer that battered superhero over those others who wear pants over pants (laughs). When Adrián summoned me, the character seemed very interesting to me.
-You did a very detailed characterization job, with the hair, the lameness …
Caetano: The truth is that Diego did a great job.
Alonso: It’s just that if you’re wrong, Adrián hits you, because someone else is behind the scenes (laughs). I ran you with the Togo stick and you had to run limping and all (laughs). Well, seriously speaking, it was a lot of fun how inside the movie, apart from Adrián and some of the costumes and makeup, they always saw me in disguise and said to each other But isn’t it the same as a series like this? Shit is done!
-Well, it’s the best comment for an actor who is putting together a new character.
Alonso: Yes, on the last day they saw that I was not limping, that I had normal hair. It was brilliant, a huge challenge because if you fail there, hello, look for something else (laughs).
-Togo, which is a bit like the last link of what society considers, almost an outcast, is what acts where those who have to act or do something do not.
Alonso: As well as. But I think the hardest thing was when I read the book and saw what the movie was called To go, just like my character, that is, all the weight was put there. Like when they chose you as their flag bearer, I don’t know if it happened to you (laughs), it happened to me.
Was it too much focus on you?
Alonso: It was difficult, seriously reminded me of being a flag bearer, if you were an escort it was more peaceful. Later, we did the construction day by day with Adrián, with this way of working, which he has above all, which brings you to the character by talking to you about other things.
-How?
Alonso: He’s a director who doesn’t tell you I want such a thing. No. It all comes out as a result of speeches that, at times, you think you are talking about anything. I’ve already experienced it, I already know what the process is like with him (laughs). We talked about people, memories, things that touched us, that went through us or even of those that happened adjacent to you.
-It’s a good job what you do …
Alonso: Makes you work your head all the time. And so the character is built. Later, when I have to go to the set, I already go with everything loaded. And Togo has a nobility that is what attracts me the most, he’s a guy who knows how to build there, with broken ones, he’s like the pack leader.
-It is of few words, but it conveys a lot.
Alonso: Everything Togo says is a lesson, but at the same time it’s good that he’s not an eloquent character, I think that makes him more interesting.
-In addition, he is very marked by his past.
Alonso: It’s like people who live on the street and have those silences that are what matters most to them. You can stand next to one of these people without saying a word. That’s why, while Adrián was preparing other things for the film, I tried to spend some time alone. I decided not to be with anyone because after all you have to do this job alone.
– Especially for this character.
Alonso: No doubt. When I met one of these people like Togo, on the street, I would come with a sandwich or a drink and it created a bit of a strange situation, but they never gave me any insecurity.
Caetano: It is a world that has its own rules and laws. Those who live on the street know that in this area things work out in their own way. And I think they are part of our society, I would not call them marginalized, we have to take charge, they are a low social class, and there are many. With the speech that they are downgraded, they are not even given the time.
Alonso: It is very difficult, but unfortunately it is.
Caetano: In Montevideo I knew of the case of a pensioner, who was not enough to retire and who lived in a small room that had been loaned to him, and he did this job as a car keeper because if he hadn’t done it, he would have done it get depressed. And he went out to chat with the neighbors, some gave him money, others gave him food, or clothes they already used or whatever.
– The sense of belonging, the community, appears, right?
Caetano: Something like that works. And that’s why I thought it was cool to portray, especially in these times when people tend to cut themselves rather than go around seeing what happens to the other to help out. And then the movie appeared.
– Did you even have some restrictions for filming in a pandemic?
Caetano: Yes, it’s also a film about shooting in times of pandemic. How to make a film possible despite the limitations and not damage the product.
-How to make sure that history does not affect you.
Caetano: That’s why everything is outdoors, with few characters, all very open, but very coherent. Sometimes making movies is like putting a Lego together, you have to make it look as good as possible without others realizing that there are a lot of little pieces that work together.
– Being Netflix’s first Uruguayan movie, did you feel it like an extra responsibility?
Caetano: I think it’s interesting for Uruguay. I took it as another movie, because I already had a connection with Netflix. They bought Apachealso Pizza, beer, faso and had headed for the platform gate 7, among other works. But I think it’s an opportunity for Uruguayan producers who want to do Uruguayan things.
-Start opening that path.
Caetano: And it also talks about Uruguayan things. Because inevitably if you make a film in Uruguay to tell the same thing that can happen in Brazil, it is useless. To go It has a lot of Uruguayan stuff, but it’s not even an export movie, where beaches are shown or legal marijuana is talked about, so more tourists come. In this case, it doesn’t go there.
-What are those Uruguayan things that you were interested in highlighting in the film?
Caetano: For example, a whole Afro-descendant culture that is very strong and very unknown. When I sent them the script, the people at Netflix had no idea. And to that you also add something real and that is that Uruguayan society is racist. It’s not that we are better than other societies, Afro-descendants have been thrown on the fringes of society.
– Is that influence invisible?
Caetano: Enough, but it is not possible to think about culture in Uruguay without the contribution of the Afro-descendants. In music, for example, from Alfredo Zitarrosa to the carnival they have that influence. We hope that it will be of some use, that Uruguay has visibility and that it is not just the beaches, because there are so many stories to tell, it is a matter of walking.
-To look a little beyond the obvious.
Caetano: That, what happens to you in any city in the world. What happens is that I went to Uruguay with that specific idea. You walk, you turn your ear, you look, you observe, you are a little sensitive, you eat what people eat, you get a little confused and the stories begin to appear. Is full. Now, it depends a little on the producers and directors, if they see it as an opportunity, but I think so.
-And incidentally, making visible stories and characters that are usually ignored, that are repeated all over the world, but especially in Latin American cities, are right there.
The problem of car care
Caetano: Yes, like the issue of car attendants, which is a very obvious expression of our societies. They exist in all countries, but in each one they work differently. In Mexico they fix the car and leave, you have to call them to tip them, it’s crazy. In Uruguay they approach you to ask for a tip, but if you say no, nothing happens. It depends on the spaces and from whom to whom.
-Of course, beyond these differences, the human factor is the same.
Caetano: Yes, they do a job, they are neighbors. In the film we see that they are people who live on the street, but they are also neighbors, like Togo who says that this is his home and his job, cleans his place, has his integrity and dignity.
POS
Source: Clarin
