“I’m totally alone,” says Marga. She is 32 years old and finds it difficult to face the harsh reality of her daily life: she is pregnant, has lost her job and is still recovering from the loss of her boyfriend, who died in a traffic accident.. On the verge of fainting, she meets a sweet and attractive young man, ten years younger than her, who becomes her lifeline. His name is Iñaki, he is gay and has just gotten out of a pretty toxic relationship. A special attraction arises between them and Marga manages to survive, giving herself over to a different love. Emma Suárez and Juan Diego Botto star in the film by Alfonso Albacete and David Menkes, released in 1999.
Albacete and Menkes with Lucía Etxebarría
The two directors burst into Spanish cinema with force in 1996, with More than love, frenzy, written and directed with Miguel Bardem. The film, a daring mix of genres, created controversy and scandalized some sectors due to the sex scene performed by Gustavo Salmerón and Javier Albalá in the showerconsidered the first between two men. Then came Atomic and again there was a fuss about some scenes and the nudity of Bibiana Fernández, the second after kika. These two films are ensembles, but I will Survive It limits the story to two characters, taking a turn towards a more intimate cinema, in which the camera focuses on feelings and emotions.
The script, written together with Lucía Etxebarría, is based on a personal experience in Albacetespecifically the love story he experienced with a woman after having told his close circle that he was gay. According to the director, this is the first time that a Spanish film has dealt with bisexuality in a completely natural way, something that was not popular in the gay environment, and the first in which a wedding between two men is depicted.
Alfonso Albacete and David Menkes directed Juan Diego Botto and Emma Suárez in ‘Sobreviviré’
An endless list of actors
Emma Suárez carries almost all the weight of the film. “She is the most important protagonist I have ever done,” she said at the premiere. Alfonso Albacete met her when she won the Goya for The dog in the manger And that day, with a glass of champagne in hand, they agreed to work together. But getting her was not easy, but the directors were patient and waited a year for her to give them the desired yes. The actress had many doubts, because she did not see herself in that type of comedy, but in the end her desire to work with Botto prevailed. The result was very good, because there was very good chemistry between them. Next to them we see Mirta Ibarra and then many well-known faces of Spanish cinema, established and young people who dreamed of being actors: The cast of this film are Rosana Pastor, Manuel Manquiña, Alex Brendemühl, Alberto San Juan, Fernando Tejero, Dani Martin, Fernando Guillen, Paz Vega, Javi Martin, Elena Irureta, Jose Manuel Cervino, Adrià Collado, Maria Esteve and Fernando Colomo, the king of cameos.
Emma Suárez and Juan Diego Botto are the protagonists of ‘Sobreviviré’
Double success, cinematographic and musical
The film draws on references such as Breakfast with diamonds and the fact that the protagonist works in a video store allowed the script to be adorned with nods and tributes to classic cinema. Surviving performed very well at the box office, bringing more than a million spectators to the theaters and remained for months at the Rialto cinema in Madrid, where it used to fill three daily sessions. The big surprise came from the soundtrack, signed by Paco Ortega. It was his first foray into cinema and the result was excellent: the album was one of the best sellers in Spanish cinema and achieved a Gold Record. It is composed of twenty songs, among which songs such as ‘Sobreviviré’, sung by Estrella Morente; ‘Sevillanas de la vida’, performed by Alba Molina; ‘Joy of Living’, by Ray Heredia; and a very special version of ‘Moon River’, signed by Paco Ortega himself, who also performs his famous ‘Calaíto’.
The ‘History of our cinema’ space celebrates the LGTBIQ+ Pride week with two films, I will Survive and I feel strange, with Rocío Dúrcal and Bárbara Rey, Directed by Enrique Martí Maqueda and released in 1977. Both are added to the RTVE Play offer, which this week receives titles such as Claim or the classic Live how you want. Besides. Litus, VeronicaChaos Walking, On point either Torrente, the foolish arm of the law.
Poster for ‘I Will Survive’, with Emma Suárez
