"I love animation. I consume animation. And some of my favorite films of the last 20 years are animated," says Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger. Still, "I never, not even once in my life, thought that I was going to make an animated film."
Until recently, Berger was best known for his black-and-white silent drama Blancanieves (2012), which won Best Film at the Goya Awards, and the fantasy dramedy Abracadabra (2017). He was only inspired to try his hand at animation when he read Sara Varon's 2007 graphic novel Robot Dreams, which follows the friendship — and subsequent separation — of a dog and a robot.
"The book moved me so much, especially the ending and the themes that it deals with: Friendship, the fragility of relationships, how memory helps to overcome loss. That's the only reason I made an animated film," Berger says. "But I like challenges. I like risks." Making his first animated feature, however, came with a large learning curve. "And I had to learn very fast; I had to learn Animation for Dummies!"
He was rewarded for his efforts when Robot Dreams was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 96th Oscars. In the end, making an animated feature didn't feel so different from the live-action films Berger had made.
"A director is only as good as his crew, and I got a great art director, a great animation director, and I worked with some of the crew that I work with in live-action, like my composer, my sound designer, and my editor," he says. "If there's one big difference, it's that in live-action you work with actors, and in animation, you work with animators. But at the end, the animators become the actors. And my goal is the same: get good performances."
Below, Berger shares with A.frame five films that have inspired his own work, an international selection of classics that hail from Italy, Japan, Spain and beyond.
Directed by: Federico Fellini | Written by: Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli
The one and only Fellini. I like every film that he has made; all his films have emotion, amazing actors and amazing setups. I like that world of magic and surrealism, and they are all so exuberant and so surprising. With La Strada, in particular, I love Giulietta Masina. I think Giulietta Masina is one of the greatest actresses of all time. The other day, one of my best friends — he's a film director — told me, "I just saw La Strada, and I see a clear connection between Robot and Giulietta Masina," and I said, "You know, I can see it!" Because Giulietta Masina is such a lively, generous, gentle character. Please, if you haven't seen La Strada, it's a must.
Written and Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Because I made an animated film, I have to say Spirited Away. I take my hat off to Miyazaki; he truly is the master. I love so many of his films, but when I saw Spirited Award for the first time, I couldn't believe it. The film stars in everyday Japanese life — with this family in a car, and they're moving to a different town, and the girl is upset — and then it goes to this fantasy world. That's Miyazaki at his best, mixing Japanese tradition and culture with Miyazaki's own imagination, and always with this beautiful message about ecology, and tradition, and family, and loyalty. It's such beautiful animation too. It surprised me. I like everything about that film. You watch that, and you know that Miyazaki is one of the greatest directors of all time.
Written and Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
City Lights was such a huge influence in making Robot Dreams. Charlie Chaplin is, without a doubt, one of my favorite and greatest directors. He was a great visual storyteller, and I think it's amazing that he still decided to make a silent film like City Lights even after the sound era started.
Chaplin invented a genre that is like the dramedy — the tragic comedy — and I think there are very few films that mix tears and laughs like City Lights. For me, the most moving ending of all time is the final encounter between the two main characters. If you don't cry at the end of City Lights, it's because you are dead!
Directed by: Billy Wilder | Written by: Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond
Another of my time favorite directors is Billy Wilder. Like Fellini, I like all his work, but if I have to choose one Billy Wilder film, I would have to say The Apartment. It's a classic. I like films where the protagonist is an everyday man. I try to make my own films about underdogs, and in Robot Dreams, Dog is an everyday man. Jack Lemmon plays that role with such charm and such truth as he finds love with Shirley MacLaine, but also with all of the imperfections of an everyday man. He's like an antihero, in how he confronts the capitalist world and these powerful people.
Like all my favorite films, The Apartment has humor and emotion. It is a beautiful dramedy, and I think dramedy or tragic comedy is the perfect genre to represent our lives.
Directed by: Luis García Berlanga | Written by: Luis García Berlanga, Rafael Azcona and Ennio Flaiano
My favorite Spanish film is The Executioner. It's by Luis García Berlanga, who might be the most famous Spanish director. You might say, "But isn't it Luis Buñuel? Isn't it Carlos Saura? Is it not Pedro Almodóvar?" But, for Spanish directors and a Spanish audience, Berlanga is in our heart. The Executioner tells a story about an executioner, but it's a tragic comedy. You might think, "How can you make a tragic comedy with an executioner as a protagonist?" Just go and see it. It's one of the darkest, funniest, most emotional films you can imagine.
