A corporate game of cat and mouse unfurls in writer/director David Mamet's THE SPANISH PRISONER, a twist-laden tale artfully photographed by cinematographer Gabriel Beristain, BSC.
Part Hitchcockian thriller and part shaggy-dog story, The Spanish Prisoner offers a suspenseful and entertaining ride into a world where almost none of the characters is what he appears to be. Written and directed by renowned multi-hyphenate David Mamet (House of Games, Oleanna), Prisoner also benefits from the supple photography of Gabriel Beristain, BSC (Dolores Claiborne, Caravaggio), whose imagery lends this twist-filled tale a mood of menace and uncertainty.
The picture's plot is pure film noir: Joe Ross (Campbell Scott), a dedicated young scientist who has single-handedly created a process that will earn his employers a fortune, is frustrated by the vague promises of financial remuneration offered by his boss, the evasive Mr. Klein (Ben Gazzara). A rich, mysterious acquaintance named Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin, in a rare dramatic turn) suggests that Ross may be legally entitled to a much greater share of the wealth, and offers to help. The wealthy advisor insists on a clandestine meeting, however, instructing the scientist to bring the only copy of the secret process to this cloak-and-dagger rendezvous.
The Spanish Prisoner was shot in 36 12-hour days on a budget of approximately $10 million with no studio affiliation. Beristain says that creating the film's distinctive look on such a schedule would have been impossible if he and Mamet hadn't been in such close agreement about the visual approach to the material. "Usually when you have such a short schedule, you either shoot the film like television or you sacrifice coverage," he says, "but we did not want The Spanish Prisoner to look like a poor independent picture. Thanks to the intense level of communication David and I had, as well as to a good crew and actors who understood the importance of the lighting in making their characters more effective, we were able to make the film look moody and menacing without sacrificing the coverage we needed."
According to Beristain, Mamet the director is a cinematographer's dream. "David understands the role of the camera and lighting," he says. "He feels, I believe, that the camera and the lighting are non-speaking characters in his films. So we had a director who appreciates the importance of lighting and the camera, and a cinematographer who believes strongly in the drama and the story, which seems to be a very good match. Without the communion David and I had, we could not have shot five to six pages a day."
Mamet chose Beristain primarily because of the cinematographer's exceptional work on director Taylor Hackford's Dolores Claiborne. "I think that's one of the most wonderfully photographed movies of recent times," says Mamet. "And when I met Gaby, I was extraordinarily charmed and won-over. He has such a brilliant intelligence, coupled with almost courtly manners. I thought, 'I'll probably have a good time working with him.' In fact, I had a great time and I learned a lot as well."
Beristain, the son of actor Luis Beristain (best known for his role in the 1962 Luis Buñuel classic The Exterminating Angel), was part of a prominent Mexican guerrilla film movement in the late Sixties. "I was a long-haired kid with a Bolex," he quips. He learned every aspect of filmmaking from that experience, but was frustrated by the tightly controlled Mexican film industry.
Famed director Sergio Leone advised Beristain to move to an English-speaking country so he could learn the language and further his career. Beristain chose England, and enrolled at the National Film School. While his English improved, he felt that it was not good enough for him to pursue a career as a director or screenwriter, so he opted for his current career path.
During his scholastic years, Beristain shot the Oscar-winning 1984 student film Mother's Wedding, directed by Jenny Wilkes. He later served as an assistant to major cinematographers such as Billy Williams, BSC before moving up to the top slot himself. Beristain subsequently won the Silver Bear at the 1987 Berlin Film Festival for his work on Derek Jarman's Caravaggio.
Beristain is known for using a one-light source look, an approach he also employed on The Spanish Prisoner. "It is the way I lit when I worked in Europe, and also the way I worked on Dolores Clairborne," he notes. "I try to use the greatest economy of lights and flags. I like to use one light source through a window or door, supplemented with a tiny bit of fill indoors, and then try to choreograph the scene with the director so that we play the light."
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