Anthony Minghella (1954-2008). Muere director de “El paciente inglés” a los 54 años

Heródoto. Mi amigo. Tu amigo.

Anthony Minghella (1954-2008)

Los cinéfilos del mundo despiertan a esta terrible noticia hoy 18 de marzo. O por lo menos yo lo hago.

Siendo el cine una de las pocas cosas relacionadas con la humanidad -junto con la música, la literatura, y artes otras- que realmente disfruto y ansío, y habiendo el señor Minghella hecho la que considero una de las mejores películas que me ha tocado ver en teatros en mi vida de cinéfilo (1), y una película que tiene un lugar importante en mi historia personal a pesar de no ser grande (2), no pude menos que resentir tal golpe.

Imposible imaginar qué nos habría brindado Minghella, quien realizó películas como “The english patient”, “The talented Mr. Ripley” y “Cold Mountain” antes de cumplir cincuenta años, dentro de unos diez o viente, cuando su manejo del medio y arte hubiera terminado de madurar -si me permito decir tal cosa de él.

Considero personalmente que sus mejores películas estaban por venir, y que se habría convertido en uno de los autores más relevantes e interesantes del llamado séptimo arte, título que a mi juicio ya tenía respecto a la oferta contemporánea.

Gran crimen, señor Dios de la naturaleza. Gran crimen. Increíble que no habrá otra película de Anthony Minghella. Su sensibilidad, talento y amor serán extrañados.

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Personal.
Anthony Minghella y yo:

(1): “The english patient”, principios de 1997. Representó en el marco de mi existencia un extraordinario avance en mi lectura/disfrute del “buen” cine y llevó hasta el punto final el proceso que culminó con el superamiento de mis gustos infantiles, iniciado, creo, a principios de 1994 con la brutal -para el tierno niño que era- “Schindler’s list”).

(2): “Cold Mountain”, diciembre de 2004. Me impactó por el afecto, cuidado y respeto que mostró Minghella en su viaje al pasado y en la honesta representación de la relación epistolar -amor por las palabras, por la verdad de las palabras, por la historia, por la representación- que está en el núcleo de la obra. Movió mi piso como cinéfilo: representó -junto con otra película de su mismo año que renté y ví ese mismo día: “Elephant”…- mi divorcio definitivo de cierto amor furtivo que tuve con los puristas de lo visual que pretenden que el cine sólo puede aspirar a la dinámica visual/aural, y con todos aquellos que sólo utilizan el cine con fines de entretenimiento (mayor afectado: Quentin Tarantino), alejandome así de mis aficiones adolescentes. La madurez que aprontó no fue sólo cinematográfica -porque el cine tampoco es sólo cine, y no, una película no es “sólo una película”-: no fue la mejor película que ví ese año, pero también movió mi piso como ser humano, porque el amor por las palabras es hoy en día un amor/acto heróico, y todos somos culpables de la guerra que parecemos estar contentamente perdiendo. Sobre eso no podría ser elocuente aunque quisiera. Minghella lo era, y lo habría sido aun más de no haber muerto.

Trivia: Ninguna de las dos películas me gustó la primera vez que las ví. Ambas me golpearon en la repetida.

Más recientemente, me impactó su significativo cameo -por el personaje, no la interpretación, que sólo está en cámara por tres segundos aprox.- en la película “Atonement”, que también es una de las pocas películas recientes que me ha afectado personalmente. Que nunca en una sala de cine había sentido que una película se volteara a mirarme y hablarme con tal afecto y candor (Gracias, Vanessa Redgrave).

Dearest Mr. Minghella
May you rest in peace for ever and may God bless you.
You shall be missed.

Ahora debería proceder a escribir una carta a su familia, como hace cuatro años cuando otro cineasta murió y me afectó más de lo que parecería normal -querido Jerry Goldsmith-. Y en la noche a ver “The english patient”.

Y hasta aquí el carnaval de revelaciones personales y exhibicionismo gratuito.
Muchas gracias por su atención.

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Tributos ante la repentina muerte de Anthony Minghella:

ACTOR JUDE LAW
“I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Anthony’s untimely death. I worked with him on three films, more than with any other director, but had come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague. He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it onto the screen in a way that always looked effortless. He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family, whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love. I shall miss him hugely.”

UK PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN
“I was deeply saddened to be told about Anthony’s death. My thoughts are with his wife, Carolyn, his children, Max and Hannah, and his other family and friends. He was one of Britain’s greatest creative talents, one of our finest screenwriters and directors, a great champion of the British film industry and expert on literature and opera. I knew him as a great friend, as did Sarah and our family. He will be deeply missed but his contribution to British culture will be remembered for many years to come.”

ACTOR KEVIN SPACEY
“He was one of the greats and anybody who loves storytelling will realise that he had much more to do and it’s an incredibly sad moment. I just found out and he was a great man and a great friend.”

ACTOR RALPH FIENNES
“Anthony possessed a sensitivity and alertness to the actor’s process that very few directors have. He directed most of The English Patient with an ankle in plaster, never losing his gentle humour and precision. He delighted in the contribution of everyone - he was a true collaborator. His films deal with extreme aloneness and the redemptive power of love, even at the moment of death. I will remember him as a man who always wanted to get to the heart of the matter.”

ACTRESS GYWNETH PALTROW
“I’m quite shocked, actually. He was a wonderful man. He was incredibly talented and so interested in art and making the world better for art.”

FILM DIRECTOR AND PRODUCTION PARTNER SYDNEY POLLACK
“Anthony was a realistic romanticist. A kind of poet, disciplined by reality, an academic by training, a musician by nature, a compulsive reader by habit, and to most observers, a sunny soul who exuded a gentleness that should never have been mistaken for lack of tenacity and resolve. The cliche that you don’t know anyone well until you’ve lived through wars with them, is an absolute truth. Sometimes making films is a form of war. Having weathered several with Anthony, I will tell you that his dignity never softened, his artistry never suffered, and his mind remained as sharp and clear in wartime as it was in quietude.”

DIRECTOR LORD PUTTNAM
“This was a very special person and I think the industry will be very shocked by this because he wasn’t just a writer/director, he was someone who was very well known and very well loved within the film community and far, far too young to have gone. He said in a lecture last week that he saw himself as a writer who happened to direct, which I think was probably right. He started as a writer, he was not a stylist as a director - he saw himself as a storyteller and his films were very well told, beautifully made and beautifully acted. He had recently branched out brilliantly into opera - this is a pretty considerable human being. It is tragic, in a sense, that I can’t remember being so stunned by someone being snatched away from us this early on with so much to offer.”

BBC CREATIVE DIRECTOR ALAN YENTOB
“This is a terrible shock. Anthony was not only a wonderful film-maker but also a great champion of British cinema, an elegant advocate for the craft and a marvellous mentor for new talent. This news is hard to take for all of us and especially his family.”

JOHN BERRY, ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA
“He was a big, generous, warm-hearted person. He was a friend to the company and everyone who worked with him. We didn’t see him as a pushy director in any way. He was so inspiring, so generous. He always had a love and passion for opera and he’d always had a burning ambition to direct opera. The journey producing Madama Butterfly is a journey I will remember forever. Our audience is going to miss his beautiful and stunning work. We had two more projects with him and we were so much looking forward to working with him”.