It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen a big-screen portrayal of the angry painter, with Anthony Hopkins being the last person to step into the role, many years ago, in Surviving Picasso.
And now, Antonio Banderas is going to grab a paintbrush and canvas, and bring the deceased artist back to life in the French and Spanish language film, 33 Dias, or 33 Days in the Queens language.
Focusing on the period in Picassos life when he came up with and created his iconic masterpiece, Guernica, the film will also focus on how the painting itself pulled him out of a troubled part of his life.
If you don’t know what Guernica looks like, google it, and you’ll see a massive canvas of violence and chaos that involves animals and humans, and was partly created in order to focus attention on the bombing of Basque, by German forces in the Spanish Civil War.
Currently budgeted at 8 million Euros, the film will be directed by Carlos Saura, with cinematographer Vittorio Storraro in talks to be a part of the production.
While Picasso may have been short, bald and bad-tempered in his later years, he was most certainly a different figure in the 1930’s, with Banderas actually bearing a canny resemblance to him
“He’s a character that has pursued me for a long time,” said Banderas of the role to Empire. “I am from Malaga, and he was born four blocks from where I was born.”
Shooting starts later this year.
Last Updated: February 21, 2012
