With the HBO series 30 Coins [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche série] (read the review) having been released just a few weeks ago and principal photography for Veneciafrenia [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] having recently wrapped, the tireless Álex de la Iglesia is already engrossed in the shoot for another film, which bears the title El cuarto pasajero [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (working title: BlaBlaCar). As has become customary in his filmography, this new outing swings between humour and tension – in this case in the guise of a road movie combined with a romantic comedy. The lead actors are two thesps who have already worked with the Basque filmmaker previously: Ernesto Alterio (who appeared in the box-office smash Perfect Strangers [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], which grossed more than €20 million in Spain) and Blanca Suárez (The Bar [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Alex de la Iglesia
fiche film]). They are flanked by other actors who have not worked with de la Iglesia before, such as Alberto San Juan and Rubén Cortada.

With a storyline penned by the helmer together with his regular co-writer, Jorge Guerricaechevarría, the feature tells of how Julián (San Juan), a divorced 50-year-old man with money problems, resorts to using an app to share his car with strangers and, in particular, with someone who is not such a stranger any more: Lorena (Suárez), a young woman who travels to Madrid on a regular basis. For the last few months, he’s kept a permanent place for her in his car and, lately, also in his heart, and now he wants to take advantage of the next journey to confess his feelings to her. However, he makes a mistake when choosing the remaining occupants (Alterio and Cortada) and takes on an unsettling passenger, who will spark a dramatic change in the course of events.

The shoot, which kicked off on Monday last week, will continue for seven weeks in various locations in Madrid, the Basque Country and La Rioja. Ghislain Barrois, CEO of Telecinco Cinema, stated: “There’s a French proverb that says you shouldn’t change a winning team. For that reason, after the huge success of Perfect Strangers, we have boarded a new project with the same director, screenwriters, producers and even, in some cases, the same actors.”

At present, principal photography is under way in Bilbao, the director’s home town. For Bilbao’s mayor, Juan Mari Aburto, “It’s a privilege to have Álex back in our city once again. He’s one of our ‘Distinguished Citizens’, which is the greatest honour that the City Hall can bestow upon those people who contribute to spreading its good reputation far and wide: Álex knows that both he and his films are much-loved here.” In addition, Aburto highlighted the importance of the work that the film crew is doing as well as the efforts they are making at a time like this, reinforcing health-and-safety measures. “I’m sure that El cuarto pasajero will be a hit, and we hope that Álex will come back more often to Bilbao, where our doors are always open in order to help and contribute to kick-starting the audiovisual sector again.”

El cuarto pasajero is a Telecinco Cinema, Pokeepsie Films SL and Te Has Venido Arriba AIE production, with the involvement of Mediaset España, Movistar Plus+ and Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group. Its Spanish distribution will be taken care of by Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia SLU.