BERLIN — Sally Potter’s “The Roads Not Taken” boasts a starry cast for a poignant look at a mentally disabled father and his caretaker daughter.
Personal history inspired Potter, 70, who nursed her younger brother, who had early-onset dementia, in his final two years.
In a fictional story, Javier Bardem plays Leo, an afflicted writer. Elle Fanning is his devoted daughter, Molly, and Salma Hayek a vivid memory as Leo’s great love.
At February’s Berlin Film Festival world premiere Bardem, 51, said his research began “by listening to Sally and visiting the Association About Dementia. They were helpful, and I met with some families. Then you have to forget and you just go and try your best.”
For Hayek, 53, this international production with its British director stands out for its Spanish-speaking characters.
“I will tell you a funny fact. Only two films I’ve done have been in competition in Berlin. With my first film, a Mexican film, I came to Berlin for the first time with a movie in Spanish.
“Now I come back many, many years later in competition in a movie that’s in English but where Javier and I get to speak Spanish. I’m grateful to Sally who kept in the language and was always looking for the truth of the characters.”
“For me,” Fanning, 21, added, “I had the honor to work with Sally when I was 13 and this is my second film with her.”
As for working with Bardem, “It wasn’t scary,” she said, “but I was nervous. I knew the father-daughter relationship would require we on some level really have a connection. I knew from before Sally likes to dive deep, stalking through your life and memories.
“One day I was sick and a very fatherly Javier got me a Coke and crackers and talked about near-death experiences. So when you go right into filming we were already there with each other. Like two souls for a couple of months.
“We’re not someone who stays in the character the whole time,” she pointed out, “but there was that connection and because Javier’s the way he is I felt safe to be vulnerable and go to those places.”
“These women saying all those generous things,” a grinning Bardem announced, “are all lies.
“But it’s true. When I was playing the father I was worried I was getting into a place where I can’t control myself. That’s the whole thing! I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“For that you need a lot of security and she was always holding me. I felt love.”
(“The Roads Not Taken” is available on streaming platforms Friday.)
