In this Reverse Shot Talkie, director Matías Piñeiro browses the aisles of Greenwich Village bookstore Mercert Street Books with host Eric Hynes to talk about adaptation as an art of taking liberties, the beauty of mess, and his ongoing relationship with William Shakespeare, whose plays have inspired many of his films, including his latest, The Princess of France.
“I have a very amateur approach to Shakespeare—in the sense of amateurism as a bond of love,” Piñeiro says. He describes how he’s drawn to specific elements of the plays, certain characters or ideas, and how focusing on parts rather than the whole “doesn’t make the work a lesser work.” He adds, “The play already exists, and your work will be something that will be put next to it. There’s not a need to replace it.” He also talks about how lately he’s been drawn to painting and sculpture—to the stark angles of Degas and ambiguous equilibrium of Calder— as provocations for film, and exults in the difficulties of translating one form to another.”