El Cochero
Miles Merritt
The Russian composer Stravinsky once said, “In order to create, there must be a dynamic force –
and what force is more potent than love?” Although producing the short film, “El Cochero” (The Carriage Driver) in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico was an endeavor of love, it was nonetheless a tremendous amount of labor. The film was inspired by an Anton Chekhov short story entitled, “Heartache.” I had first read this story in high school. Even as a teenaged boy, its themes of loss
and isolation – of trying to share your sorrow with others who appear indifferent or preoccupied –
somehow struck a chord in me.
Fast forward several decades and my wife Gail and I were having breakfast in San Miguel with a local friend Carlos Pascual, and he was showing us the movie camera he had recently won for his short film at major Mexican film festival. Quite unexpectedly, an enduring ripple in my sea of memory brought Chekhov’s story back to me. Perhaps Carlos could help us put a team together here and we could transform Chekhov’s Russian prose into a Mexican film. Certainly the story’s themes were universal enough. Carlos was quite enthusiastic, and I remember walking away from the restaurant saying to my wife, “Hey, this might really happen!”
After a week of writing the adaptation of the script, we went out searching for locations. This aspect came easily as San Miguel is a city bursting with picturesque streets, historic buildings and vibrant colors. The next dilemma, and certainly one of the most critical, was casting the lead role. It turned out to be a frustrating search. We were only two weeks away from shooting when we learned that the renowned, veteran Mexican actor, Alonso Echanove, might be available for this role. Apparently Alonso had suffered a series of strokes several years ago and had been unable to work for a long time. Rumors had surfaced he was now trying to make a comeback. When I first drove out to meet him, I was thrilled. He was our protagonist personified. My only concern was his obvious speech impediment – the result of his illness. But during the ensuing days, I couldn’t get Alonso out of my mind. So, we decided to work his speech problem into the script. It turned out to make perfect sense – given the plot of the story. As fate would have it, casting Alonso was one of the best artistic decisions I’ve made in my life.
During the seven days of shooting, our working title might have been “The Manifestation of Murphy’s Law.” Everything that could, and couldn’t, go wrong, did. There were problems with the carriage, the weather, and tourists who refused to heed our pleas to stay out of the line of the camera. We suffered the wrath of delivery drivers, taxis, and bicyclists who were impeded by our production. We also had to contend with the ambient sounds of San Miguel - including horns, hammers, bells and firecrackers. Add to the mix, the linguistic challenges of a bi-cultural crew amidst all this chaos and you have a recipe for short tempers and bruised egos. The shoots were exhausting, often lasting from sun-up to sundown, but somehow we managed to get everything done.
“El Cochero” went on to win four awards for Best Short Film and was an Official Selection at fifteen film festivals internationally. Ultimately, the process of creating brings us closer to our humanity and thus unites us with our fellow man. And not the least of the many rewards I’ve reaped from this experience is a long-standing friendship with Alonso. Yes, creating “El Cochero” was a labor of love and, as love is often known to do, it has transcended time and space and even culture to leave an indelible mark upon my heart.
About the Artist
Miles Merritt
Miles Merritt: Director – Executive Producer. Miles' directorial debut – the short film El Cochero (The Carriage Driver- 2004) – was produced in Mexico and was an official selection in 15 film festivals internationally. It was chosen as one of the opening night films at the prestigious Expresion En Corto Film Festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and won four awards. His subsequent short film, Una Causa Noble (A Noble Cause - 2007) was an official selection at 24 film festivals internationally and earned three awards. Miles was also Contributing Editor for the documentary “The Second Cooler” (2012) – a film about immigration issues in the U.S. and Central America that was narrated by Martin Sheen. The film won five awards. His latest project is a feature documentary, “Just A Mortal Man – The Jerry Lawson Story.”