Milena Smit is a Spanish film and television actress known for her work in projects such as Cross the Line, Snow Girl, and The Girl in the Mirror. She recently starred in the Netflix psychological thriller Tin & Tina.
In Tin & Tina, Milena Smit plays the role of Lola, a mother who, after suffering from a tragic miscarriage, adopts super-religious twin siblings, Tin and Tina, with her husband, Adolfo.
Soon, the twins’ obsession with religion threatens the lives of the couple, who are forced to take measures to protect themselves.
Smit talked to The Envoy Web about her experience of working on Tin & Tina and the challenges that came while filming some of the movie’s most crucial scenes.
Tin & Tina is based on a short film much like the ones you commonly starred in at the beginning of your career. Could you tell me how these two mediums impact the viewer? Are there differences or similarities?
Obviously, the biggest difference is the duration and, therefore, the ability of the whole team, both artistic and technical, to connect with the viewer and make them connect with the story.
That said, I think there are looks and stories that are able to hook despite the time limitation, such as “Extraña forma de vida” by Pedro (Almodóvar), which I just watched this weekend, “Aquel no era yo” by Esteban Crespo, or “Madre” by Rodrigo Sorogoyen.
A good story through a good look is good despite having less or more length.
Your character, Lola, goes through a wide range of emotions throughout the film, many of them tied to the concept of motherhood. Can you tell me how you prepared yourself and navigated through these different emotions?
Well, I have to admit that from the first time I read the script, I fell in love with Lola because in her converged both the strength for wanting to be a mother and raise a family and the fragility of that feeling of defeat when doubting whether the children are innocent or not. For me, it was a challenge to show that duality of the character at all times.
I was lucky to be able to build that journey with the director, Rubin Stein, my partner, Jaime Lorente, and the complicity of the children, Anastasia and Carlos.
It was a tough trip both physically, since we shot in the middle of August in Seville, and emotionally, but we are very happy with the good reception that the premiere is having on Netflix.
The final sequence of the film primarily follows you in one prolonged shot. Could you tell me about your experience filming that particular set piece?
It was a sequence filmed in three days. It was a challenge for the whole team as well as for me in terms of emotional raccord. It was a very complex scene since there was fire, rain, and a choreography of movement with the camera that had to be held to the detail while Lola’s character was breaking at every step.
I recently revisited it and enjoyed it very much, and I would like to thank the whole team that gave 100% during those three days to make that scene look like that.
Jaime Lorente is quite enjoyable on screen; what was it like working with him on set?
He is a great partner. It was very easy to work with him and build that relationship that Lola and Adolfo have and the dream of building a family.
It has been a real luck to share this shooting with great partners like Jaime or the great Teresa Rabal and with the enthusiasm and innocence of Carlos and Anastasia, Tin and Tina in the film.
You share some very dramatic and brutal scenes with Carlos González Morollón and Anastasia Russo. Could you elaborate a little more on them?
It was beautiful to see them work, and I am sure there will be many projects ahead where we will see them both because they are wonderful.
If it was a hard shoot for the adults, shooting in the middle of summer in Seville and recreating winter scenes, imagine for them, but they always knew how to give the best of them and here I have to value the work of Rubin, the director, who knew how to direct them and make them part of it in a brilliant way.
Lastly, what drew you to Lola and this film in the first place? Are we going to see you doing more such projects like Tin & Tina?
I really like the genre. I love horror, although for me “Tin &Tina” is more of a psychological thriller with horror overtones. I liked the script from the very first time I read it.
Especially the journey that Lola’s character went through and the different actions she went through: the absolute joy of the wedding, the pain of the abortion and the impossibility of being a mother, the excitement of the adoption, and the terror of the children’s devotion to religion.
I felt that she was the kind of character I want to give voice to, a woman with a lot to tell, and I am very happy with the result.
Also Read: How Tin & Tina successfully hides a thriller under the guise of its horror elements