Last weekend Michel Franco's Cannes winner "Chronic" was released in New York to rapturous reviews. The film tells the story of David, a home care nurse who works with terminally ill patients.

Like Franco's previous films, the movie is not for the faint hearted and does not follow a typical narrative. However, it is powerful character study that shows the human condition of what it is to be alone and depressed. The movie will test the patience of audiences but it proves unforgettable and affecting.

Latin Post had the opportunity of speaking with Franco about journey with the film and working with British actor Tim Roth.

Latin Post: Can you talk about the end of the movie and what brought you to that point?

Michel Franco: It's always good to have an unexpected ending. When I write my scripts I always make sure that my movies are not always predictable. The majority of the scripts are always written with formulas so it is always easy for the audience but at the same time its boring and not provocative. So I always look to surprise. If you watch this movie you never know really where it is going to go and that is why the end works so well. If you watch the movie and really think about it, then the end makes sense. For me it was the only real end for this story because of how the character acts and because of the themes of the story.

LP: The film is slow but at the same time it feels real. Was that what you wanted to show because it feels like were watching this in real time?

MF: The rhythm could seem paused but when you realize the number of things that have happened in 90 minutes and the amount of characters you meet, you realize that a lot of things do happen. I like to take my time with things and if I am going to put something in a film it better not feel superficial or just useful for the plot. I wanted to make sure that everything in this film was three dimensional. And yes it shows everyday life. I lived this with my grandmother and the things you see in these rooms with these patients is quite peculiar.

LP: So did this film come about because of your grandmother?

MF: In reality no. It's not about my grandmother but what was really interesting was seeing the nurse that took care of my grandmother. You see in the movie that when one patient dies you go to the next one. So I thought it was a very strange lifestyle. I thought it was really interesting.

LP: How much of this film was improvised and how much was actually written out?

MF: I think it's all in the script. But I want to clarify that the script changed a lot depending on what Tim Roth saw while he was preparing for the film. He would go see real patients and during his preparation he saw one die. He would talk to me every other day and he would tell me what he would see. He was always surprised, excited or just sad and many of the impressions ended up in the script.

LP: Talking about Tim Roth, was he always the person you had in mind for the film?

MF: Originally it was going to be a film in Mexico and it was a female role. But when I met Tim in Cannes in 2012 when I won for "After Lucia," he asked me what my next project was. I told him it was about the nurse in Mexico and he told to me change it to a man and he would do it. That is where the conversation started and we became very good friends. I don't know if you have seen his film "The War Zone," but it is great and its very much my style of cinema. We kind of found each other.

LP: How do you prepare with your actors? Do you do rehearsals?

MF: No I don't do rehearsals because I don't want my actors to get used to the scenes and not feel natural. I talk to them a lot. And we work the script together so that when we get on set we all understand what the scene is about. But I never do any type of rehearsal.

LP: Other than Tim Roth, how many of the actors were non-actors and how many were real actors?

MF: The majority of them are real actors except for some of the nurses. I like to mix it up but it depends on the role. Here the majority of the actors have worked with some of the great directors. The casting process was about four months in Los Angeles.

LP: What were the challenges of casting the film?

MF: Finding the correct people. There were times when we saw some great actors but I always had to understand whether or not they were right for the film. There were casting days when the surprises were plenty and there were a lot of really talented people.

LP: Why did you pick Los Angeles as the location for this film?

MF: I did it in Los Angeles because I liked the contrast of the city with the cold atmosphere of the rooms. Los Angeles is so warm and beautiful and these rooms are so austere.

LP: Let's talk about the story. The father and daughter story is very ambiguous. Why did you choose to introduce David's daughter with Facebook because it is very interesting?

MF: They have not seen each other for many years and the only way to see what's going on is through Facebook. This is something very sad and yet very real. Some people spend a lot of their life spying on someone else and that is very sad. At the beginning we don't know it's the father and it becomes sad that that's the only window.

LP: And that ambiguously makes it a little strange. We don't know what to expect from this interaction. Why make it this way?

MF: I don't want to give the audience everything immediately. It's important to also show him as a complex human being. We don't want to show him as an angel or as a martyr. We have to give him a mysterious angle.

LP: Tell me a little about David. Why do you think he creates different characters for himself based on his patients?

MF: I think because he is so alone and depressed one starts to create these fantasies. Interactions with people become peculiar and because he is going from patient to patient and has no other interactions, he becomes dependent on his patients. He is so alone; he adopts their life. There is also the idea that he wants to understand the patient but the lines get blinded between the personal, the emotional and the professional.

LP: There is an episode in the film where David is sued and instead of building the plot, it's left alone. Was this on purpose?

MF: I like my movies not to feel like movies. I think that since it is from the point of view of the nurse, he won't find out what happens to the patient the moment he is thrown out. I am not really interested in filling out all the story lines. Its more special and more real for me.

LP: How has the audience reacted to the film?

MF: They have connected well with all the characters. It's a very human story and it talks about the end of life. It's a very a universal story and it connects a lot. There are however, people who have said that it could be cold and provocative but I never wanted that to be the case.

LP: Can you tell me a little about winning Best Screenplay at Cannes?

MF: Well when it got into the Competition slate I was really happy. It was a dream and it is the best outlet for a film to be seen. To have won the screenplay award is something I was surprised about because I have never considered myself a screenplay writer. I write my films and I would never write for anyone else. I would never try to write a book. I write to direct and yet it's the hardest part of films because it's always about one to two years of being alone without knowing if you are in the right direction. So when I won the award I was very excited to start writing again. It motivated me.

LP: What's next?

MF: I'm still writing and it's going to be called "April's Daughter." But it's still changing a lot.

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