You can't know someone you've never met, no matter how much we think we are experts and exegetes of lives we've never met. I wanted to see They Know That (the biography of comedian Eugenio) to see who this man dressed in black really was, making people laugh before he even moved a muscle. For me the film didn't taste good at all, or maybe it tasted too much like Cuéntame. I only go with a huge Verdaguer, with Cristina Hoyos and with the moment of Chicho Ibáñez Serrador. Although the Eugenio/Verdaguer sequence in the car certainly deserves a Goya (or 12), I don't understand who Eugenio the comedian could really be. However, the documentary by Òscar Moreno, Xavier Baig and Jordi Rovira is something different. Children, stepson, ex-wife (the second, not the third) and relatives draw clear outlines of Eugenio's character and also explain the reason for his premature disappearance.
With much less resources and without advertising, the documentary “Carrol, a magician in conflict” directed by Carlos Devanti was released (online) in 2020. Eugenio and Carrol have some interesting parallels, and although the grieving comedian's relevance and fame was much greater, the protagonists in both stories (or perhaps both documentaries) seem to be hurtling towards a sad, premature and somewhat pathetic end. In both cases, the friends describe to us the periphery of the sadness that clouded their voice, their wit and their eyes. For both, the regret seems to be based on the same deficiency. And in both documentaries appear people who loved and understood her, based on the views of Gerard Jofra (Eugenio's son, author of two books – which I will read – seed of the film Know that) and Ramón Mayrata (personal friend and student of the work of Carrol, author of the text on which his documentary is based).
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Despite their differences, the path they both took (almost simultaneously) traversed the tumultuous heights of television stardom. Since television fame made people admire and respect you. When people appeared on television who were distinguished by doing something very well, be it singing, dancing, magic tricks or telling jokes. I wonder if a sensitive soul is able to survive fame unscathed. If there is a way to suddenly become famous, to be sought after and not to end up running away from the feast of gossips and trapisondistas, it is popularity.
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