“There are many Menems and it’s hard to know who he is.”

Ariel Winograd has long known how to tell a story. Now, after his Guillermo Coppola, he takes another step into the universe of biopics that serve as a radar for an era: former president Carlos Saúl Menem. The six-episode series has just premiered on Prime Video, following a legal challenge seeking to halt its release. Menem is played with fierce commitment by Leonardo Sbaraglia, one of the Argentine actors who still knows how to lose himself in a role—and who does so in the best sense, far from imitation and closer to something that borders on that mystique that cinema can generate, even when it isn't cinema. Sbaraglia breathes like Menem, and in no time achieves that magnetism that oscillated between the Machiavellian and the obvious, a tremendous mix that defined the radiance of the 1990s. Winograd himself confirms: “I wanted to capture the 1990s through the lens of one of the most important and representative figures of that decade in Argentina. On the other hand, I was thinking about the generations who didn't know Menem: how do we explain that this happened? Not from a judgmental perspective, but from the surprise that it happened. There's something in the essence of what Menem represents: one moment it was filming The Sopranos, another moment it was a sitcom, another moment it was Clave de treble. It was sometimes a graduation trip for us, especially because of “what was coming up” on the set: 'Hey, now the Menemóvil? And the Ferrari? Those were the Greatest Hits of Menemism.'”

Sbaraglia is the figurehead of a team dedicated to this reconstruction that transcends mimesis to take steps, once again, towards cinematic success. Joining him are Griselda Siciliani as Zulema Yoma and Juan Minujín, Marco Antonio Caponi, Agustín Sullivan, Cumelén Sanz, Jorgelina Aruzzi, Alberto Ajaka, Violeta Urtizberea, and Martín Campilongo, among others. Winograd knows actors, knows how to always move, never holding back: he delivers with nerve, with ideas, without restraint. Without a doubt, Menem is the great series Prime Video has been wanting to tell for a while. And one of the best Argentine series of the year. So, what was Sbaraglia looking for in this character? Sbaraglia: “I don't know the Picasso I was looking for. But I did try to get inside this man. Try to understand him. Something difficult to capture was his gaze.”

—One thing stands out: Menem's ability to seduce everyone. From one-on-one knocking on doors for photos to resolving potential political scandals behind closed doors, including bribes. How did you want to capture that without turning it into a caricature?

WINOGRAD: Menem was a chameleon. He was a Zelig.

SBARAGLIA: There are many Menems, and it's hard to know who he is. I gradually entered the body, the skin, of a cold, wild animal. As if the wild and the cold coexisted within him. He was a very special guy in that sense. He was a brilliant, tremendously intelligent man. He had a very strong, very strong power.

W: That was what you felt during filming, things were happening all the time.

S: We have to make a documentary.

W: With Leo, once we found the character, it was crucial, but it was difficult: he sent me audio recordings, with the voice, the accent, ideas. Letter by letter, word by word. Once we had all the rehearsals, the camera test, the first thing we took was the photo Olegario took, with Menem on the horse. Leo had almost two hours of preparation in makeup and more. During those nine weeks of filming, I didn't see Leo again, because I saw Menem on the set. It sounds a bit like, "What are these kids talking about?" The connection we had reached the point where they asked us if we wanted to go in a taxi together in Anillaco. We said no. He never went to the motorhomme.

S: (Laughs) Leo and Wino didn't get along.

—What happened when you told this story and visited specific places like the Casa Rosada, Anillaco, or even Congress?

W: Leo, with the energy that came in, generated a lot, and something particular happened to us with the entire technical team, names like Chango Monti, with whom I made seven films: everyone, whether experienced or not, felt there was a mix of respect, fear, and humor. There was a feeling of, "Here we are, doing something different, with a lot of truth." We all got involved.

S: Afterwards, it is up to people's subjectivity whether it is achieved or not, but the search on a personal level, or his as a director, was achieved.

W: We achieved the truth we sought. For example, we were doing a scene with a lot of extras, and all the extras were clapping. Every set involved a journey for everyone involved.

S: I got so involved that, for example, on those sets with a lot of extras, just like Carlos, I ended up wanting to win them over, as if they were voters. In La Rioja, they gave me a baby to take a picture of. So, when there were a lot of extras, I went one by one, I had to take care of them: I greeted them like Menem, I turned on that energy, and I started, "What's your name? Arielito, my dear."

—Leo, what was that journey like to become Menem? How did you feel about playing someone who defined an era, for better or worse, and who is almost the first media-driven president in a way similar to the way power or celebrities are portrayed today?

W: You had a strong energy. In episode 6, when Menem was in an extreme situation. At one point, Leo grabbed a knife. And I thought, uh, wait. It's not like he was going to do anything, but Leo reached a level of getting into character, which was very moving for me. The commitment to the work, the dedication. Leo wasn't there; that happened, and it was very impressive.

S: I was completely captivated. I had many sensations, very abstract ones. These sensations of energy flowing through, of the pitcher going back to the well so much. I'm not a believer, but I had the feeling that one was playing with things that one can't fully control. You're talking about a person who is very powerful, who is not among us. He was very present all the time. I saw myself in the mirror and I was very strong. Already in makeup, I began to see myself in the auditions and when I appeared I saw myself, my daughter saw me, and it was a very strange split, which greatly helped me as an imaginary springboard to achieve the character.

W: It happened with everyone; it happened with Griselda Siciliani, with Juan Minujín, who felt like other people. There was a game of representation, where I felt like I wasn't filming with Leo. We lived that journey, and I feel like it's etched in my memory. All of us, all of us who worked on the series, were touched by the experience.

S: I'd never worked so hard on a character. We'd already worked together on The Manager. Wino, out of eleven hours of filming, is shooting nine. At most, they shoot five or six. He films a lot. He films more shots than takes. He takes you to a more creative place. He doesn't let you think, if I thought, there were things that weren't going to be achieved.

W: Mind you, I didn't let myself think either. We went to the Casa Rosada, in Congress... recreating those moments finally gave it a real meaning. The house in La Rioja where we filmed was connected to Menem.

S: Or filming with Fernán Mirás, playing Alfonsín. With the beautiful relationship we've had, a lifelong one, like Tango Feroz. It was Tanguit/Alfonsín/Menem. It was a lot.

W: We all had a lot of confidence in what we were doing. We're very proud of the result.