Ariel Winograd has long known how to tell a story. Now, following his take on former football agent Guillermo Coppola, he takes another step into the world of biopics, a genre which often acts as a radar for an era. This time, it’s former president Carlos Saúl Menem.
The new six-episode series Menem (known as Menem: The President Show in English) has just premiered on Prime Video, following a legal threat that aimed to halt its release.
Menem is portrayed with fierce commitment by Leonardo Sbaraglia, one of the few Argentine actors still capable of losing himself in a role. In this series, he does so in the best way possible, more than just mere imitation and closer to something that touches on the mystique that cinema can evoke, even when it isn’t on the big screen.
Sbaraglia breathes like Menem and quickly captures that magnetism that veered between the Machiavellian and the obvious – a tremendous mix that defined the atmosphere of Argentina in the 1990s.
“I wanted to capture the 1990s through one of the most important and representative figures of that decade in Argentina,” explains Winograd in an interview.
“I also thought about the generations who never knew Menem – how do we explain that this happened? Not in judgement, but with the sense of astonishment that it actually did happen.
“There’s something in the essence of what Menem represents: at times it felt like we were filming The Sopranos, other times a sitcom.
“Sometimes it was like a school leavers’ trip for us, especially because of what was coming during filming: ‘Now the Menemobile? And the Ferrari?’ It was like the Greatest Hits of Menemism.”
Sbaraglia leads a cast dedicated to a reconstruction that goes beyond mere mimicry to deliver something, once again, cinematic. The cast also includes Griselda Siciliani as Zulema Yoma, alongside Juan Minujín, Marco Antonio Caponi, Agustín Sullivan, Cumelén Sanz, Jorgelina Aruzzi, Alberto Ajaka, Violeta Urtizberea, and Martín Campilongo, among others.
Winograd knows actors and knows how to keep moving. Never sitting still. He directs with urgency, with ideas, without brakes. Without a doubt, Menem is the major series Prime Video had been wanting to tell for some time. And it’s one of the best Argentine productions of the year.
What was Sbaraglia looking for in this character? “I’m not sure. But I did try to get inside this man. To try to understand him. Something very difficult to capture was his gaze,” said the actor during an interview.
One thing that stands out is Menem’s ability to seduce everyone. From door-to-door handshakes for photos to dealing with potential political scandals behind closed doors, even with bribes involved. How did you aim to capture that without turning him into a caricature?
WINOGRAD: Menem was very chameleonic. He was a Zelig.
SBARAGLIA: There are many Menems, and it’s hard to know which one he is. I immersed myself in the body, in the skin, of a cold wild animal. As if the wild and the cold coexisted in him. He was a very unique guy in that sense. Brilliant, tremendously intelligent. He had a very powerful presence. Very powerful.
WINOGRAD: You could feel it on set – things were happening all the time.
SBARAGLIA: We’ve got enough for a documentary.
WINOGRAD: With Leo, it was crucial we found the character. But it took time. He’d send me voice notes – with the voice, the accent, with ideas. Letter by letter, word by word. After all the rehearsals and the camera test, the first image we shot was the one taken by [the character, photographer] Olegario – Menem on horseback. Leo had almost two hours of make-up and more. During those nine weeks of filming, I didn’t see Leo anymore – I saw Menem on set … The connection was so strong that at one point we were asked if we wanted to share a car to Anillaco. We said no. He never even came to the motorhome.
SBARAGLIA: [Laughs] Leo and Wino didn’t really interact.
What was it like to tell this story and visit key locations like the Casa Rosada, Anillaco, or even Congress?
WINOGRAD: Leo brought such energy, and something particular happened with the entire crew – names like Chango Monti, who I’ve done seven films with. Whether they were seasoned or not, everyone felt this mix of respect, fear, and humour. There was a sense that we were doing something different, something with a lot of truth. Everyone bought in.
SBARAGLIA: In the end, it’s up to the audience to decide if it worked, but the personal search, and Wino’s as director, it definitely did.
WINOGRAD: We found the truth we were looking for. For example, in scenes with lots of extras – they all applauded. Every set was a journey for everyone involved.
SBARAGLIA: I got so into it that, just like Carlos, I’d finish those crowd scenes wanting to win them over – as if they were voters. In La Rioja, someone handed me a baby to take a photo. So when there were lots of extras, I’d go around, one by one, shaking hands like Menem, firing up that energy and saying: “What’s your name? Arielito, my dear.”
Leo, what was that journey like, becoming Menem? What did you feel playing someone who defined an era, for better or worse, and was arguably the first truly media-savvy president in a way that foreshadowed today’s celebrity culture around power?
WINOGRAD: You were carrying such intense energy. Episode six, when Menem goes through an extreme moment – there’s a scene where Leo grabs a knife. And I thought, whoa, hang on. Not that anything was going to happen, but Leo had reached such a level of immersion that it really moved me. The commitment, the surrender. Leo wasn’t there anymore, and that was very striking.
SBARAGLIA: I was completely possessed. I felt all sorts of things, very abstract ones. That sensation of channelling energy. Like, the jug that keeps going back to the well. I’m not religious, but it felt like I was playing with forces that can’t be fully controlled. We’re talking about a person who had real power and who’s no longer with us. He felt very present, all the time. Looking in the mirror was intense. Once I was made up, I started seeing myself in the camera tests and when I appeared, I’d see myself – my daughter saw me – and it was this very strange split, which helped me springboard into the character.
WINOGRAD: That happened with everyone – Griselda Siciliani, Juan Minujín – they felt like different people. There was a representational game, where I felt I wasn’t filming with Leo. We all lived that journey and I feel it’s embedded in the series. Everyone involved was transformed by the experience.
SBARAGLIA: I’d never worked so hard on a role. We’d already worked together on [2022 film] El gerente. Wino, during an 11-hour shoot, you’re filming for nine. Usually, it’s five or six at most. He films a lot. He films more shots than takes. He pushes you to a more creative place. He doesn’t let you overthink and if I’d thought too much, some things wouldn’t have worked.
WINOGRAD: Mind you, I didn’t let myself overthink either. We went to the Casa Rosada, to Congress… recreating those moments gave it all a real truth. The house we used in La Rioja was one that had a real connection to Menem.
SBARAGLIA: Or filming with Fernán Mirás as [Raúl] Alfonsín – with the beautiful relationship we have, going back to Tango feroz. It was a lot to take in.
WINOGRAD: We all had enormous faith in what we were doing. We’re very proud of the result.
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