All of a sudden, John Malkovich (Illinois, 1953). Probably the last time the actor made an appearance at a festival was at the Berlinale in 2023 with a film as peculiar as it was excessively failed. Séneca, by Robert Schwentke, was him at his most daring, furious, and, if you will, perfect. Wild Horse Nine, by Martin McDonagh and recently presented at the Venice Film Festival, is exactly the same, but in reverse. A prodigy of cinema illuminated by an almost enchanted patience, a slow and wounded lyricism; without giving in to the exhibitionism of always witty lines or the laziness of instrumental dialogues; without overwhelming with flint metaphors and without the tricky boldness of off-screen and viewer's free interpretation. And at the center, once again, the most daring, furious, and perfect version of John Malkovich in one of the most accomplished roles of his career, but, and this is important, without moving from his place. One could say that he has always been, is, and will always be himself, and it is the movies that embrace him with more or less success. In this case, the movie-actor symbiosis is dazzling. The story is about two CIA agents in the days leading up to the 1973 coup in Chile, Pinochet's coup. Both are going to spend their last days, theirs and those of many others, on Easter Island. In truth, only one is dying. The other is accompanying him. The dying one, so to speak, is Malkovich. Suddenly, that tendency so characteristic of him for acted acting (let's not call it overacting, for God's sake) takes on the exact sense of the tremendous, the dark, the glow that disappears after a single burst.
The most basic. What does a story like this set in 1973 say about us right now?
I imagine the essential thing is that it is important not to live in a world of fantasy.
The answer is too short even for the headline. Do you believe, for example, that the American people are aware of the role of the CIA and their government in the death and disappearance of nearly 3,000 Chileans?
I will answer with something that happened to me the other day. I was watching an interview program. It was on a beach. They were asking beachgoers about the attack on the Twin Towers. No one knew anything about something that happened 25 years ago. In other words, no one remembers 9/11 anymore, how are they going to remember something from the other 9/11, the coup in Chile?
Would you say, therefore, that we live in a society with collective amnesia?
We live in a time where not only memory is a problem, but also information. There is still a lot of information kept secret, hidden from citizens by the State, and between States. It is very difficult to know our own history objectively because it is always told with an agenda. It would be good to know history, if only to avoid mistakes when speaking. Chile is just one example among many.
Recently, elections were held in Chile and the winner was a representative of an extreme right-wing party that does not acknowledge the atrocities of the dictatorship...
Forgetting is something humans do, at least in part, to survive, but often it is not healthy.
Once again in Martin McDonagh's film, it is a story about the friendship of two men who confess what they think, what they feel. How extraordinary or uncommon do you think something like this is?
I believe among actors it is much more common than among the rest of the people. Actors are trained to be sensitive. Our work material is feelings. Part of our profession is to convey truth. That's why, contrary to popular belief, an actor always lies poorly. Consider that we are paid to be sensitive, to show vulnerability, madness... Definitely, there should be more actors.
Your career is somehow filled with characters who, like this one, are antiheroes. Is there an explanation for this?Looking closely, there are more antiheroes than heroes in the world. The odd thing is that movies are filled with exemplary characters. No one is truly exemplary at heart. On the other hand, no one really wants to be part of the system. I don't think many people feel comfortable being part of the machinery that surrounds us. Everyone feels different, so I believe my characters are very close, although it may seem otherwise, to the common sentiment of the population.
In recent festivals, and this is no exception, there is talk of the low presence of major Hollywood studios. Do you think something is changing in the industry?
For me, what is usually referred to as Hollywood no longer exists. The major studios you mention produce very little and no longer occupy the same space in the common imagination, in culture, as they did in the 80s or 90s. Culture right now is almost an obscene word, a curse word. Its space has alarmingly diminished. Studios are bought and sold, they are commodities.
Do you think that Hollywood, which you say no longer exists, is afraid to discuss and reflect on politics? Your film, in fact, is more of an exception in a landscape of considerable silence.
I don't think they are afraid, it's just that the new generations prefer to look at issues and address topics very close to a comfortable space that doesn't pose problems. A very limited view of the world has been imposed, where good and bad are concepts that do not allow for complex stories.