Actor Leonardo DiCaprio premieres in Mexico his latest film ‘One Battle After Another’, a critical and “revolutionary” satire towards recent US immigration policies promoted by President Donald Trump, although according to the interpreter, this thriller that portrays the US military and the most conservative sectors of the country does not include a “political agenda”.
“There is no political agenda in the film, but it does speak to a confusing and extreme world in which these characters find themselves(…) What I like most is how revolutionary the character is and his responsibility that he has as a father, which is not traditional,” responded the 50-year-old actor who plays the protagonist Bob Ferguson, a retired radical revolutionary.
DiCaprio appeared before his Latin American fans, who fought to get a photo by his side or a gesture of closeness, in a dark and simple outfit, unlike the formal attire usually worn for his most acclaimed roles in ‘The Great Gatsby’ (2013) or ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013).
“I practiced Spanish and I live in a Mexican community like Los Angeles. On the set we had great communication and were surrounded by real people,” explained DiCaprio, looking at his co-star, Puerto Rican Benicio del Toro, with whom he shares some dialogue in Spanish during the film.
The film is an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel ‘Vineland’ (1990), a story about the radical groups that in the 1970s defended the rights of African-Americans and migrants, and in the current adaptation, portrays the agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has deported more than 200,000 people since Trump’s term began last January.
Bob Ferguson (DiCaprio) is a revolutionary artificer who, after having a daughter (Chase Infiniti), decides to abandon his struggle. Years later, his enemies from the past will return to seek the revenge that both the state and the upper echelons of the country want against him and his former group of revolutionaries, who in today’s context would be considered terrorists.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s new movie
The film by 55-year-old director Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the greatest exponents of American cinema of his generation with ‘Boogie Nights’ (1997) or Magnolia (1999), is according to himself an “optimistic film about cooperation” and “how people communicate” today.
Another major theme of the production, which is estimated to have cost close to $140 million, is the fatherhood that DiCaprio portrays with his fictional daughter played by Chase Infiniti, considered the breakout talent of this production after his Hollywood debut.
This variety of characters and actors, which also includes Oscar winner Sean Penn (Mystic River) and Regina Hall (Scary Movie), is what, according to Benicio Del Toro, sets the production apart from others.
“They’re different characters, and a different and incredible tale. Paul, Leo and I got together and we all worked on the arc of the story. That’s how you build and make(…) this roller coaster of human warmth in which, at the end of the day, love wins and triumphs,” said the 58-year-old artist.
One battle after another’ opens internationally in theaters on September 25, reported Agencia EFE, after a tense year in political and cinematic terms.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
