Mexican actor Omar Chaparro puts on the boots of an Army fighter to star in the film ‘Venganza’, a performance that has allowed him to empathize with the Mexican military forces who, on Sunday, shot down El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG).
“We’re watching the news, but what better than being able to go inside and see who these people are who are giving their lives for us, explore their world a little bit and go inside and see how difficult it is to become a military man,” Chaparro explained in an interview with EFE for the film’s premiere on Thursday.
He even mentions that he was “moved” by the video in which the Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla, broke his voice when speaking to the media about the 25 members of the National Guard who died during the death of one of the most wanted drug lords in the world.
“I saw that video and I understood it, which I wouldn’t have done before making the film, I wouldn’t have understood it,” he says.
The feature film starring Chaparro and Alejandro Speitzer follows the story of a group of Mexican military officers who will have to take justice into their own hands after discovering that high-ranking army officers are linked to criminals who killed the wife of Carlos, the captain played by Chaparro.
Miguel (Speitzer) will be the companion and “shadow” of the captain and his vengeance, although in reality, says Speitzer, he is a “vulnerable human” – in the end, he stresses, “they are not superheroes like the ones in Hollywood.”
As for taking justice into one’s own hands, as portrayed by both characters, the actor of ‘Cóyotl, hero and beast’ affirms that in Mexico there is a lot of “weariness and anger” of people overwhelmed by injustice and gives as an example the searching mothers or all the relatives of those who have had someone killed or disappeared.
Omar Chaparro: Pride of Mexican Cinema
Following the recent bill announced by Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, which aims to increase incentives for Mexican cinema, the sector is experiencing a moment of euphoria applauded by actor Luis Alberti, who plays another military man in revolt.
“The spectator has been waiting so long for us to be up to the task, for us to have a cinema that truly represents Mexicans as we deserve (…), we must take advantage of this good moment,” he emphasized about this opportunity that can rescue the action genre.
For many years, action movies disappeared from the national box office to be replaced by comedies.
With ‘Revenge’, the genre returns with the most expensive budget in the country’s history for a film of this genre and in Amazon MGM Studios’ first major action film bet intended to be released first in theaters and then on streaming.
“It is the most ambitious action film and a milestone for Mexico. It is a bet for the public, always thinking of them and how to fill these movie theaters again, without fear and without any complex,” reaffirms with forcefulness the experienced producer of the film, Pablo Cruz.
‘Venganza’ opens this Thursday in nearly 1,000 Mexican movie theaters and will get as many viewers as possible before its arrival to streaming on Amazon Prime Video, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
