It’s two drivers against capitalism
Armageddon Time marks James Gray’s big return at the Cannes Film Festival. The day after the screening of the film in Competition, the American director, accompanied by the team, answered questions from journalists: actors Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Banks Repeta and Jaylin Webb. According to Gray, “artists should ask questions, illustrate and illuminate paths” rather than provide answers. During the press conference, Gray said: “I really have no idea how to solve problems of inequality and class. You have to show the reality to the public and hope that they can make connections themselves. Joseph Goebbels thought he had an answer; I think not that that’s our job as creative people.”
After venturing far in ‘The Lost City of Z’ and going into space with ‘Ad Astra’, Gray returns to the neighborhood where he grew up in his most personal film, Armageddon Time. “Our job is to do two things: work and take risks,” Gray continued. “As a director, I asked the actors to take risks, to achieve a psychological impact. The film is dark, but it is artists who want to be artists. It’s your job.” The filmmaker also went into great detail about the dangers of capitalism. “I think we’re in big trouble. Look at the world. How did we get here where there are two people who own everything and a bunch of bosses trying to take control?
Considered an author-filmmaker, Gray complained about the excess of franchises and criticized society’s reliance on repetition. “We used to think of franchises like McDonalds and Burger King; now they are part of the cinema» noted the director. The margins of racial privilege also feature in his story. “It’s impossible to look at the world as built and not see white privilege as one of the most attuned mechanisms.” Beside him, Hathaway wept as she spoke of her mother-in-law, who recently passed away and, like Gray’s parents, was Jewish. “We talk a lot about what she means to our family,” said the actress. “His legacy affects my life in a profound way, which is why I am so grateful to cinema.” Strong admitted that he came to every project he worked on with no expectations; but he recognized a parallel between Armageddon Time and Succession. “The series is about capitalism in the United States, and you’ll find that genome in this film.”
The series ‘The Squid Game’ brought international fame to actor Lee Jung-Jae who played the loser Seong Gi-hun, a man seeking a change of life. Twelve years after premiering and starring at Cannes in The Housemaid (In Competition, 2010), South Korean Jung-Jae premiered his first behind-the-scenes film, Hunt, a thriller set in the 1980s about confrontation between the two Koreas. “This film is not only about what is happening in Korea, but also about how to stop all conflicts in the world. We often swallow distorted truths that are biased perspectives, media constellations, that bring us into conflict with the opposition. There are people in other parts of the world who benefit from our conflict. My film is about the people, about the authentic people trying to pave the way to prevent sick ideologies from staying in power. Screenwriter, producer, actor and director; Lee didn’t plan on exposing himself to that many jobs when he started on the project.” Other filmmakers came close to directing the film, but they dropped out and in the end I decided I was the right person to take the helm. to take,” said Lee.
With the rise of Asian cinema and television, especially from South Korea, the filmmaker recognizes that now is the right time to take his culture out into the world. “I think it’s a good opportunity for Koreans to engage with the global community. The Squid Game became the most-watched series in the history of platforms and there are three series among the most-watched on Netflix. That can’t be a coincidence. .” The actor admits that he is already preparing the second season of the series, which will be made into a film next year.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
