The 54th annual New York Film Festival saw an impressive lineup this year, and on Wednesday, The Knockturnal went over to Alice Tully Hall to speak with the cast of Pablo Larrain’s Neruda and Terence Davies’ A Quiet Passion.
Neruda, a film about the life of Pablo Neruda, was an especially interesting topic for Larrain as a native of Chile. “I’m Chilean. It’s not that you’re fan or not. You’re raised with it. It’s in your blood stream. It’s in the water. It’s in the earth. Neruda is everywhere down there in Latin America,” said Larrain.
Though some might consider this a biopic, Larrain said there was still a bit of imagination involved. “I think that when you approach someone that actually existed, you will always do it from fiction. You have to assume that. You will never have the real person in front of you,” explained Larrain.
Larrian worked alongside Gael Garcia Bernal, a friend of his and one of the actors in Nerdua. The opportunity to work with Larrain was something Garcia Bernal was more than willing to do. “Working with Pablo he was … one of my best buddies and one of the best directors I think there is in the world right now. I mean he’s fantastic at what he does,” said Garcia Bernal.
From the beginning, the Mexican actor knew the film would be a success. “It’s a very ambition project that only someone like Pablo can jump into it (/sic) with such ambitions but at the same time not knowing where we’re going to end,” mused Garcia Bernal. “That’s the nature of the work with Pablo. You never know where it’s going to take you,” he added
Like Larrain, Davies’ also added his own spin to the telling of Emily Dickinson’s life in A Quiet Passion. After reading six biographies, Davies gave came up with his own interpretation of the life of Dickinson. “It’s a fiction of course and it’s only my view of what she was like and it may be completely inaccurate but that’s what I saw,” said Davies in regards to the head strong and independent Emily depicted in his film.
However strong minded Dickinson may be portrayed in the movie, Davies explained that he didn’t create the film as part of the current feminist movement we’ve seen reignited in modern society. “I wrote it because I love her poetry. I still love her poetry and I think she’s one of the greatest 19th century poets,” he said. Davies’ simply wants people to become more familiar with the poet he adores so much.
Davies, Larrain, and Garcia Bernal had much more to say during the red carpet premier. Check out our interview below:
Nicole is a contributing reporter with The Knockturnal. Find her on social media @ncolalexandria.
