J
Joe S.
Guest
Veteran US director Robert Redford on Tuesday unveiled his anti-war polemic
"Lions for Lambs" at the RomeFilmFest, counterpointing war, politics and the
media in three dovetailing stories.
The film starring Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and himself, is "about the
effects and the consequences of the last several years in my country" since
the September 11 attacks, Redford told a news conference.
"We see the truth finally as to why we went to war, where we went to war and
the costs," he added. The film is being shown at the festival out of
competition.
Cruise plays a senator with presidential aspirations who offers a scoop
about a deadly military operation to a broadcast journalist (Streep) who
bristles at his attempt to further his agenda through her.
Redford is an idealist college professor who tries to galvanise his students
to develop a social conscience.
These two plot lines alternate with scenes from the snowy Afghan battlefield
with two of the professor's former students who enlisted in the US army, as
well as shots of their commanders viewing satellite images of the fighting.
Cruise praised Redford's ability to "construct and develop important ideas
in a way that's compelling, entertaining and intelligent."
Redford, describing himself as a "pessimistic optimist," said: "This film
doesn't attempt to offer answers, it just poses questions."
The 71-year-old Redford revealed that when he was growing up he "couldn't
care less about politics" but that when he studied art in Florence, Italy,
and travelled around Europe, people asked him, "How can you not care?"
"It was devastating, embarrassing," Redford said.
"Lions for Lambs" -- a reference to a German officer's comment during World
War I about the bravery of British soldiers compared with their
commanders -- was shown on university campuses in San Francisco, Chicago,
Boston and Philadelphia.
US Hispanic actor Michael Pena, who plays one of the soldiers, said "a lot
of the kids were asking, 'What can I do? ... Who should we be paying
attention to?'"
British actor Andrew Garfield, who also took part in the tour, said he was
approached by students who said they were inspired by the film to rethink
their priorities. "It makes me proud to be an artist," he said.
The film marks Garfield's movie acting debut, and to be playing with such
huge stars as Redford, Streep and Cruise "is possibly the most ridiculous
thing to ever happen to me in my life," he joked.
"Lions for Lambs" was shown concurrently at the London Film Festival.
It is among a raft of recent films on the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
including Gavin Hood's "Rendition," which premiered in Rome on Monday.
Brian De Palma's "Redacted" and "In the Valley of Elah" by Paul Haggis
showed at the Venice film festival last month.
The second annual RomeFilmFest, with 14 films in competition and 15 world
premieres, runs until Saturday.
The festival, the brainchild of Rome Mayor and film buff Walter Veltroni,
last year drew 480,000 moviegoers with its populist format.
A popular jury will pick the best film, the special jury prize and best
actress and actor.
"Lions for Lambs" at the RomeFilmFest, counterpointing war, politics and the
media in three dovetailing stories.
The film starring Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and himself, is "about the
effects and the consequences of the last several years in my country" since
the September 11 attacks, Redford told a news conference.
"We see the truth finally as to why we went to war, where we went to war and
the costs," he added. The film is being shown at the festival out of
competition.
Cruise plays a senator with presidential aspirations who offers a scoop
about a deadly military operation to a broadcast journalist (Streep) who
bristles at his attempt to further his agenda through her.
Redford is an idealist college professor who tries to galvanise his students
to develop a social conscience.
These two plot lines alternate with scenes from the snowy Afghan battlefield
with two of the professor's former students who enlisted in the US army, as
well as shots of their commanders viewing satellite images of the fighting.
Cruise praised Redford's ability to "construct and develop important ideas
in a way that's compelling, entertaining and intelligent."
Redford, describing himself as a "pessimistic optimist," said: "This film
doesn't attempt to offer answers, it just poses questions."
The 71-year-old Redford revealed that when he was growing up he "couldn't
care less about politics" but that when he studied art in Florence, Italy,
and travelled around Europe, people asked him, "How can you not care?"
"It was devastating, embarrassing," Redford said.
"Lions for Lambs" -- a reference to a German officer's comment during World
War I about the bravery of British soldiers compared with their
commanders -- was shown on university campuses in San Francisco, Chicago,
Boston and Philadelphia.
US Hispanic actor Michael Pena, who plays one of the soldiers, said "a lot
of the kids were asking, 'What can I do? ... Who should we be paying
attention to?'"
British actor Andrew Garfield, who also took part in the tour, said he was
approached by students who said they were inspired by the film to rethink
their priorities. "It makes me proud to be an artist," he said.
The film marks Garfield's movie acting debut, and to be playing with such
huge stars as Redford, Streep and Cruise "is possibly the most ridiculous
thing to ever happen to me in my life," he joked.
"Lions for Lambs" was shown concurrently at the London Film Festival.
It is among a raft of recent films on the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
including Gavin Hood's "Rendition," which premiered in Rome on Monday.
Brian De Palma's "Redacted" and "In the Valley of Elah" by Paul Haggis
showed at the Venice film festival last month.
The second annual RomeFilmFest, with 14 films in competition and 15 world
premieres, runs until Saturday.
The festival, the brainchild of Rome Mayor and film buff Walter Veltroni,
last year drew 480,000 moviegoers with its populist format.
A popular jury will pick the best film, the special jury prize and best
actress and actor.
