With the Oscar nominations just around the corner and many ballots to be a finalist for best actress for “Parallel Mothers”, the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz co-stars in “The 355”, a spy movie that subverts the canons of the genre and demonstrates that united women can also save the world.
The actress, who in the film teams up with Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o, and Bingbing Fan, believes that the word feminism has been “distorted” and “misunderstood” a lot, but she does not hesitate to consider herself a feminist and mentions her mother as the highest reference.
“My mother is a strong person, she had me when she was only 21 years old, I have seen her in many situations in life and her reactions have always been inspiring for me, of great self-respect, she has been a great teacher and if she had that choosing a reference, of course, would be her, “said Penelope Cruz during a telematic interview.
“We are feminists by nature but it is not something we talk about,” she added, “for me, it is feminism the way she lives her life and what she transmits through her actions, I grew up watching her, so if someone asks me if I am a feminist I would say yes, sure, of course, but it is a word that has been distorted and misunderstood a lot.
Under the direction of Simon Kinberg, producer of sagas such as “X-Men” or “Deadpool”, “The 355” arrives this week in Spanish theaters after receiving mixed reviews at its premiere in the United States and several Latin American countries.
It is about a group of spies who work for the governments of different countries but who skip the hierarchies and join forces with the common goal of preventing a super-destructive technological weapon from falling into the wrong hands.
“Until now it has been rare to see a spy movie with women as protagonists saving the world and that is one of the reasons why I wanted to do it,” said Cruz, who plays a Colombian psychologist who accidentally gets involved in the first line. of fire.
The Spanish tell that she had an active role in the conception of her character. “There was no script yet, Jessica and Simon asked me what role I would like to play and I told them that I have always missed seeing the fish out of water in this type of film, a character that the viewer can identify with, that when they saw it they would think, I would be the same, I would want to run away and leave the mission”, he explains.
Cruz expresses the possibilities of a role that is tailor-made for her, with her comedic side included and says that she shares her fear of weapons. “I am very similar in that, security on the set is very important,” he says after the recent fatal accident with a gun that was fired on a set of Alec Baldwin.
“It would be interesting to know what happens to Graciela (her character) if things go well and there is a sequel, I imagine she will want to stay in the group but I don’t know-how, it makes me very curious,” she adds.
As for the facet of psychologist, the winner of an Oscar for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” says that she has worked intermittently with many throughout her life. “And I will continue to do so, it is very positive when you find someone good,” he says.
“The 355” was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 and its arrival in theaters was scheduled for 2020 but has been delayed until now due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Cruz continues to garner praise for her role in “Parallel Mothers” by her compatriot Pedro Almodóvar, which has so far earned her the Volpi Cup for best actress in Venice and the critics’ award in Los Angeles, paving the way for earn his fourth Oscar nomination. The finalists will be announced on February 8.