The Interpreter is a flashy, glooming, big budget movie featuring a white African expat, from a fictional state called Matobo who works at the United Nations headquarters trying to change the world with the “belief that words and compassion are the better way…even if it’s slower than a gun.”
Nicole Kidman does a very fine job in playing the role of Silvia Broome, a young passionate woman who is hunted by a sinister past but still finds the power and courage to believe in a better world. Her family was killed by a mine when she was a child. The only connection she has to her past is her brother, Simon, who is still in Matobo fighting for the liberation of their country, and her capacity to speak ku, the fictional language of Matobo, which is only spoken by a handful of people at the United Nations.
The Interpreter is one of the last movies made by Sydney Pollack, the famous director that brought to live one of the most internationally acclaimed movies about Africa ever made by a Westerner crew: Out of Africa. It is also the only movie ever shot on the premises of the United Nations Headquarters after Pollack lobbied the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for a special permission.
Most of the movie was shot in the United Nations building and in New York City. After both UN dignitaries and civilians are evacuated from the UN because of a faulty metal detector, Silvia comes back to work to fetch her bag that she left in her sound booth. She then hears some whispers 0f men plotting to kill President Edmund Zuwanie (Earl Cameron) of Matobo (which is something she figures out later next day when translating a conversation between Matobo’s UN permanent representative and the US ambassador) and reports the incident. Secret Service agents Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) and Dot Woods (Catherine Keener) are dispatched to investigate the case. They initially suspect Silvia Broome, but when other various incidents occur they decide it’s a credible threat. The rest is history. Death threats, last minute interventions, a paid assassin sent to eliminate President Edmund Zuwanie’ opponents, lots of action, secret service shenanigans and everything you can imagine from a Hollywood blockbuster.
Pollack creates two complementary characters that are only linked by a thin line of pain and regrets. Both Keller and Broome are mysterious people and they progressively learn each other. For once, no romantic relationship is born as the characters are rightfully to busy saving their lives and doing their jobs. Otherwise, the two could not be more different. Broome was raised in Africa, speaks various languages and, at least at the moment when Keller meets her, she is committed to peace and non-violence. She is a very private person that dreams for the betterment of her country. She is a dreamer, an idealist, and a very private person. Keller is pragmatic, suspicious and very blunt. He doubts everything – her motives, her past, her present. What beautiful about their relationship is the fact that they both try to learn each other, something that few movies try to explore.
President Edmund Zuwanie shares various similarities with the current President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. They are both nicknamed The Teacher. They are old and they led the independence struggle back in the days. They seem unaware of the people’s struggle, their pain and their misery. They blame the poor economic status of their countries on terrorists and foreign actors. Earl Cameron even looks like Robert Mugabe. As a matter of fact, the CIA briefing on Zuwanie captures the quintessence of many long standing African leaders: “It is hard to believe that Edmond Zuwanie was once a good man. It’s not unusual for these guys; they all begin as liberators and twenty minutes later they are as corrupt as the tyrants they overthrow. ” Zuwanie and Mugabe are so similar that the latter has actually accused the American government of trying to overthrown him with the help of this movie. The Interpreter was banned in Zimbabwe after its official release, but some journalists claimed that it had been downloaded excessively via torrents.
A bothersome aspect of the movie is that it features a white character trying to save Africa. This can only be interpreted as an attempt to make the viewers, presumingly mostly from the West, feel good about themselves and detached from current African realities. This simply downplays the real struggle most Africans experience in their real quest for freedom. Ultimately, the movie falls into the same trap as Constant Gardener and Blood Diamond. They all deal with current African realities but fail to guide their viewers towards the real problems: Canadian companies deal with guerrilla troops that use forced labor to get the diamonds that will ultimately be sold in the West (Blood Diamond;) pharmaceutical companies test their drugs in Africa because it’s cheaper, more convenient and they are not under constant pressure from their governments to comply with safety requirements (Constant Gardener;) Robert Mugabe is a leader that has ruined his country and has thrown its citizens into dire poverty (The Interpreter.)
Why watch the movie?
There is a way one can appreciate and enjoy this movie. Firstly it introduces the viewer to the complexities of international politics, the shifting policies and alliances, the last minute strategies to overcome the enemy. It shows how difficult it is for the United Nations to operate in a world in which the interests of more than 190 countries are on the table and are often contradicting and controversial. It humanizes the United Nations, in times when the institution is under constant criticism from international, regional and local actors. Another reason why this movie is worth watching is for the optimistic tone and the underling message: peace should be given a chance no matter what the sacrifices are. The Interpreter is also a fairly realistic movie, one that unfolds progressively, while maintaining a high doze of suspense. The movie should also be watched for its doze of pragmatic idealism. One can learn a lot of things from this movie since much of the international negotiations face similar difficulties and contradictions in real life and suffer from the same limitation. There’s also a very intelligent, almost constant confusion in the movie between “gone” and “dead,” two words that are often used and selectively misinterpreted by those using them. Lastly, Sydney Pollack’s movie is a highly intuitive and captivating thriller with clearly drawn characters – Silvia, Tobin, Dot, Zuwanie, Philippe, Kuman-Kuman – that do a very good job at keeping up the tension and the suspense of the movie.
Questions for the producers
How exactly is Silvia being deported to Matobo at the end of the movie? She has an American citizenship, since her mother is American. I am not familiar with any procedure that allows the American state to simply cancel the citizenship of one of its subjects, especially once that was delivered at birth and not by naturalization.
Why inventing a new country and a language when Africa is full of Mugabes, Mobutus, or Biyas? If the intention of the movie was to portray Mugabe and the current state of affairs in Zimbabwe why not setting the movie in Zimbabwe?
How come a paid assassin fulfills all his tasks and magically misses the target in the case of Silvia Broome?
Why is Silvia Broome white?
How come the United Nations wasn’t able to get a hold of Silvia’s records before she was employed by the United Nations?
Despite its flows, I rate this movie 8/10. It’s a good weekend movie.
There are some inspirational quotes used by various characters throughout the movie. I’m reproducing some of them here:
Peace, security and freedom are not finite commodities like land, oil or gold which one state can acquire at other state’s expense. (Some random foreign leader talking at the UN)
Countries have gone to war because they have misinterpreted one another. (Silvia)
Vengeance is a lazy form of grief (Silvia)
Kuman-Kuman: [talking about the UN] Layers of languages signyfing nothing.
Silvia: You’d prefer more war?
Kuman-Kuman: I’d prefer more business. […] Despite all the flags flattering on 1st avenue there are no nations anymore. Only companies. It’s where we are, it’s what we are.
Nicole: I walked away from Africa with nothing: no brother, no family, lo lover, nothing…nothing…. Just a belief that words and compassion are the better way…even if it’s slower than a gun.
Movie trailer
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