by Valerio Cappelli
The Cuban actress, Norma Jeane’s double in Blonde, in competition at the Venice Film Festival, the first Netflix film banned for minors under 17: I studied hundreds of photos and videos
far from the idea of a diva who, sixty years after her death on August 4, 1962, remains among us with her gentle, tragic lust, with her fragile sensuality and continues to make us dream. The new Marilyn is 34 years old, Cuban and has a blonde wig on: her name is Ana de Armas and the film Blonde, which awaits the Venice Film Festival, already has a record: the first Netflix title with a red wig in the United States Stickers prohibited for minors under 17 (available in Italy from September 28th). Director Andrew Dominik, who adapted Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name, said he was surprised we live in bizarre times Americans are weird when it comes to sexual behavior. This film navigates ambiguous waters but has its own morals. As if that weren’t enough, the institute that owns the image rights to Monroe protested the Cuban accent, which didn’t match the diva’s distinctive voice.
Ana de Armas shares difficult beginnings with Marilyn: I grew up in Havana with rationed food, fuel shortages and lights that came and went, but I can’t say I didn’t have a happy childhood. She says that as a girl she didn’t know what was going on outside of Cuba, I didn’t have access to the internet, at home I could only watch 20 minutes of cartoons on TV on Saturdays and movies on Sundays. I watched Hollywood movies at my neighbor’s, memorized entire monologues in front of the mirror. In Cuba, as a teenager, he attended theater school: my first film arrived, they told me I have to study, if you accept we will miss you. And so I had to repeat the year. At 18, thanks to her maternal grandparents, she obtained Spanish citizenship and flew to Madrid, where she began her career as an actress. In Los Angeles I started from scratch in 2014, I didn’t even speak English. He starred with Ben Affleck in the erotic thriller Deep Waters, and the two had an affair before he got back together with Jennifer Lopez.
In the film, the resemblance between Ana and Marilyn is striking, even if they are completely different, because no realistic portrait can exist. The director is actually painting a non-linear fantasy (not a historical document). It tells the story of Norma Jeane, abused daughter, dark-haired, a single mother who becomes the most famous blonde star. What does it mean to be Norma and Marilyn at the same time? The unconventional film aims to be a sensual and emotional experience, said Ana de Armas, former Bond girl in No Time to Die alongside Daniel Craig. The director’s ambitions were clear: he wanted the world to know what it really means to be not just Marilyn but also Norma Jeane. the most daring, unrepentant, and feminist approach to her story. He saw and read everything that was possible, I studied hundreds of photos, videos, audio recordings, each scene inspired by existing images; She explains that she put on her makeup three hours a day for the 47 days of filming. The director delved into the trauma that requires a gap between public and private identity.
There will also be the famous rendition of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend from the film Men Prefer Blondes. At its core we find the human cost of the Hollywood industry, the power and risks of female sexuality, the impact of childhood trauma. The sincere film – says the director – made with love, but at the same time full of anger. My ambition to make you fall in love with Marilyn.
August 10, 2022 (change August 10, 2022 | 20:34)
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