Rodrigo Prieto at the premiere of “Killers of the Flower Moon” in Los Angeles (Portal/Mario Anzuoni) (Mario Anzuoni / Portal)
Rodrigo Prieto had a year like no other. This year 2023 witnessed the unrivaled talent of the acclaimed Mexican cinematographer with a catalog that includes films such as “Barbie”, “Killers of The Flower Moon” and “Pedro Páramo”. And those are just the moments.
There is no doubt that Prieto is one of those artists who left an indelible mark on the film industry and took cinematography to a new level. The most exciting thing is that he left pieces of Mexico in every project. This is what his admirers notice and what he himself confirmed in an interview with Yahoo Life and Style.
The brotherhood of the colonized and miscegenation
The filmmaker was the cinematographer for “Barbie,” the summer trend in which he inserted the famous Mexican pink into the multicolored world of American director Greta Gerwig. In fact, Rodrigo Prieto confirmed that the offer came to him while he was in the middle of filming Killers of The Flower Moon.
“It was a surreal thing,” he admitted. Thinking about the universe of the iconic doll seemed crazy to him because he was immersed in the history of the wave of crimes that struck the Osage indigenous community in the state of Oklahoma in the 1920s. It is his fourth film with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. Unlike its predecessors “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Silence” and “The Irishman,” this film felt “very close” to Prieto.
Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and director and producer Martin Scorsese during a photo session to promote their film “Killers of the Flower Moon” on October 11, 2023 in Mexico City. (AP /Fernando Llano) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The history of the Osage “is an issue that affects all of us across this entire continent. The American continent,” emphasized Rodrigo Prieto. “The Europeans who arrived. There was violence, abuse and whatever. We are the result of that, that mixing and clash of cultures.”
“So my perspective is that from this mestizaje, which is part of my blood and my fortune, but also as a Mexican and a foreigner of this culture (…) I have to enter it with humility and learn from what happened ” Learn from this culture that is still alive,” he said as he spoke about his emotional approach to the project.
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And that’s his DNA as a filmmaker: he approaches stories wholeheartedly and then uses cameras, colors, angles and lights to convey the necessary emotions. When he talks about the legacy of film with Leonardo di Caprio and Robert de Niro, Prieto is not talking about cinema, but about responsibility.
“What I’m left with is like the hope of seeing the Osage, their rituals and dances, and saying that this is alive,” he reflected. “It’s something very beautiful to maintain, and I think it’s also something inspiring for the indigenous cultures of the rest of the continent.”
Rodrigo Prieto’s view of death
“Our relationship with death is very intimate,” Mexican writer Octavio Paz said in an interview while discussing his country’s culture. Prieto admitted that he “identified” with her, and with this sensitivity he tried to portray the Osage victims of the murders recounted in “Killers of the Flower Moon” with “dignity” but without “the horror ” to lose.
“We looked at different ways to portray this violence and decided to do it with a slightly distant camera. In other words, these murders were committed almost routinely, in the sense that, well, that’s something.” “It has to be done because this money and this wealth belongs to white people. So we have to put an end to this, they will die anyway. “In any case, they drink a lot and get drunk,” Prieto said.
“So they have this racist mentality, the descendants of European immigrants. And we also wanted to pay respect to the dead, so we designed these angles to look like an overhead head that almost becomes a kind of coffin. The image section of the camera.” . It seems to me that it is a vision, a perspective that is neutral and respects a certain distance. And we also use special historical lenses called Petzval, which distort the edges. All of these shots of the dead have this look“Rodrigo Prieto
The film premieres in theaters and on Apple TV this Friday, October 20th. In addition to Di Caprio and De Niro, the film features a wonderful performance from Lily Gladstone as Osage Indian Mollie Burkhart.
Prieto describes the film as “powerful.” This reporter was able to see it in advance and believes that the filmmaker lacked words but had great talent. In fact, there’s little doubt that he’ll likely be competing against himself at the Oscars. His work in Barbie and this film was praised by everyone.
Rodrigo Prieto returns home
The world learned about his talent thanks to “Amores Perros”, the film that also launched the international career of Alejandro González Iñárritu. Then came legendary projects like “Brokeback Mountain,” “Babel,” “Argo,” “Broken Hugs,” “21 Grams” and many more. Yes, that means he worked with Ben Affleck, Almodóvar, Ang Lee and other legendary directors.
Additionally, Prieto is part of the Taylor Swift universe. He was the cameraman for the videos for his songs “The Man”, “Willow” and “Cardigan”. That means she’s a de facto Swiftie, and her name is rising to accompany her on her first directorial adventure.
“I don’t know,” he replied when asked about the topic. That sounds like yes, since both he and she have a carefully organized schedule at least two years in advance. The bond between them is so close that Swift thanked him for “helping and guiding me to direct my own videos.”
I am forever grateful to the following creatives who helped and guided me to be able to shoot my own videos: Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, Producer Jil Hardin, 1st AD Joe “Oz” Osbourne, Co-1st AD Ev Salomon, Executive Producer Rebecca Skinner …
–Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) December 10, 2020
However, Prieto prefers to talk about a project that brought him home. This is the Netflix adaptation of “Pedro Páramo”, the book by Juan Rulfo. The filmmaker makes his directorial debut with this film.
“It’s a novel that has touched so many of us, and me especially, because I’ve been afraid of the dark and ghosts since I was a child, but at the same time it’s fascinating,” he said. “In Mexico there is a very specific aspect of this: fear. That’s why I’ve always been fascinated by novels.”
But also: “It was really nice to work with the actors, who had an extraordinary cast to bring all these characters to life. So you will see it. I think in about a year,” he said. Actors Manuel García-Rulfo and Tenoch Huerta lead the cast as Pedro Páramo and Juan Preciado, respectively. They are accompanied by Ilse Salas, Mayra Batalla, Héctor Kotsifakis, Roberto Sosa, Dolores Heredia, Giovanna Zacarías, Noé Hernández and Yoshira Escárrega.
Rodrigo Prieto and the Oscars
The Academy of Cinematographic Arts Awards are already a must for Prieto. He was nominated three times for “The Irishman,” “Silence” and “Brokeback Mountain.” In 2024 it will already be on all “Barbie” lists. With the release of Killers of the Flower Moon, it’s very likely that he’ll be competing against himself in the Best Cinematographer category. Good luck even if you don’t need it! His work in both films is exceptional.