Penelope Cruz thinks of her mother as greatest personal feminist figure
By Magdalena Tsanis
Madrid, Jan 17 (EFE).- Penelope Cruz on Monday said her mother was the greatest feminist figure in her life, as the Oscar-winning Spanish actress challenges the principles of the spy film genre by shifting focus to how girl power can also save the world with her latest thriller The 355.
The movie features Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o and Fan Bingbing, alongside Cruz, who believes that the concept of feminism has always been misunderstood.
In an online interview, Cruz says she thinks of her mother as a strong inspiring woman, who had her when she was only 21.
The film, directed by Simon Kinberg, the producer of X-Men and Deadpool, tells the story of a group of female spies who work for different governments but decided to go rogue to fulfill a common goal of preventing a destructive weapon from falling into the wrong hands.
“I think that this probably is one of the genres in film where it has been more rare to see a group of female leads saving the world,” says Cruz, who plays the role of a Colombian psychologist that gets involved by chance in the field.
“It’s not very often but maybe a bit easier in drama or musicals or comedy, but this genre is one of the toughest.
“It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to be part of this film because it’s one more step in that direction of what should be normal.
“I hope it is the beginning of just one more step in what continues to slowly change into something more fair.”
Cruz adds that she was involved in the composition of Graciela, the character she is playing in the movie, whom she preferred to be one that the viewer can identify with.
She also explained that she has common grounds with Graciela, who is scared of weapons, and stressed that safety on set is mandatory for her, in light of the recent Alec Baldwin fatal shooting of a cinematographer at a New Mexico set.
The 355 took part in the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was originally scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2020, but was delayed until 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Cruz continues to garner acclaim for her role in Parallel Mothers, the film that has so far earned her the Volpi Cup principal award for best actress at the Venice Film Festival, which could very much pave her way to a fourth Oscar nomination, with the final list of nominees scheduled to be announced on February 8. EFE
mt/smq/mp
