The Mexican director Michel Franco has presented in Spain ‘Nuevo Orden, a film that reflects social inequalities in Mexico, where an unexpected social revolt gives way to a violent coup d’état. The film was awarded the Leoncio d’Oro at the last Venice film festival and it opens in theaters on February 19.In this context, Franco has stated in an interview with Europa Press that “without a doubt” former US President Dondald Trump incited the assault on the Capitol. “In the assault on the Capitol we saw how people copy what they hear,” he said.

Although Trump has been acquitted in impeachment for the crime of incitement to insurrection in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, the Mexican filmmaker believes that “the people felt emboldened by the things that the former US president said irresponsibly. for many years.

“He described us Mexicans as rapists on many occasions. It is worthwhile for us to value it and learn, because the frequent mistake is not to learn from history and this history is so recent that we have not turned the page yet. Although it is no longer there , Trump leaves a mark and we have not seen the worst, “he warned.

The assault on the Capitol, according to Franco, surprised the world because “no one imagined” those scenes that, in his opinion, “are a reflection of the decomposition and lack of credibility in politicians.” “The terrible time the United States spent with Trump brought that consequence,” he said.

The filmmaker hopes that with Joe Biden in the White House “things will improve and return to civility, to something more just, less aggressive.” “Trump did not stop insulting Mexicans and messing with everyone. Nor can we forget Black Lives Matter, where for good reason people go out to protest in the streets and the army and other police forces came out to repress and that showed that in the United States, a supposedly democratic country, there are many dark forces, “he criticized.

Franco has stressed the importance of people “going out into the streets” because “no one believes in politicians anymore” since “they don’t do their part”. “When they are not heard either, they go up a notch as the yellow vests have done, as has happened in Chile and in many countries. Violence begins to escalate and people do not stop until they are heard,” he warned.

‘NEW ORDER’, AN ALERT TO NOT REACH THE “VIOLENT EXPLOSION”

However, the director has added that he has “faith” that a change can be generated without reaching violence and has explained that his film ‘New order’ is a “kind of alert” not to reach the “violent outbreak”.

Franco’s new film presents the day when a country explodes due to social inequality and makes a large-scale X-ray of that country from eight points of view, with the aim that the viewer “put himself in the shoes” of these eight main characters.

The film begins with a wedding, in the nucleus of a privileged class family in Mexico City, which takes place despite the fact that the country is about to “explode” in social conflicts. “As they live in a bubble, they only care about their festivities and using the wedding for their corruption deals,” Franco said.

For the director, social inequality “is the great evil of the world” and it happens “in all places”, although especially in Mexico, where there are “120 million people and 60 million are poor who live without the minimum necessary to have well-being “.

In his view, this inequality is something “extremely unfair” that however “has been normalized, it has been justified” and people have “got used to it”. “My film says that the status quo is wrong, this is unacceptable and if we do not change it in a good way, the change will come violently,” he stated.

‘New order’, as Franco has explained, is a film “very agile that grabs you from the start, from the first image that is shocking, and never stops, there is never respite”. “I think that what is most striking is that it is a mirror in which societies around the world are reflected. Many times we do not like what we see in that mirror,” he said.

SHOCKING SCENES TO “SHAKE” THE VIEWER

The feature film contains several shocking scenes with which the director seeks to “shake up” the viewer and make him feel “confronted” and “questioned”. “There are no good and bad, the same character in minute 10 can behave badly and in the second part of the film do a good action and then end up badly again. They are three-dimensional characters that reflect the human side that we all have and which is complex, “said Franco.

However, the director believes that “it is not a too harsh experience for the viewer, because nothing that happens has already happened”, although he has clarified that, with the current situation caused by the pandemic, the story “ends up being very close to reality”. “It’s like when you see an accident and you can’t help looking and observing,” he pointed out.

Social inequality, one of the central themes of the ‘New Order’, according to Franco, is “without a doubt” increasing due to Covid-19. “The pandemic would have been a great opportunity to sympathize and feel empathy for those who have the least and yet the citizens are in an attitude of save who can and we are all going to sink,” he lamented.

When asked about the rise of online platforms, the Mexican filmmaker has positioned himself as a “faithful believer that cinema is seen in the cinema” and indicated that streaming “as a second window is very good” and that he sees “many movies at home, especially old cinema. ”

“But we cannot eliminate the movie theater, for that I work for many years preparing a movie, editing, making sound and that will never be replaced with an experience at home. I make movies, not television,” he said.

At this point, Franco stressed that movie theaters “are always going to be” although with the pandemic “many are going to close and may never open again.” For this reason, it has indicated that the support of governments is “important”.

“There are countries like France that have traditionally maintained neighborhood cinemas, small ones, there is support for culture. Cinema is part of our identity and if we don’t fight for movie theaters to exist, we will lose part of that identity. “, it is finished.

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