Dubai: Hollywood stars Kirsten Dunst and Wagner Moura delved into the challenging world of war zone journalism to prepare for their lead roles in the upcoming thriller “Civil War,” set to release in UAE cinemas on April 25.
“Civil War” unfolds as a gripping thriller set in the near future, depicting a society in the United States on the brink of collapse with the outbreak of war.
In the film, fictional Reuters photographer Lee, portrayed by Dunst, and reporter Joel, played by Moura, embark on a perilous journey to reach Washington before it succumbs to a rebel faction.
British filmmaker Alex Garland, the writer and director of “Civil War,” commented in an interview, “Something’s happened, something really sad and dangerous has happened to do with journalism.” Garland emphasized the significance of placing journalists at the core of the film, stating, “There are really good journalists out there doing good work. They don’t have traction in the way they used to have,” pointing to challenges like political undermining, the impact of social media, and bias-heavy news outlets. “I thought, ‘well, I’ll do something oppositional to that.'”
Brazilian actor Moura, known for his role as Pablo Escobar in the Netflix series “Narcos,” highlighted the pivotal role of journalism in combating societal polarization. “People like getting information from social media and all the fake news and the bubbles. Progressives only read progressive things and conservatives are the same… the role of the journalist in the world, I think, is very, very important,” he expressed.
Moura emphasized the importance of understanding journalists’ experiences in the field to prepare for his role. “To be in the field, in a war zone, is a whole another thing so mostly what I wanted to know was not even intellectually how they did their job but what did they feel when they were in a war zone.”
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As part of their preparation, the cast watched a documentary about the late Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin, who was tragically killed in Syria in 2012, revealed Hollywood veteran Dunst.
“The camaraderie of them under those circumstances was the most heartbreaking and beautiful thing that I’d seen,” Dunst shared. “What they feel is exactly what we wanted to capture.”
