Mercedes Moran Neruda Interview

Mercedes Morán Neruda Interview

Cast: Gael García Bernal, Luis Gnecco, Mercedes Morán
Director: Pablo Larraín
Rated: MA
Running Time: 108 minutes

Synopsis: A glorious mix of history and imagination, Neruda is the enthralling new film from multi awardwinning director Pablo Larraín (No, Jackie), a lavishly mounted and grandly entertaining depiction of the manhunt for exiled Chilean poet and politician Pablo Neruda.

It's 1948, and the Cold War has reached Chile. Following the President's outlawing of communism, Neruda (played by Luis Gnecco, bearing a remarkable likeness) and his artist wife Delia (Mercedes Morán) are forced into hiding. Beloved by the populace, they slip underground and are pursued by incompetent, vainglorious police inspector Oscar Peluchonneau (the superb Gael Garcia Bernal), hoping to make a name for himself by capturing the country's most infamous fugitive.

Whilst life on the run holds little charm for the cultured and hedonistic Neruda, he uses the opportunity to reinvent his work and life, leaving clues for his pursuer designed to make their game of cat-and-mouse even more dangerous and thrilling. Thwarting Peluchonneau at every turn, it's almost as if the detective is the man Neruda would have written to chase himself…

Blending visual grandeur and literary wit, Neruda is a beguiling reinvention of the -standard' cinematic biography. Playfully confounding expectations at every turn, the film offers a startling rumination on the split between the person and persona, the man and the artist. Gripping, funny and ingeniously conceived, this is undoubtedly Larrain's finest achievement to date. 

 

Neruda
Release Date: May 25th, 2017
Website: www.neruda.com.au

 

Interview with Mercedes Morán

Question: What does Delia see in Pablo Neruda?

Mercedes Morán: In Pablo, Delia sees the love of her life. She feels unconditional love for him, an unconditionality that is almost maternal. Besides, being a skilled artista herself, she can appreciate the poet's talent. She works as his assistant, his right hand, participating in the editing of his work with authority: she feels that she is practically a co-author of the 'Canto General". And she relegates herself to accompany him as a woman and fellow militant.


Question: How do Delia's ideas influence Neruda's political role?

Mercedes Morán: Delia's ideas influence Pablo greatly, as she is the one who somehow convinces him to join the Communist Party. This is her ideology, which she ties to the international intelligentsia, whom she had direct links with.

In Spain, Delia takes Pablo by the hand and connects him with her personal friends Garcia Lorca and Picasso, and officiates as an intermediary with these artists during the troubled years of the Revolution. She becomes Neruda's best cover letter before the European intellectual elite.


Question: What is most important for Neruda: Delia, his political career, his poetry?

Mercedes Morán: Neruda, aware of his posterity, privileged the building of his career over any other thing. He loved Delia, but not more than himself. His selfish side revealed itself in their relationship, and the extreme comprehension that Delia professed to him in spite of his permanent love affairs ended up dissatisfying him even more. When he decides to put an end to his relationship with Delia, she is devastated. She is impoverished both spiritually and materially, since her entire fortune, which was as large as her love, had been put towards Pablo, his career, and the Party.

Neruda
Release Date: May 25th, 2017
Website: www.neruda.com.au