Matt Dillon (New York, 1964) has spent 46 of his 60 years working. He appeared in 'Rumble Fish' (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983), 'Drugstore Cowboy' (Gus Van Sant, 1989), 'Singles' (Cameron Crowe, 1992), 'Beautiful Girls' (Ted Demme, 1996), 'There's Something About Mary' (Farrelly Brothers, 1998) and in almost all the generational titles of that period. What is left for him to do? For example, a film alongside his friend - and lover, like him, of Latin music - Fernando Trueba. He has taken orders in 'Lost Island', where he shares the screen with Aida Folch and which premieres on August 23. But before the theatrical release, it is being presented this weekend at the Atlántida Film Fest in Mallorca. The film, set on a small island in Greece, tells the love story between a young Spanish woman (Folch) and a fifty-something American (Dillon) in the restaurant he manages.
QUESTIONHow did Matt Dillon end up in a Spanish film shot in Greece?
ANSWER Fernando is a great storyteller in his everyday life. And you can see it in all the films he's done. In this one there's a different tonality: it starts out as what we might think of as a romantic film, but at one point it goes into this area, more classical or Hitchcockian, evocative of old cinema. It's interesting, because if you talk to him he's a kind of film historian and he befriended a lot of Hollywood directors. We became friends quite a few years ago, talking about film and also because we both share a curiosity about Latin music. My character has a background as a jazz musician and with an interesting instrument, the clarinet, which is not what you would expect in modern jazz. In that sense, my reference was Jimmy Giuffre, paradigm of the West Coast jazz bands.
QWas it hard for you to pretend you knew how to play the clarinet?
A It's always interesting when you do something that maybe is outside of what you know.It's similar to what I did in Maria, where I played Marlon Brando when he did The Last Tango in Paris with Maria Scheinder.I had to learn French for it, and it's always very complicated to act in another language.
QNow that you mention it, how do you think your characters dialogue in these two films?
A Max is a creation and my interpretation of Brando is based on real events. In the second case, it deals with the tragic story of Schneider, who goes through this complicated situation with two iconic figures of cinema such as Bernardo Bertolucci and Marlon Brando, who was still at a young age, but already came from a toxic life. Which ends up deriving in an overwhelming trance. I have to say that I experienced Maria's case in a very personal way because when I made my first film, 'Over the edge', I was 14 years old and the director used to call me "Marlon" on the set. He did it sarcastically, because if I had to do something, I wanted it to be real: if I had to break a window, I had to break it for real. At the time I had no idea who he was, except for The Godfather, but as I got older and started studying the Actor's Studio Method, Lee Strasberg and all that, I discovered these wonderful actors who embodied this system, like Montgomery Clift, James Dean and, above all, Brando. So I watched Last Tango in Paris many, many times, while I was still very young, and it became one of my favorite feature films.And I find his performance in that title revolutionary, as well as Schneider's.Which is sad, because the traumatic events that followed ended up overshadowing a spectacular performance.One and the other remained friends over the years, because they both shared this experience of feeling exposed.It says it all because they both shared this experience of being exposed.
QYou say that because of the scene in his monologue, where he talks about his father.
A Yes, and also because of all the sexual stuff. But you have to make it clear that he was in a situation where he could choose to do that or not. In Maria, there's a moment where I say, "Maria, he's in the movie." And it's very easy to pronounce that when you're older or more experienced. It's part of the paradox that I feel: I know what it's like to feel marginalized and sometimes objectified as a young actor. So I understood that and it touched me deeply. I feel very proud to have been a part of something like this.It's a worthwhile film.
Q Going back to 'Lost Island', what attracted you to the story?
A When I read the script, I felt I could see the film. Of course, once it materializes the result is different. But it's interesting, it's always a good sign. Also, I feel that in all the films you've made you've stayed very close to the connection that happens between a man and a woman, the romance has always been there, to a greater or lesser degree. The emotional aspect remains present.
Q How do you feel about Max as a character?
A One of the things Fernando and I agreed on was that, although it was a genre film and there was a certain dramatic tension, my character would not be the typical psychopath. We looked at the protagonists of Theodore Dreiser, author of the novel that was later adapted as A Place in the Sun. Especially in that Montgomery Clift who is not able to leave his past behind. It is something that is often seen in the noir genre, although I do not know if Lost Island could fit into that category. I would rather talk about the tragedy of Max, who I have always seen as a human being who feels remorse about his past, who tries to hide it but ultimately cannot. That's where his darkness lies and where the tension is. He is, at first, an elusive person; he doesn't want to be around anyone. And as he opens up to Aida Folch's character, she begins to uncover his past and the film becomes something different.
Q How important is the setting in which the story takes place?
A It is a very remote space, away from everything. And I think the sense of isolation becomes clear, subtly, as the three seasons in which the story takes place go by.
Q How do you feel about shooting in Europe?
A It's a breath of fresh air, because it's a different experience from what I'm used to. Because recently I've started working more in Europe and everything is more civilized than in the US: here you don't work insane hours, like in the US. On the other hand, with directors like Lars Von Trier and Fernando Trueba the machinery doesn't work so hard.
Q Do you think the socio-political situation in your country, the United States, is particularly delicate or not so delicate, given what is happening on this side of the world?
A The United States is a huge country, but it is relatively young. Some areas, like California, have barely a century of history. That's important to understand what's going on. I am not very aware of what is happening politically in Spain, but all over Europe there is a concern about what is happening in Europe, where certain countries are turning towards very right-wing positions. It is the same thing that is happening in the United States, a very polarized country, but with potentially much more serious consequences for them.