Martin McDonagh recalls the U.S. government being smart enough to hide its international crimes
At the Venice Film Festival, the Banshees Of Inisherin director reminds everyone that the CIA has done "awful things."
The Venice Film Festival has a history of becoming a platform for political discourse, and this year's event is no exception. Early in the festival, director Martin McDonagh took to the press to remind everyone of the CIA's illicit activities. McDonagh, whose previous film was 2022's The Banshees of Inisherin, is currently working on Wild Horse Nine, a movie that delves into the CIA-backed coup in Chile during the 1970s.
McDonagh expressed his fascination with uncovering the truth behind the CIA's actions over the past six decades and criticized the agency's activities around the globe. He noted that while the KGB's actions are well-known, the CIA's operations often go unchallenged. Recently, McDonagh and his co-stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell were questioned about the Trump administration's involvement in the illegal capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
While the actors were evasive, McDonagh opined that the US government's approach has become increasingly overt, which he found alarming. He remarked, "I think, for me, one of the frightening things is that they don’t seem to be making it covert any more, which is very strange," and added a touch of sarcasm: "Like in the 70s, at least these awful people had the intelligence to keep their acts secret, but it just feels like things are getting stupider and stupider and stupider."
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