Mexican actress Salma Hayek said she hopes her new film, Without Blood, a war drama directed by Angelina Jolie, will prompt audiences to reflect on the loss of diplomacy at a time marked by wars around the world.
Speaking during a virtual interview with EFE, Hayek said she hoped the film would motivate people to think about diplomacy, which she said is being lost, and to try to genuinely resolve conflicts rather than simply publicize who is right.
Hayek said what mattered most was reaching agreements, and that conflict is not confined to nations at war. She said war can also happen with a neighbor, with oneself, at home or within a family, and that it is about overcoming trauma and finding what Americans call "closure." She added that things are not always black or white.
US premiere
In Without Blood, Hayek plays Nina, a woman whose life is shaped by the cold-blooded murder of her family when she was a child, during a war in her home country, whose name is never revealed in the film.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Italian author Alessandro Baricco, with a screenplay written by Jolie. Its main cast also includes Demián Bichir as Tito, Alfredo Herrera as Manuel Roca, and Juan Minujín as Salinas.
The film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada in 2024 but had not been released in the United States until now. It opens in select US theaters this Friday.
Reflections on the role
Jolie was set on casting Hayek as Nina from the start, but the Mexican actress, who previously appeared alongside Jolie in Eternals (2021), hesitated before accepting the part.
Hayek recalled that she did not initially want to take the role because it frightened her, but that Jolie insisted, and said it is very hard to refuse Jolie once she sets her mind on something. She said she is very grateful, because the film has become very important to her.
Hayek described Nina as a very complex character who suffers a great deal, saying the challenge was finding different colors and shades to portray that suffering.
She said working under Jolie's direction made the process easier, since Jolie knows her well and she feels able to tell her anything that comes to mind. She called Jolie a wonderful director who, being an actress herself, understands the process, and said Jolie was very generous with both her and Bichir.
She said the cast intended to represent all the women who have suffered injustice, adding that she and her co-stars held hands during each scene. She said that connection helped her sink deeper into the character, because although Nina is fictional, she reflects the reality of many real women.
Changes in the film industry
Beyond her work as an actress and producer, Hayek has repeatedly spoken out on social causes, particularly those affecting women.
Hayek, who is from Veracruz, Mexico, has said her early career was difficult, at a time when she barely spoke English and her Latino accent was stigmatized in Hollywood.
She said it was hard, but that she made it, and said she is proud and enjoying every moment now.
Looking back, Hayek said the film industry has changed in many ways, with far more programming now and growing diversity. She said things may in some ways remain similar, only with more work available because there is more product overall, but said the industry is definitely better than when she arrived.
What's next for Hayek
After nearly 40 years in her career and an Oscar nomination for Frida (2002), Hayek plans to make her directorial debut with Arena, a film starring Yura Borisov, known for Anora, and actress and model Cara Delevingne, according to a report by Variety magazine this Monday.
