The Interpreter

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For other uses, see Interpreter (disambiguation).
For the 2018 Slovak film, see The Interpreter (2018 film).
The Interpreter
Interpreterthe.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySydney Pollack
Screenplay by
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDarius Khondji
Edited byWilliam Steinkamp
Music byJames Newton Howard
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 4 April 2005 (2005-04-04) (Sydney)
  • 15 April 2005 (2005-04-15) (United Kingdom)
  • 22 April 2005 (2005-04-22) (United States)
Running time
128 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million
Box office$162.9 million

The Interpreter is a 2005 political thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, and Jesper Christensen. It is notable for being the first movie filmed inside the United Nations Headquarters, as well as the final feature film directed by Pollack before his death in 2008.

An international co-production between the United States, United Kingdom, and France, the film was released in all three countries April 2005. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $162 million against its $80 million budget.

Plot[]

In the African Republic of Matobo, rebel leader and politician Ajene Xola drives two men, Simon and Philippe, a photojournalist, to an abandoned sports stadium. They briefly discuss reports that the Motoban President Edmond Zuwanie and his forces have ruthlessly exterminated most of the population in the area, and intimidated the survivors into silence. They aim to document the evidence. Upon their arrival at the stadium, they discover that the informants are schoolboys, who point Ajene and Simon in the direction of corpses left by Zuwanie's security apparatus, while Philippe stays in the car.

Shouting lures Ajene and Simon back to the field, where they are promptly executed by the boys, who are revealed to be willing accomplices of Zuwanie's secret police. Upon hearing the gunshots, Philippe clambers out of the car and hides, taking pictures of a car arriving carrying Matoban officials, and then escapes the vicinity.

Meanwhile, Simon's sister Silvia Broome is working as an interpreter for the United Nations in New York City. A white African born in the United States to a British mother and white African father, she spent most of her life in her father's homeland of Matobo, studied music in Johannesburg, linguistics at Sorbonne University, Paris, and various other European countries, and is a dual citizen of both Matobo and the United States (with the possibility of deriving British citizenship through her mother). Her diverse background leads to the U.N.'s Security Chief wryly describing her as "being the UN."

The U.N. is considering indicting Zuwanie, to stand trial in the International Criminal Court over alleged human rights abuses. Initially hailed as a liberator, over the past 20 years he has become as corrupt and tyrannical as the government he overthrew, and is now responsible for ethnic cleansing and other atrocities within Matobo. Zuwanie is soon to visit the U.N. and put forward his own case to the General Assembly, in an attempt to avoid the indictment.

A security scare caused by a malfunctioning metal detector forces the evacuation of the U.N. building, and, as Silvia returns at night to reclaim some personal belongings, she overhears two men discussing an assassination plot in Ku (the Matoban lingua franca). Silvia runs from the building when those discussing the plot become aware of her presence. The next day, Silvia recognizes words in a meeting where she is interpreting, from phrases she overheard the night before. She reports the incident to U.N. security; the plot's target appears to be Zuwanie himself.

They in turn call in the U.S. Secret Service, which assigns Dignitary Protection Division agents Tobin Keller and Dot Woods to investigate Sylvia's claim, as well as to protect Zuwanie when he arrives. They meet with Zuwanie's personal head of security, former Dutch mercenary Nils Lud, who has been assigned to ensure Zuwanie's visit goes smoothly. Keller's estranged wife was killed in a car accident just weeks earlier and he is struggling with grief, but he takes on the case anyway. Keller learns that the two main political opposition figures to Zuwaine is Xola, who is branded a terrorist by the Matoban government, and Kuman-Kuman, a former Matoban government minister who fell out with Zuwanie and now lives in exile in New York City.

Lud sends Keller information on Silvia which reveal that in the past, she was involved in a Matoban guerrilla group, that her parents and sister were killed by landmines laid by Zuwanie's men, and that she dated one of Zuwanie's political opponents. Keller is suspicious of Silvia's backstory and questions whether her political background would make her support Zuwanie's death. However, the two grow close as Keller keeps watch over her apartment, in part because of their shared grief, and Keller ends up protecting her from attacks on her person. Keller reveals to Sylvia that his wife died after the man she was having an affair with crashed their car. Sylvia tells Keller that the Ku tribe believe the best way to end grief is to save a life, and that anger only perpetuates pain. Keller is initially skeptical of this.

Philippe arrives in New York and calls Silvia to meet. She goes to meet him with Keller's men clandestinely following. Phillipe informs her of Xola's death, but, unable to bear her grief, lies and says he doesn't know what happened to Simon. Silvia attempts to obtain information by way of Kuman-Kuman about what happened to her brother by boarding a bus that Kuman-Kuman takes to work. Kuman-Kuman reveals that he doesn't not know of Simon's whereabouts and reveals that he wants to form a coalition with Xola to help oust Zuwanie from power. Silvia accepts Kuman-Kuman's story and leaves, only to almost be caught in the blast from a bomb which kills Kuman-Kuman and was planted by Gabonese national Jean Gamba, Nils Lud's right-hand man whom Philippe had photographed outside of the soccer stadium where Xola and Simon were killed.

Keller angrily confronts Silvia after the explosion and demands to know the truth to her background, showing Silvia a photograph of her with the guerilla group. Silvia explains that she and Simon joined the group after her parents' death, partly out of revenge but also to get the world to listen. Silvia reveals that she left the group after being forced to shoot someone in self-defense, and decided that using diplomatic means through the U.N. was the best way to bring about change for Matobo. However, her decision estranged her from Simon and she wants to learn of his whereabouts without putting him in danger.

Philippe is later found dead in his hotel room, and Silvia finds out that her brother was killed along with Ajene Xola. She narrowly avoids an assassination attempt by Gamba (whom Keller kills) and leaves a voicemail on Keller's phone saying she's going back home. Keller takes this to mean she's returning to Matobo, and dispatches an agent to intercept her at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Meanwhile, Zuwanie arrives at the United Nations to deliver his address. The purported assassin is discovered and shot to death by Lud while Zuwanie is in the middle of his address to the General Assembly, and security personnel rush Zuwanie to a safe room for his protection. Silvia, anticipating this, has been hiding in the safe room, and confronts Zuwanie and intends to kill him herself to avenge Simon, Xola and Philippe. Keller determines that the assassination plot is a false flag operation created by Zuwanie to gain credibility and back up his claims that his rivals are terrorists. Keller realizes that Silvia returning home means going to U.N. and rushes to the safe room, just in time to prevent her from murdering Zuwanie. Silvia tearfully forces Zuwanie to read a page from his autobiography at gunpoint and chastises him for offering Matobo hope, only to become a tyrant.

Keller convinces Silvia to put the gun down, reminding her of the story she told him earlier that vengeance doesn't always cure grief and that the International Criminal Court will stand Zuwanie on trial now that the assassination attempt has been revealed as a set-up. Sylvia hesitates before complying.

Zuwanie is successfully indicted by the court, and Silvia reconciles with Keller before returning home for Matobo.

Cast[]

  • Nicole Kidman as Silvia Broome, United Nations Interpreter
  • Sean Penn as Secret Service Agent Tobin Keller, Assigned to Dignitary Protection Division
  • Catherine Keener as Secret Service Agent Dot Woods, Tobin's Partner
  • Jesper Christensen as Nils Lud, Head of Security At The Matoban Permanent Representative to The United Nations
  • Yvan Attal as Philippe Broullet, Photographer For A French Magazine and A Broome Family Friend
  • Earl Cameron as Edmond Zuwanie, President of the Republic of Matobo
  • Curtiss Cook as Ajene Xola, Leader of The African Freedom Party
  • George Harris as Kuman-Kuman, Exiled Matoban Minister Living In Brooklyn
  • Michael Wright as Marcus, Dignitary to The Matoban Ambassador
  • Tsai Chin as Luan, United Nations Interpreter
  • Clyde Kusatsu as United Nations Security Chief Lee Wu
  • Eric Keenleyside as United Nations Security Deputy Chief Rory Robb
  • Hugo Speer as Simon Broome, Silvia's Brother
  • Maz Jobrani as Secret Service Agent Mo
  • Yusuf Gatewood as Secret Service Agent Doug
  • Robert Clohessy as Secret Service Agent King
  • Terry Serpico as Secret Service Agent Lewis
  • David Zayas as Secret Service Agent Charlie Russell
  • Sydney Pollack as Secret Service Director Jay Pettigrew
  • Adrian Martinez as Roland, United Nations Interpreter
  • Byron Utley as Jean Gamba, Nils Lud's Right-Hand Man

Production[]

The Interpreter was shot almost entirely in New York City. The opening sequence was shot in Mozambique with a support crew made up largely of South African nationals. The name Matobo is that of a national park, Matobo National Park (Matopos) in Matabeleland Zimbabwe.

Filming in U.N. buildings[]

Parts of The Interpreter were filmed inside the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council chambers. It was the first film to shoot at the location after the UN gave formal permission to the movie's producers in March 2004.[1]

The producers earlier approached the UN about filming there before, but their initial request was turned down. The production would have relocated to Toronto with a constructed set; however, this would have substantially increased costs, and so Sydney Pollack approached then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan directly, and personally negotiated permission to film inside the United Nations. Annan commented on The Interpreter that "the intention was really to do something dignified, something that is honest and reflects the work that this Organization does. And it is with that spirit that the producers and the directors approached their work, and I hope you will all agree they have done that."

The first scenes at UN Headquarters were shot in early March 2004. Filming took place on weekends, public holidays or nights so as not to disturb the regular work of the UN, and the set was closed to tourists and UN staff.[1]

Ambassadors at the U.N. had hoped to appear in the film, but actors were asked to play the roles of diplomats. Spain's U.N. Ambassador Inocencio Arias jokingly complained that his "opportunity to have a nomination for the Oscar next year went away because of some stupid regulation."[2]

Matobo and Ku[]

The country "Republic of Matobo" and its corresponding constructed language "Ku" were created for this film. The director of the Centre for African Language Learning in Covent Garden, London, England, Said el-Gheithy, was commissioned in January 2004 to create Ku. It is based on Bantu languages spoken in Eastern and Southern Africa, and is a cross between Swahili and Shona, with some unique elements.

In Ku, the film's tagline "The truth requires no translation" is "Angota ho ne njumata".

Matobo and Zimbabwe[]

The fictional African state of Matobo shares its name with the Matobo National Park in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Parallels have been drawn between the movie and the real country of Zimbabwe, and between the character of Zuwanie and former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.[3][4][5]

  • Both Mugabe and Zuwanie were once respected freedom-fighters who later became synonymous with corruption and violence.
  • In real life, Robert Mugabe had ruled Zimbabwe for 25 years when the movie was released. The movie's Zuwanie had been in power for 23 years.
  • At the time of the film's release, Australia and New Zealand were pushing for Mugabe to be indicted by the UN Security Council for trial before the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity; Zuwanie is indicted by the UN Security Council for trial before the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.
  • Both Mugabe and Zuwanie were teachers before being involved with politics.
  • Mugabe tended to wave his fist; Zuwanie his gun.
  • Mugabe's government hired Ari Ben-Menashe, a security consultant and lawyer who claimed to be an ex-Israeli secret service agent, as an advisor and used him to allegedly help frame opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai for treason and for plotting an assassination against Mugabe. Zuwanie is portrayed as arranging for a Dutch former mercenary to arrange an assassination attempt on him to justify using violence against opposition groups.
  • Mugabe had a preoccupation with the British and accuses Tony Blair of trying to unseat him. Zuwanie thinks the French are doing the same.
  • After coming to power, Mugabe was known to have carried out the Gukurahundi, a series of massacres and pogroms against political rivals and civilians from other tribes. Zuwanie also uses his security forces to ethnically cleanse civilians and murder political opponents prompting the U.N. to investigate his government.
  • The flag of Matobo bears a strong resemblance to the flag of Zimbabwe.
  • The film has a scene where there is a demonstration against Zuwanie at the UN; one of the anti-Zuwanie demonstrators is a holding a poster with the open-handed symbol which resembles the logo of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe: the Movement for Democratic Change.

Reception[]

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 195 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A polished and intelligent thriller, though marred by plot implausibilities."[6] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[8]

Controversy in Zimbabwe[]

Upon The Interpreter's release in Zimbabwe, that country's Minister of Information and Publicity, Chen Chimutengwende, accused the film of promoting anti-government propaganda.[9] Chimutengwende claimed that Matobo and the fictional Edmond Zuwanie were thinly veiled caricatures of Zimbabwe and then-President Robert Mugabe, and insisted it was part of an international smear campaign being launched against the Mugabe regime by the United States.[9] Tafataona Mahoso, chairman of the Zimbabwean state's Media and Information Commission, also attacked The Interpreter, claiming it was "typical of US Cold War propaganda".[9] Nevertheless, the Zimbabwe Media Censorship Board found nothing objectionable in the film and approved it for theatrical and video release.[9]

Box office[]

The Interpreter grossed $72.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $90.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross to $162.9 million, against a production budget of $80 million.[10]

The film debuted to $22.8 million, finishing first at the box office. It dropped 39% to $13.8 million in its sophomore weekend, finishing second.

Awards[]

In 2005, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded Catherine Keener as Best Supporting Actress for her performances in several films, including The Interpreter.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Filming begins on first movie shot at UN Headquarters in New York". UN News. UN News. United Nations News Service. 2004-03-09. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Diplomats' movie hopes dashed". 30 April 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ Sragow, Michael (22 April 2005). "The Language of Suspense". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  4. ^ Xan Brooks, "'I've not retired!' Earl Cameron, Britain's first black film star, on Bond, racism – and turning 100", The Guardian, 8 August 2017.
  5. ^ "The Interpreter (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. ^ "The Interpreter (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Interpreter".
  8. ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Interpreter" in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Zimbabwe claims CIA behind Nicole Kidman 'Interpreter' movie". Jamaican Observer. Kingston, Jamaica. 4 September 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  10. ^ "The Interpreter (2005)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 7, 2021.

External links[]

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