Premiere in Ecuador: Film ‘Agents 355 ′ brings together a large cast of actresses

When a top-secret weapon falls into the hands of mercenaries, CIA agent Mason ‘Mace’ Brown must join forces with German agent Marie, MI6 ally and avant-garde computer specialist, and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela on a lethal mission. and dizzying to get it back, all the while staying one step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng, who is following his every move. As the action spreads across the globe from the cafes of Paris to the markets of Morocco to the wealth and glamor of Shanghai, the quartet of women will forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the world or get them murdered. It is the plot of Agents 355, a film that opens this Thursday, January 6 in theaters in Ecuador.

Actresses Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Bingbing Fan and Diane Kruger appear in the leading role along with Sebastián Stan and Édgar Ramírez, among others.

Agents 355 is directed by Simon Kinberg (writer, director and producer of Dark Phoenix, producer of Deadpool Y The Martian and writer and producer of the films of X-Men), from a script by Theresa Rebeck and Kinberg, and is produced by Chastain, Kelly Carmichael and Richard Hewitt (Bohemian Rhapsody).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMKC3bkYans

Jessica Chastain came up with the idea for a female-directed spy movie while working with Simon Kinberg on Dark Phoenix of 2019 and It has been conceived as a franchise. “I feel like the movie industry has really got it wrong about spies. (…) They have been portrayed as ‘traps’ and that is not the reality of the situation. I have always openly expressed the treatment that women in the film industry have received in the past, and continue to receive. For me, it was important to make a film in which the actresses were not just hired, but owned their work, and that the decisions were not made by the people in an office in Los Angeles but were made by the creatives in the office. set, ”he said.

In preparation for the filming of Agents 355, Chastain went back to her years of dance training to master the grace and dexterity of ‘Mace’. “As a young man, I was a dancer, so I love dance. When I started working on films, I realized that the physical choreography that is required is, in some respects, like a dance because it has a rhythm and a count. If you are not where you have to be, you can hurt your partner, “he added.

The meaning of 355

The identity of the enigmatic spy known only by codename 355 has been described as the latest mystery of the American War of Independence This real-life woman played a pivotal role in the spy ring The Culper Ring George Washington’s (The Culper Ring), helping convey essential information about British troop movements to American generals. The code number was part of an elaborate system developed to keep the names and locations of all agents secret, and it worked well.

The film focuses on a global coalition of undercover agents. “The title is really important because there are so many women who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and who have never been recognized in any field,” said Chastain. “Even in history books it is very rare to find stories of women and what they have accomplished. The fact that the film is titled Agents 355 It is a tribute to those women who have not been recognized. It is about magnifying their power, their strength, their achievements, and saying ‘thank you’ ”.

Characters

Mason ‘Mace’ Brown (Jessica Chastain): Short-tempered, impulsive, and prone to violence, Mace is a veteran military man and a seasoned CIA agent who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals and complete every mission. In addition, she is very intelligent, has a great sense of humor and is very fast. “Sometimes, due to his temperament, he gets into situations that he shouldn’t get into. She reacts before she thinks and she’s sarcastic, something I never get to be in the movies, ”Chastain commented.

Dra. Graciela Rivera (Penélope Cruz): Of great intelligence and true empathy, he does not go out in search of high-risk adventures; he has no predilection for danger or for putting himself in danger. Your instinct for support helps resolve any differences that arise within the group. “Graciela is compassionate and warm, and she knows how to read people,” explained Chastain. “She is capable of uniting this group of women to create a family.”

“I loved exploring the idea that a normal person had to live and behave like this group of agents,” Cruz confessed. “He brings some humor to the film, something that I consider important in this type of film genre. At the same time, the film has a serious side because it addresses the way all these agencies work, ”Cruz said.

Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan): It is a real enigma. Very cleverly, he is following all the movements of the group, although this at first does not realize it, but his motives are obscure. It is impossible to determine if she is an ally or a dangerous enemy. “Women don’t know what to do with Mi Sheng and they don’t know whether to trust her,” shared Chastain.

The role fell to Chinese superstar Bingbing Fan, who had had a small role as the mutant Blink in the comic book blockbuster. X-Men: Days of Future Past, produced and scripted by the director of Agents 355, Simon Kinberg. “In most secret agent movies, women tend to be buddies or rather accessories to men, like Bond girls, for example, and they don’t have much of their own personality,” said Bingbing Fan. “Agents 355 it’s different because it focuses on a group of female undercover agents, including Mi Sheng; all independent. The character Mi Sheng is very unique and it was what really attracted me to the film.

Marie (Diane Kruger): As intrepid as Mace and even more deadly, Marie has long worked for the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the German answer to the CIA. A true lone wolf in every way, he doesn’t trust anyone. “Marie was betrayed by her father, a secret agent, at an early age. Throughout the film, Marie learns to trust these strangers from different countries and competing agencies and becomes an integral part of the team. She is impulsive, sometimes reckless and certainly very violent, but she is also hurt, which is what all the characters share: the feeling of being, like all human beings, a little broken. So they come together and find this family of like-minded people, ”shared Kinberg.

As one of the youngest recruits in BND history, she respects her former boss, Muller, but on any mission she prefers to work alone, preferably with an arsenal at her disposal. “Marie is a very methodical and efficient person,” said the German Kruger, known for her performances in films such as the revisionist epic of World War II, Inglourious Basterdsby Quentin Tarantino and the poignant German-language drama In the Fade. “There is nothing more in his life than work.”

“I thought physically it would be a big challenge for me, especially after having a baby, and I have never made a character so agile and so cool and so good at what he does,” Kruger commented. “I love the spy genre, and the female cast here is wonderful, it takes up the classic spy movies in the style of Mission Impossible, those funny movies in which usually only men appear ”.

Like Chastain, Kruger spent a lot of time learning fight scene choreography before filming began, and she also underwent weapons training, an experience the actress likened to boot camp. “There is a sense of empowerment to being physically active on a set,” Kruger said. “You feel like you can fight any man who comes your way.”

Khadijah Adoyo (Lupita Nyong’o): A hacker Highly talented and a thoroughly brilliant mind, she has worked as an MI6 agent, so she knows the world of espionage well, but has left fieldwork behind to become a tech entrepreneur.

When Mace explains to Khadijah the power of the missing key information and its potential to cause widespread devastation, the retired spy realizes that she must join forces with her old friend to save the world. So she says goodbye to her husband Abdul and returns to the battlefield.

“The digital weapon Mace presents to him is exactly what Khadijah has been trying to avoid,” Nyong’o explained. “The best thing for her, given her abilities, is to get involved to get him off the streets.”

See Agents 355 in theaters in Ecuador since its premiere this Thursday, January 6. (AND)