Wagner Moura recently became the first Brazilian in history to be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actor category. What I’ve learned through Wagner’s Oscar campaign thus far is that he’s lived in the US for years, and he’s raising his children here. He has a complicated relationship with Brazil, and he despises Brazil’s ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who targeted Moura and many other artists during his reign. Moura is nominated for The Secret Agent, where he speaks Portuguese throughout the film and they shot everything IN Brazil. What’s also remarkable about Moura’s Oscar campaign is that he’s basically the only nominated actor speaking openly about what’s happening right now in America under Dementia Don’s reign of terror. Previously, Moura pointed out that unlike Brazilians, Americans don’t have a long history of dictatorship and fascism within our borders, so we don’t recognize the danger and crisis of our current moment. Moura went much further in his latest Variety interview, which was conducted one day before Border Patrol agents murdered Alex Pretti on the street in Minneapolis. Some highlights:
Life under fascism: “This is a film that was born from how Kleber and I felt when Brazil was under this sort of fascist government. How we felt about our roles as artists. You guys never had the experience of living under a dictatorship. You don’t know what that is, what that feels like or how bad that is.” He crosses his arms, choosing his next words carefully. “It happens slowly. And if you don’t have a reaction to the little things, that’s when they take over.”
The Secret Agent’s film shoot: “It took about 10 weeks. It’s a big production. For Brazil, this is big — about $4 million to $5 million, which for us is huge. It’s like our “Avatar.”
Americans are taking democracy for granted. “When I was doing “Civil War,” I was constantly thinking about how differently Brazil reacted to our insurrection — in a better way than you guys did, because Brazil was quick to do the right thing and send the message that you can’t mess with democracy. We sent people to jail. Bolsonaro is in jail. In America, it’s as if they’re testing, like a kid — they’re like, “I’m going to do it,” and if there’s no reaction, then what? I feel like the U.S. and its institutions are not responding with appropriate firmness — putting up boundaries, people facing consequences.
The post-fact era: “What concerns me most about mankind nowadays is that there are no facts anymore. Facts don’t matter anymore. We used to fight — left and right — we used to have arguments, but we were fighting over the same thing. Nowadays, it’s not about facts. It’s about versions of the truth. When the president himself creates a universe where Renee Good is to blame — it’s not only morally horrible, but it’s not true. It’s crazy. The information that gets to your feed is completely different to the information that gets to your mother or that MAGA guy. And he’s not necessarily a bad human being, but he is being fed information that makes him think there’s a pizza place where Democrats are [abusing] kids. So how can you talk to someone who doesn’t live in the same reality that you do?
What Americans misunderstand most about Brazil: “The joyful image is accurate: the warmth, the culture, the music, the food — the best f–king food. But Brazil was also the last country to abolish slavery. Inequality is massive. Power is concentrated. Brazil is complex. As [“Girl From Ipanema” composer] Tom Jobim said, Brazil is not for beginners. Bolsonaro didn’t come from nowhere — he reflects the country, just as Trump reflects America.
Where he hopes America will be in a decade: “The killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis felt like one of those “What the f–k?” moments that should wake people up. But at the same time, I saw reactions saying, “A white person got killed, so now we have to do something,” as if it’s somehow acceptable when immigrants are killed. I hope we rebuild the bridges between us. Polarization is democracy’s greatest threat. Many people aren’t bad; they’re misinformed. Technology helps science but destroys civic life. Attention spans are gone. Young people are depressed. Truth feels over. I hope we find a way back.
“I feel like the U.S. and its institutions are not responding with appropriate firmness…” That’s been true for the past decade. Compromises on top of compromises, forcing a moral ambiguity which never existed. A refusal to call things out, loudly. An aversion to punishment when dumb, evil white folks are the ones committing crimes. It’s like every person in charge just decided in 2016 that “a little fascism won’t hurt, it will be fun.” And the dominoes kept falling. Journalists and media outlets believed “a little ethical compromise won’t hurt, it will be good for ratings.” And we kept falling further and further. Every single day, I’m filled with such violent contempt for the millions of Americans who got us into this catastrophe.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
