Santoro tells 247: "We are living in an internet age"

Luísa Medeiros_Brasília 247* – At first glance, it's logical that the beauty of actor Rodrigo Santoro draws attention. But, upon observing a little more closely the winner of the Candango Award for Best Actor at the 44th Brasília Film Festival, for his portrayal of Marcos, the protagonist of the feature film Meu País, by André Ristum, it's possible to understand why the guy has been so successful in life.

He doesn't hold back on gestures and expressions when he talks about his career, his personal life, or simply what he's feeling at that exact moment. He's transparent, lets his Rio de Janeiro accent flow, and seems driven by passion. What passion? I don't know, for everything around him. For the simple fact of seizing opportunities and achieving what he's always wanted.

His restless hands reveal his Italian-Brazilian heritage, and even before he finishes the sentence, they are pointing to where the actor wants to go. That's why playing the introspective Marcos was so challenging. "It was an exercise in concentration, look at me, I'm like this," he says, moving his hands even more. He agreed to take the role even with a planned vacation. He stopped looking for a new surfing destination and embraced a character whose personality is completely different from his own. Upon receiving the statuette at Cine Brasília, Santoro dedicated the award to his father, who was born in Italy. In the film, Santoro's character spends a good part of his life in that country.

At 36, Rodrigo Santoro has collected numerous awards and become a Brazilian icon on the international film circuit. A far cry from the Rodrigo of 11 years ago, who began his film career in Brasília, receiving the Candango Award for Best Actor for his role in *Bicho de Sete Cabeças*, directed by Laís Bodanzky. His affection and fondness for the capital were expressed without restraint at the film's presentation and in this interview – the meeting took place at the Kubitschek Plaza on Sunday afternoon. "One never forgets where one began."

What motivated you to accept the invitation to star in My Country?

Some things, but basically the story. I read the script and wasn't planning on making any films. I wanted to take a vacation. I had just finished filming and was exhausted. I was looking for locations for surfing and, suddenly, Fabiano [Gullane, producer] appeared with the story, asking for at least some feedback on the script. I read it and had the script in my head for a week. To summarize, what interested me most was the possibility of talking about affection. Especially now, in this "internet" moment we are living in. We are increasingly distancing ourselves from human contact, the one-on-one, and I thought the character is forced to relate. I found that very interesting and timely. The character seemed very interesting to me because he was one way on the inside and another on the outside. There was a contradiction between his personality and everything that was happening inside, a tremendous difficulty in expressing what he felt. And this difficulty with affection, this blockage. The guy has a completely different behavior from mine, almost the opposite. And the Italian issue. I have Italian ancestry, and it was a challenge to speak almost 40% of the film in Italian.

But did you already speak Italian?

No. My father is Italian, but I didn't grow up speaking Italian; my father didn't even speak it at home, he came here when he was very little. My grandparents argued in Italian. That was the only reference I had. I saw a very interesting opportunity to stop everything and start studying the language, to see if I could at least speak the lines for the film. I can communicate nowadays, but I worked on the film's lines. I had André [Ristum], who speaks fluent Italian, and Anita [Caprioli, the actress he co-stars with], who is Italian. She arrived a week before filming and I just practiced. I was well surrounded, but it was two intensive weeks of Italian.

You said that Marcos has nothing to do with you, but you spend a lot of time out of the country, just like him...

That's the only similarity. I think everyone has their own way of dealing with it, because I have nothing in common with Marcos, but I understand the relationship between affection and distance. And I think he understands it in his own way. He's a guy who's been away for a long time by choice; I don't necessarily stay away for that reason. My choice is to do the work. The consequence is being away, it's not that I choose it. When a job is finished, I come back. I miss being here; I have a lot of things here that not only interest me but are part of my life.

It seems Marcos no longer identifies with Brazil. Does that happen to you?

He became a foreigner. That's why "My Country" isn't the geographical country, it's something else. "My Country" is a metaphor. The country within. Who are you? Where do you live? What territory do you inhabit? It's what's inside. Wherever I go, I take my country, my culture with me; I miss eating farofa. I speak Portuguese, I miss my family, my friends. This is very clear and within me.

Marcos subtly reveals himself throughout the film. Is he a different man by the end?

Marcos is a well-intentioned guy, not evil, but he has issues with affection. And he's resistant to it. That's one of the most interesting things about the script. The famous "life that teaches you," that puts you in the situation and says: figure it out. He had no choice but to come to Brazil. And when he arrives, what could he do? And then his sister appears, whom he didn't know. He could have left and turned his back on her. But he can't. It's not because she has a mental problem. It's because she's helpless, she has no one else to take care of her. It's very inhumane to simply turn your back. The other brother isn't even able to take care of himself. How will he take care of the girl? Marcos has no choice, and throughout the journey, he transforms. It's not that he finishes the film a different man, but he opened himself up to it. It was a shock treatment.

With all these differences, was building the character a difficult process?

Yes, I wanted to work with detail, with subtlety. Because he's a very introspective character, who controls himself in every way, I had to restrain myself. Look at this (shows how he moves his hands when he speaks). He's not like that. It was an exercise in concentration for me. I was really interested in exploring the small, minute things. Filigree details that sometimes aren't even so clear to the viewer, but are there, in the character's inner life.

Speaking of affection, you highlighted your relationship with Brasília shortly before the screening of Meu País. You spoke of the pleasure of being at the festival, the nervousness you felt...

I told the pure truth. I don't need to curry favor with anyone. I got nervous as soon as I arrived at the cinema. Let's just say: I felt like I was in therapy. It felt like I was going back to 2000. I felt like I was going back to the past. I had a flashback. I felt an emotion, I didn't feel like crying, but I felt a mixed emotion.

What does the Brasília Film Festival represent to you?

It's a milestone for me, it's where I started. And you never forget where you started. Before *Bicho de Sete Cabeças*, I made a short film [*Depois do Escuro*] filmed in Brasília. It was the first time I was photographed on film. With the dear and illustrious Dirceu Lustosa, omnipresent in Brasília's film scene, who is still my friend today. He invited me while I was making *Comédia da Vida Privada* for Globo. I was on location in Angra dos Reis (RJ) when he called me and invited me, out of the blue, to make a short film. Imagine, I was crazy about making films at that time. We participated in the festival and, subsequently, came *Bicho de Sete Cabeças*. These two stories happened here. There's no demagoguery, I'm not saying this to please Brasília. It was sincere.

Cine Brasília has structural problems: it lacks restrooms and parking. There has been a promise to renovate the space and build an annex for some time now. Outside of the festival period, the cinema is rarely used. Can visitors from outside the city see these problems?

I myself had to use a bathroom outside the cinema... I heard that improvements will be made to the surrounding area, and I have no doubt that an improvement in infrastructure is welcome. But, inside the cinema, the screen and projection are top-notch. It's second to none. But given the importance of the festival, it's clear that investment is good to accommodate the large number of people who come. It's also important to make the cinema more active, to attract audiences and make it a place that brings people together outside of the festival season. Because then it becomes part of the Brasília circuit.

You and Selton Mello are actors who make a lot of films. Why? Is it more enjoyable to make films than soap operas or theater? Or is it impossible to compare one art form to another?

These things are difficult to compare, especially soap operas, where the work lasts a year, it's more diluted, but at the same time, it's a great exercise for the actor. If you take it seriously, you do 20 scenes a day. In film, you do one, two, three. The filmmaking process is artisanal, another way of working. It's a different routine, very different. I love making films, I'm absolutely delighted and stimulated to make films.

Is that what takes up the most space in your life today?

I haven't stopped doing television. I just finished two things: a special for Jorge Furtado called "Homens de Bem" (Good Men), which will premiere at the end of December. It's the first TV movie that Globo will produce. And I did an episode of "As Brasileiras" (The Brazilian Women), a new series by Daniel Filho, a sequel to "As Cariocas" (The Women of Rio). These are shorter projects, where I can do this and also take advantage of other opportunities that are important for my growth at this moment. I have no prejudice against television, nor could I, but I find it difficult to compare one thing with the other.

So what's it like to live and work abroad?

It's tiring, but it's been great. I want to explore more, I'm still curious, with an appetite for this adventure. And it has added so much to me. When I talk about it, I'm not just talking about my career, I'm talking in general. It's my life. While I'm filming, I'm living. It's how I'm spending my life, how I'm spending my days, where I'm spending them, who I'm spending them with. I think about that a lot. I'm not 26 anymore, the age I was when I came to Brasília to make the short film. Now I'm 36. Ten years have passed that will never come back. And how have I spent those ten years? Thank God, very well, thank you. And I intend to continue spending them very well.

So, what's the next international destination?

The job isn't even finalized yet, but it's likely to be in the coming weeks, in the central United States, a place I've never been. I confess I've never been very curious to visit; I prefer the two coasts, California and New York, but we'll see what it has to say.

* Lúcio Flávio contributed to this report.