Applause at the Lido for Martin McDonagh’s black comedy. John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell lead a funny and ruthless geopolitical satire on the CIA’s interference in Chile in 1973 (and beyond). Between sharp comedy and prophecies about the present
Martin McDonagh he likes Venice a lot and he likes Venice a lot. It is no coincidence that one of the protagonists of his Wild Horse Nine he would like to end his days right in the lagoon city, on a gondola. Warm applause at the first press screening at the Lido for his film in competition. The British director with an Irish heart never misses a beat and delivers even today hilarious razors and piercing cynicism. At times he loses the measure of the oratorical exuberance in the mouth of John Malkovich, but his is a geopolitical satire that has courage and wittily nails the behind the scenes of American history. In his own way.
Film competing for the Golden Lion at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, Wild Horse Nine takes us to Chile in 1973, still led by Salvador Allende, the first openly Marxist politician elected president in a country in the Americas. “Enjoy it while you can,” says one John Malkovich CIA agent in the mood for great truths to two idealistic students. “Your country will be screwed.” The coup d’état and Pinochet’s dictatorship are upon us.
McDonagh, who as usual writes and directs, creates a black comedy that is also a buddy movie and a finger pointed at the bloody interference of American intelligence in international affairs (and beyond). Recruit two great talents ready to throw themselves over the top, Sam Rockwellwith whom he has already worked in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouriand John Malkovich. They play two CIA agents, Lee and Chris respectively, who arrive in Chile shortly before the coup and move from Santiago to Easter Island. Chris is coming to terms with his past and prone to big confessions, with impudent nonchalance. Lee is a colleague and above all an unexpected friend who, between one hamburger and another, tries to tame his partner’s verbal eloquence.
Coup d’état in Guatemala, crisis in Congo, failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs: this is the “honorable” curriculum of the CIA and the older Chris. AND the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy? The mystery surrounding the fateful rifle winds throughout the film.
«The story started as a simple comedy that turned into something deeper and darker. By writing I understood that I could concentrate on the experience of the sense of guilt of the two protagonists”, said McDonagh, winner of the Golden Globe for the screenplay of The spirits of the island and for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouriwhich was also the Osella Prize in Venice. «I have always been very interested in the truth of what CIA agents did in the last 15-20 years and the terrible things they did all over the world. Wild Horse Nine talk about this, Guatemala, Congo, the Bay of Pigs… I think it’s something that hasn’t been talked about enough. We know a lot about the KGB, but we never question the CIA’s activity».
The bond of friendship, teasing and doubt between the two CIA agents is reminiscent of that between the two hitmen of In Bruges – The conscience of the murdererMcDonagh’s directorial debut. The greenery as far as the eye can see that smells of Ireland and of The spirits of the island finds it in the ancestral charm ofEaster Island. «We had a wonderful time on this island, even on a spiritual level. We felt supported by the place”, says the director.
For Malkovich there are already those talking about Oscar. He glides. «I have had a very long career, wonderful colleagues, collaborations with directors and actors: in reality I don’t feel in competition with anyone precisely because I love what I do. And the best thing is that Wild Horse Nine receive attention. It has a wonderful cast and was written and directed in an extraordinary way.” About his future? «In life I have always done what I like. And I will continue to do so. I don’t want to quit or retire».
Wild Horse Nine it was created with only Chile in 1973 in mind, yet it knows so much about the United States today, with the military operation in Venezuela still in its sights. «In fact, looking at it now it seems like a sort of reflection on contemporary geopolitical situation» comments McDonagh. “The thing that scares me most is that today they don’t even try to hide anymore, which is very strange.”
Wild Horse Nine will be in Italian cinemas from November 5th.
