Wild Horse Nine

A film by Martin McDonagh. Starts November 11th at the fsk. In English with German subtitles.

[Credits] [Tickets & Termine] [Trailer]

CIA agents Lee (Sam Rockwell) and Chris (John Malkovich) are sta­tio­ned in Santiago de Chile. In the sum­mer of 1973, they are working to desta­bi­li­se the Allende govern­ment, but Chris is incre­asing­ly beco­ming a secu­ri­ty risk. He is ter­mi­nal­ly ill, for­gets a gre­at deal and likes to talk about what the CIA gets up to. Lee and Chris tra­vel to Easter Island becau­se Chris has always wan­ted to see the giant heads, but that’s not the only reason. It is a remo­te place that is vir­tual­ly ide­al for say­ing good­bye to life.

In *In Bruges*, the older hit­man was sup­po­sed to kill the youn­ger one; here it’s the other way round, and the reasons are dif­fe­rent, but at its core, it’s the same sto­ry that McDonagh is tel­ling here. One might view this nega­tively; at first glan­ce, it’s also a litt­le bit dis­ap­poin­ting, becau­se McDonagh, as a play­w­right and screen­wri­ter, usual­ly tells sto­ries in a far, far more ori­gi­nal way. But he pro­ves once again that he not only knows how to crea­te vivid cha­rac­ters, but – as a mas­ter of dia­lo­gue – also how to put polished lines into their mouths. The script is pure gold; the dia­lo­gue is wit­ty, over-the-top and dra­ma­tic, yet never so over-the-top that it cea­ses to feel authen­tic. For actors of the calib­re of Sam Rockwell or John Malkovich, this is pure gold. Their per­for­man­ces are sim­ply brilliant.

McDonagh also knows how to show­ca­se the beau­ty of Easter Island; and he uses this sple­ndour for a sto­ry that can also be asto­nis­hin­gly dark. For the back­drop is the coup by the Pinochet regime in Chile, sup­port­ed by the US – which took place on 11 September 1973. There are sce­nes that send shi­vers down your spi­ne, such as when Chris speaks to a stu­dent from Chile and explains to her what will hap­pen on 11 September. How she and her fri­ends will be taken to the sta­di­um, how they will be tor­tu­red, and how many of them will die. Chris, the eter­nal liar, tells the truth, and coming from the mouth of a man who has done cruel things in the ser­vice of the grea­ter good, it is electrifying.

McDonagh has a per­fect com­mand of the full ran­ge of nar­ra­ti­ve beau­ty. When he intro­du­ces some­thing in one act, it takes on signi­fi­can­ce in the final act, be it the rif­le used in an ass­as­si­na­ti­on – which feels like a MacGuffin for a long time – or a war­ning never to let yours­elf be lured into a car.

The dia­lo­gue thri­ves on biting humour; it can veer into the absurd, yet it is always mul­ti-laye­red and con­tri­bu­tes to cha­rac­ter deve­lo­p­ment. Even if the sto­ry its­elf may not be enti­re­ly new, McDonagh turns it into cle­ver enter­tain­ment of the hig­hest calib­re. Cinema for peo­p­le who love gre­at acting and gre­at dialogue.

Peter Osteried | programmkino.de

Credits:

UK/US/Chile 2026, 118 mins, English with German sub­tit­les
Director & Screenplay: Martin McDonagh
Cinematography: Ben Davis
Editing: Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
Starring: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas; Tom Waits, Parker Posey, Paola Giannini

Trailer:

Im Kino mit deut­schen Untertilteln.

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