Date: 09/07/2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/04/AR2008090404046.html?sub=AR
A few years ago, Javier Bardem spent a month in Africa researching a film role by working with the international aid organization Doctors Without Borders. He was struck not just by the desperate situations he encountered, but also by how ill-equipped he was to offer assistance.
"I asked them, 'What can I do to help?' " Bardem said in a phone interview from Spain last week. "They said, 'Can you heal? Are you a doctor? Are you a nurse?' And, wow, you realize quickly that you are totally useless."
Not totally useless, it turns out. What Bardem, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in last year's "No Country for Old Men," could do was cast a light on the human crises in some of the world's most forsaken and war-ravaged regions. Upon returning to Spain he set about recruiting directors, including Wim Wenders and Isabel Coixet, to work on documentaries that would tell the stories of people whose suffering has gone largely unnoticed in developed nations.
The result was "Invisibles," a collection of five short documentaries that looks at such issues as the failure of pharmaceutical companies to develop effective medicine for poor people beset by viruses in South America, the kidnapping and violent indenture of children in northern Uganda by rebel militias, and the systematic sexual violence against women in Congo.
Producing the film turned out to be the beginning, not the end of Bardem's involvement. He is now focusing on the plight of women in Congo. He has joined forces with John Prendergast of the Enough Project ( http://www.enoughproject.org), a D.C.-based human rights organization created to combat genocide and crimes against humanity.
This month Enough is launching a Raise Hope for Congo awareness campaign ( http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org) that it hopes will lead to increasing international scrutiny and push the next U.S. president to exert influence to protect women in that central African country.
We talked to Bardem, 39, about "Invisibles" and his involvement with the situation in Congo.
These are obviously difficult stories to watch and take in. Do you think you'll have a hard time getting people to sit down and watch these horrendous events going on in places around the world? I had a hard time sleeping after watching all of them.
Well, there are a lot of horrible things going on in the world. I think we are living in selfish times. I'm the first one to say that I'm the most selfish. [Laughs.] We live in the so-called "first world," and we may be first in a lot of things like technology, but we are behind in empathy. We create the lives that we have based on the misery of others. That we can't deny. I'm like everyone else in that my life is based on a lot of misery for others. In our society we are used to always moving forward, but we have to acknowledge that we are leaving a lot of misery behind.
This was the first movie that you produced, right?
Yes, I was really scared. [Laughs.] I was a producer, and I didn't have a lot of money. . . . There were some moments where I was like, "Oh, my God, why did I do this?"
Did you have to do a lot of convincing to get these directors to participate?
It was amazing. It took each of them less than five seconds to say yes. The directors had total freedom, and I think they did a pretty amazing job. I asked Wim Wenders, whom I had never met, and he just said, "Yes, I'm onboard."
The stories of rape told by the women in his film about Congo are particularly chilling.
There's no room in your logical mind that these horrible things could happen. They are so unbelievable that unless you hear the stories, you can't permit yourself to believe them. Wim Wenders grabbed the bull by the horns and captured the stories of these women. You have such a strong, immediate reaction to their stories.
The panel discussion you are taking part in at Union Station will focus on Congo. This is a situation you are following closely?
I'm not a specialist. I'm just a guy who has a need to help show people these situations that are totally forgotten. The peace process in the Congo needs a push. It is coming to a moment where it needs a spotlight to keep it moving.
Some actors and celebrities are criticized for not speaking out enough on issues, and then others are ridiculed for saying too much. How do you walk the line?
I can't walk any line. You can't draw a line based on what people are going to say. I don't think I have ever thought about what people are going to say about me personally for something like this that means so much to me. I couldn't care less. It's easy for people to criticize. For them I just say, "Why don't you do something? Are you just sitting on your sofa?"
For a film [that I'm in], though, it may be different. I want people to like my performance. I wonder how it makes them feel. I wonder if they are going to throw me tomatoes. [Laughs.]
So, what's more important to you: winning an Oscar or making a documentary about these issues?
They're different. I'm an actor. I belong to the performance. That's what I am. This documentary responds to a different need. It's very limited. But anytime I can do something, I'll do it.
So this may be the first interview you've done in a while where you haven't been asked about Penélope Cruz.
[Laughs.] Yeah, that's good. That's a good thing.
Doc and Talk
Javier Bardem and others will take part in a panel discussion on violence against women in Congo, followed by a screening of "Invisibles" (in Spanish with English subtitles), Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Union Station's East Hall (50 Massachusetts Ave. NE). The event is free, but reservations are required. Call 202-682-1611.
