Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem return to the big screen together at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival with Bunker, Florian Zeller’s film presented in competition.
In the film they play husband and wife. Just like in real life. Bardem plays Miguel, a Spanish architect living in London with Sofía, played by Cruz. Their marriage hits a rough patch when Miguel is hired to design a luxury bunker for a tech billionaire.
From that moment, the film weaves together private crisis, fear of the future, money, and power. The bunker becomes the center of a story that also speaks to isolation and increasingly fragile human connections.
At Venice, Penélope Cruz spoke at length about this theme. She expressed concern over a society increasingly dependent on technology and power concentrated in the hands of a few. The risk, according to the actress, is being constantly connected yet growing ever more distant from one another.
Javier Bardem emphasized the value of real relationships and the responsibility of those with high public visibility. When asked about political and social stances, he reaffirmed that an actor remains first and foremost a person. And retains the right to express what they believe in.
Their marriage came up too. Cruz and Bardem have known each other for over thirty years. They explained that they carefully separate their private life from work. They only act together when they find a project that truly feels right for both of them.
With Bunker, that happened thanks to Florian Zeller’s screenplay. It was written with them in mind from the start.
The film begins with a couple. It arrives at a very contemporary fear: losing what we have and thinking we can save ourselves by shutting out the world.
Alessandro Sicuro
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