American actress Angelina Jolie expressed concern about the current situation in the United States during her appearance at the San Sebastián Film Festival in Spain. While presenting her film “Couture,” Jolie commented on the state of freedom and polarization in her home country.
When asked if she was worried about freedom of expression in the United States, Jolie said, “I love my country, but at this moment I do not recognize my country. Anything, anywhere, that divides or, of course, limits the expressions and personal freedoms of anyone seems very dangerous to me.” She added, “Like all of you and everyone watching us, I am, you know, living through very, very difficult times,” without naming any specific individuals or political groups.
Jolie attended the festival for the first time with “Couture,” directed by French filmmaker Alice Winocour. In the movie, she plays Maxine Walker, an American film director going through a divorce who learns about an illness during Paris Fashion Week and starts a romance with a collaborator played by French actor Louis Garrel.
The actress noted similarities between herself and her character. In 2013, Jolie underwent a double mastectomy and later had surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes due to a high genetic risk of cancer—a disease that affected both her mother and grandmother. Speaking at the press conference about these experiences brought out strong emotions for Jolie.
“I thought a lot about her,” Jolie said regarding her mother. “In the film I thought about all the moments she lived through. I wish she could have spoken as openly as I do now and that people would have responded to her with as much kindness as you have—so she wouldn’t have felt so alone. I think she would have told Maxine to live every day and focus on life.”
Discussing women’s cancers more broadly, Jolie stated: “There is something very particular about them because they affect how we feel as women.” She added: “That is why I think it is very interesting and important—and maybe it’s a message for anyone who is with a woman they love—to understand how this film describes the journey of illness.”
