Film still of The Last Face © Kelly Walsh
The Last Face, Sean Penn’s return behind the camera
He made his debut as a filmmaker in 1991 with The Indian Runner, which was selected in the Directors' Fortnight. After being selected in Competition in 2001 for The Pledge, the story of Sean Penn as a film director continues in Cannes today, with the presentation of his latest film, The Last Face, in Competition.
Sean Penn has developed an incredible acting palette throughout his career. He has played all kinds of roles for the greatest film directors, from Louis Malle to Dennis Hopper, from Clint Eastwood to Alejandro González Iñárritu, whilst continuing to embody the counter-culture of Post-Vietnam America. He preserves this strength of conviction behind the camera.
For commitment and freedom are deeply rooted in Sean Penn. His five fiction feature films all explored the ethical and moral dilemnas of the quest for justice and ideals. Whether it be through the description of a young soldier's suffering on returning from Vietnam in The Indian Runner or following the quest for freedom, step by step, of the hero of Into the Wild, Sean Penn uses the camera to look deeply into intimate stories to better examine the prevailing political discourse.
In The Last Face, Sean Penn brings together Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem, in a love story between a relief-aid doctor, and the director of an international aid organization on a mission in Liberia. In order to preserve their budding love, they will have to reach a compromise concerning their disagreement about the policies to be implemented on the field in a conflictual environment. The film director also called on the French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos for the film. Adèle won the Palme d'Or 2013 for her role in Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d’Adèle) alongside Léa Seydoux and Abdellatif Kechiche.
