There is a line in 鈥� 鈥� in which Jake Gyllenhaal鈥檚 Army Sgt. John Kinley is having a disagreement with Dar Salim鈥檚 Ahmed, the man assigned to be his interpreter in Afghanistan, who has gone beyond straight translation and into the realm of strategy. Kinley tells him that he鈥檚 there to translate. Ahmed responds that he鈥檚 an interpreter.
The line is Gyllenhaal鈥檚 favorite and a perfect encapsulation of the dynamic between the two men, who, despite themselves, forge a bond that goes beyond words and has both risking their lives to save the other in the name of a debt.
It鈥檚 also perhaps the only line in the final film that was pre-written, Richie laughed in a recent interview with The Associated Press alongside his actors. This may seem like a strange or backhanded thing for a director to say about a script, except for the fact that it was one that Ritchie co-wrote. He鈥檇 been inspired by several documentaries in which he became fascinated with the relationship between soldier and interpreter.
The film, which has garnered some of the best reviews in Ritchie鈥檚 career, opens in theaters nationwide Friday.
鈥淚 was moved by the rather complicated and paradoxical bonds that seemed to be fused by the trauma of war between the interpreters and their colleagues, so to speak, on the other side of the cultural divide and how all of that evaporated under duress,鈥� Ritchie said. 鈥淭he irony of war is the depths to which the human spirit is allowed to express itself that in any other sort of day-to-day situation is never allowed. It鈥檚 very hard to articulate the significance and that profundity of those bonds. My job was to try and capture that spirit within a film and within a very simple narrative.鈥�
The script, though, is merely a starting prompt. On set, the ideas are fluid, the conversations run deep and, his actors say, the creativity flourishes. Just ask Gyllenhaal, who met Ritchie 15 or so years ago at a Christmas party. They had an immediate 鈥渆nergetic connection鈥� but hadn鈥檛 figured out a way to work together until this project.
鈥淭he first thing he said was, 鈥橳his is a very reluctant relationship. I don鈥檛 want any sentimentality in this movie and not between these two people. I want this to be a sort of begrudging connection.'鈥�
Gyllenhaal loved the challenge of always being on your toes for new ideas, some that even became integral callbacks in the final film.
鈥淨uite literally, it is a table,鈥� Gyllenhaal said. 鈥淎t that table is where those exchanges are and those ideas are shared and created. And like any good table, it鈥檚 usually met with a meal as well 鈥� mini meals, large meals 鈥� and the movie is found. It really is great fun. Especially if you love food.鈥�
Salim, an Iraqi-born, Danish-raised actor in one of his first major Hollywood roles, was a bit intimidated by the names around him at first. But by week two he had found a groove and was even so bold as to not only challenge Ritchie to a game of chess but then win 鈥� though there is some teasing disagreement about who exactly won that first match.
鈥淥nce you鈥檙e invited into that circle, it鈥檚 a very unique experience,鈥� Salim said. 鈥淚t releases energy that鈥檚 normally not there on a set.鈥�
Ritchie has had five films released since 2019, and, including 鈥淭he Covenant,鈥� two this year alone because of business complications when STX shifted focus away from distribution and films like 鈥淥peration Fortune: Ruse de Guerre鈥� got caught in a kind of limbo. He has become an almost unwitting case study in distribution for an industry in flux and recovering from a pandemic and this $55 million war film is yet another test in some ways. But that鈥檚 not something that troubles him much.
鈥淪ands move so quickly within the industry that you almost can鈥檛 focus on the release strategies and exactly how the movie unfurls to the public, you just got to focus on what your day job is, which is the work,鈥� Ritchie said. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 like it to unfurl as elegantly as possible, but there are some things that are just beyond your control, and the business itself is in a constant state of flux, but it has been since it began.鈥�
In Gyllenhaal鈥檚 three decades of moviemaking, he鈥檚 learned that great stories will find their way, even if it鈥檚 not in the moment, 鈥渢hough that鈥檚 what we seem to all be a bit obsessed with.鈥�
鈥淭he Covenant,鈥� Gyllenhaal said, has 鈥淎 real classical sense to it. It鈥檚 a simple story, it can last for a long time.鈥�
He even found himself 鈥渂lubbering鈥� on the first watch, which surprised him as someone who doesn鈥檛 often cry at movies and certainly not at ones he鈥檚 in, which he usually can barely watch.
鈥淚 was so moved by it because I think it moved beyond the experience we had,鈥� Gyllenhaal said. 鈥淚n the end, it is a story about humanity. It鈥檚 a story about the action of good and the action of good not always having to be sentimentalized.鈥�
Ritchie, who had already stayed chatting with his actors well past his press availability 鈥渉ard out,鈥� went even further and, seemingly, back to those tables on the set in Spain where the movie revealed itself.
鈥淚t wishes to express something that鈥檚 beyond altruism, it wishes to express something that feels at a profound level connected, and anything that can force that connection that鈥檚 beyond the duality of good and bad. It is something that鈥檚 more sacred than good or bad,鈥� Ritchie said.
鈥淚t is curious because the name covenant seems to, although it鈥檚 somewhat biblical in its origin, it to me does capture what the essence of the story is. It鈥檚 a covenant that鈥檚 beyond good and bad. It鈥檚 a covenant that expresses an optimism about the fundamental aspect of the human spirit.鈥�
Gyllenhaal added: 鈥淪ee? Now you鈥檝e had the experience of what it鈥檚 like sitting around a table with Mr. Ritchie on a movie.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
