Eiza González

“I want to start with this movie, Midnight Cowboy. It’s one of the first movies that I watched as a… actress, in the sense of thinking of myself as an actor. And I just remember watching Dustin Hoffman’s performance, and Jon Voight, of course, but Dustin’s performance in this was just mind-boggling to me. I couldn’t believe that someone could commit to the craft to that extent, and so vivid, so alive. It’s one of the most alive performances I’ve ever seen. And obviously that led me to Sunday Bloody Sunday and led me to all these incredible films by this director who I adore. John is one of my favorite directors of all time, and he just has such an honest view of performance and understands dialogue in a sensorial, cellular way. I don’t know, it’s just amazing when a movie can move you so much.”

“I grew up in Mexico and my reach to cinema was very limited because I grew up in the ’90s and we just had, like, cable and what we had on TV. And when I moved to the US, my education started expanding. And then I went to Strasberg here and I had amazing teachers who… I had this Shakespeare teacher who dressed like a cowboy in Strasberg, and he would tell me his favorite movies and this is how I discovered Klute. The cinematography was so unique. It looked all like a photograph. And the performances, and it was so quiet. Someone can feel so much in such a silent type of performance. This movie started my passion and awakened my love for film noir. Devil in a Blue Dress, The Killing, Orson Welles and some of the best movies you’ve ever seen. I wish we did more film noir, stylistic-type movies. We don’t have enough, so if you’ve never seen this movie, incredible. Also, this director does amazing other movies, so you should watch.”

“This movie, La Maman et la Putain, is so good. The Mother and the Whore. Perfect, perfect movie. I keep going back to it, and there’s something about going into mixed relationships and the complexity of relationships, and the complexity of the analysis of the man zeitgeist, of understanding what they want versus what they need, and vice versa. But it does it in such a darling way, and it’s so entertaining. You’re laughing when you don’t think you should be laughing, and it’s sexy. It’s one of the sexiest films. And those women are so hot. I may have doubted my sexuality for a second with them in this movie and their performances. I mean, really… Françoise, just… bomb, I love her.”

“In the Mood for Love. I know that everyone picks this, but the most beautiful film to ever be shot. Small and contained, and you kind of can’t breathe in these rooms when you’re watching them. And you see these perfectly gorgeous human beings. This movie is just all about passion and desire and building up that sort of feeling underneath, and you’re sort of palpitating while watching the movie. Let’s bring back yearning. The biggest pleasure on earth. I recommend it. Go watch it.”

“And then maybe I’ll just do a little… I love when I watch people close their eyes and pick a movie, so… Charles Chaplin, Monsieur Verdoux. I’ve never seen this movie. This makes me excited because who else could I learn more from than him? So.”

“Fanny and Alexander. As a girl that lost a father, and then finding this movie, it connected to me in such a profound way. These kids, their feelings, their sensations, sort of reconnecting with life, the loss of joy and the portrayal of the joy. If no one’s ever acted with children, you’d realize how complicated that is. It’s really hard to get a child to perform and keep the authenticity. But also when you hit lightning and you find a talented kid, it’s just the most amazing thing. Obviously Bergman has some of the best movies of all time. But if you’ve not seen it and you have five hours spare, you should watch Fanny and Alexander.”