Coming Soon
THE BRIDGE Sneak Peek with Diane Kruger & Demian Bichir
- Details
- Category: Coming Soon
- Published: Thursday, 23 May 2013 22:33
A Mexican detective from the Chihuahua State Police played by Mexican native and Academy Award nominee Demián Bichir (A Better Life) partners up with El Paso PD detective Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) to catch a serial killer causing mayhem and murder on both sides of the US-Mexican border. This is no ordinary buddy cop drama with Diane Kruger’s character suffering from Asbergers, a form of autism characterized by difficulties with social interactions, and in Sonya’s case, a lack of empathy for the victims. Don’t expect this bi-cultural pairing to result in any sexual chemistry. As Dianne Kruger puts it, part of her awkwardness is that her character is “obsessed with dead people.” The unlikely partnership is just one aspect that makes the show interesting. Watch trailer.
There’s no shortage of dark, twisted dramas on television such as The Following, American Horror Story, Dexter, Hannibal, Cult and The Walking Dead, but none of them feature a Latino lead in the mix. Latinos are steadily showing up on television in ensemble casts, but THE BRIDGE takes a chance not only in the casting choice but the use of subtitles. Naturally the setting of the U.S./Mexico border necessitates characters speaking Spanish, but will audiences be open to having to read the screen a third of the time? German-born Diane Kruger calls the show “daring” for that reason. Demián chimes in agreeing American audiences are famous for shying away from translated words on screen, but he hopes the story will entice those people.
Set between border towns of El Paso and Jaurez, the setting lends itself to a hot bed of political issues such as immigration and the unsolved murders of young women in Juarez, but the pilot’s director Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala) and the two leads assure us that while the show touches upon these issues, the FX show is not a pulpit for either side. Kruger, for one, does not believe entertainment should be preachy. “I don’t like movies that try to teach you a lesson,” said the actress who recently starred in The Host.
One lesson Hollywood has yet to learn is staying away from stereotypes when it comes to writing about and for Latinos, but THE BRIDGE gives a fair representation with a diverse cast of different types of Latino characters from both sides of the fence. Adapted from a Scandinavian show, the writing may prove a difficult task in not offending the American and/or Mexican culture. CineMovie posed the question to Naranjo and Bichir on how they handle changing the script if something was either stereotypical or not an accurate portrayal. While they weren’t specific to changing things for the pilot, Bichir says when he takes on a role, he looks for that collaborator who will be open to to differing opinions. Otherwise, he won’t take a role of there is no collaboration. Of course, the show also pokes fun at both sides during funny exchanges between characters that lighten up the dark nature of the show. In one scene, Bichir’s Detective Ruiz meets another El Paso detective who greets him with an “Hola Amigo” while Ruiz fires back, “Howdy partner.”
Making the transition from movies to a television series wasn’t a difficult decision for both Bichir and Kruger since both admit the quality of cable shows surpasses material for the big screen. “Que padre ("How cool!"),” was Bichir’s thought when he found out that he would star opposite Diane Kruger in THE BRIDGE. The two were supposed to work on a movie project that fell through, so when THE BRIDGE came together, both were excited to work with each other.
On screen, the two are a perfect mismatch as partners on the case of a serial killer. THE BRIDGE premieres July 10 on FX.