Her latest film “The Lost Coach” (available on Apple+) can also be considered a socially engaged image. Director Paul Greengrass (“Bloody Sunday”, “Flight 93”, “The Bourne Ultimatum”) tells the story of a school bus driver (Matthew McConaughey)who, in the face of a sudden, devastating fire, will risk everything to save the teacher (America Ferrera) and her students from the deadly fire.
The film was inspired by the heroic deeds of real people, and in the face of the recent fires that destroyed a large part of Los Angeles, it only becomes more relevant. Anna Tatarska talked to America Ferrera.
Anna Tatarska: Very often in your career you play characters who fight against social inequalities or adversities, and their steadfastness inspires the viewer. What do you think is the value in playing someone seemingly ordinary but who has a lot of determination and empathy?
America Ferrera: – My mother raised six children on her own, working two shifts to pay the electricity bill and put a hot meal on the table. What seemed impossible to me became possible in my life thanks to people such as teachers, my friend’s parents, and neighbors. Someone who saw my need for something and helped me and supported me. Also, my heroes have always been ordinary people doing ordinary things to create opportunities. That’s why it’s obvious to me that ordinary people can be heroes.
– I know that each of us is able to change someone’s life, it does not require millions in the account or political influence. Of course, there are ideals or authorities that we look up to, that inspire us and make our dreams become even bigger. So when this scenario came to me, I could really understand why Kevin and Mary were taking care of the children in a bus surrounded by fire, and not leaving them in the middle of the fire to run to save their own – which, let’s face it, would also be logical. Heroes live among us.
You met the real Mary, the prototype of your heroine. What did she tell you about her experience? What moved you the most?
– Of course, she told me many moving things, but something that stuck in my mind was how many different roles she had to play when the flames trapped her in the bus. She was a mother who was unable to contact her own two children and did not know if they were safe. Her own life was in danger. But she felt it was her job to suppress her own fears and support her students as needed at any given time.
– At the time of the fire, Mary already had a quarter of a century of experience at the school where the bus transported children. Each of these kids knew her very well, their parents and siblings knew her. She was part of that community. She wanted not only for the children to survive, but also for them to come out of it without trauma. She told me how they sang songs and told jokes. How she handed out the sweets she had in her purse to the kids. She was full of fear, but she had to give her best performance so that the children would be a little less nervous. It moved me deeply. And in terms of acting, it was difficult because I had to show the viewer all the doubts, hesitation and fear that my character was hiding from the kids on the bus.
The emotions associated with the characters were extremely strong, but you had limited space – most of the shooting takes place in a bus surrounded by flames. How did this affect the preparation process?
– Me, Matthew and Paul, the director, spent a lot of time on that bus. Not only during the shooting, but also during the preparation stage, because all our rehearsals took place there as well. I’ve never acted in this type of action movie before. There was a lot of movement, precise choreography concerned not only the main characters, but also hundreds of extras, cars in the background, drones flying above us and a fire lit for the photos, controlled by specialists.
– When I decided to take part in the film, I learned that my work would have two dimensions. I will have to complete all the tasks, get from point A to point B, make my character’s movements look realistic on the screen. On the other hand, I couldn’t “let go” of Mary’s inner emotions, the spiritual journey she goes on before the viewer’s eyes, even for a moment.
– At the beginning, I was very focused on this limited space and it stressed me out. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to emotionally differentiate the scenes since they all take place in a similar space. But the better I understood my heroine’s emotions, her relationships with her son and with her students, the less I was concerned that we had so little space to play.
– It was quite a challenge, but a great director supported me in it. This type of cinema is Paul’s specialty. He knows perfectly well how to make a film that keeps you in suspense, where the action is at the highest level of production, and at the same time the heart of the character is taken care of and his psychological portrait is deepened.
A few months after you finished filming “The Lost Coach,” fires devastated much of Los Angeles. Was it a surreal experience?
– I was born, raised and have lived in Southern California my whole life, so wild fires are something I have been exposed to from a young age. But as we well know, the dry season is becoming drier and longer, and the fires are getting bigger and hungrier. When the January fire broke out, I was on my way to the studio to record post-syncs for “The Lost Coach.” Many people from our crew, including our editor and producers, had to leave their homes and finished our film while worrying every day about whether they would have anything to come back to. It was a surreal feeling to work on a film when a real fire threatened the well-being of half the crew…
– What happened in Los Angeles was shocking, mainly because of its scale – but not surprising. Natural disasters are becoming our reality. For me, this year’s fires only emphasize how important the topic our film raises is, and I hope that viewers will feel and appreciate this relevance. This topic will not become less important, on the contrary.
Has participating in this project somehow changed your belief about what humanity is? How do we, as humans, behave in moments of greatest trial?
– As I have already mentioned, we watched the first edits of the film while the fire was ravaging subsequent districts of Los Angeles. Not only city managers, but also its residents were desperately trying to find ways to cope with this unprecedented situation. At that moment, we were all members of the Volunteer Fire Department, rescuers. And I have no doubt that this will be our future. Soon, the ability to extinguish a fire or treat burns will be completely basic knowledge, at least for the inhabitants of my region. And this is what our film also talks about.
– I talked about these ordinary heroes earlier and I would like to come back to this. Mary and Kevin didn’t wake up one day with the idea that today was the day they would become heroes, that they would save people. My heroine doesn’t break the line, she really spends a lot of time sitting and waiting for the system procedures to work. He doesn’t realize that somewhere nearby, decision-makers are talking about how nothing that was supposed to help is working, and there’s nothing they can do. An important part of this story is the moment when our heroes realize that in order to save themselves and the twenty-two children they are carrying on the bus, they must take matters into their own hands because they cannot count on anyone else.
– Our film emphasizes how much we need each other and that we can take care of each other. We can take care of other people’s children, we can show love to others. This gives us hope that when our neighbor’s house catches fire and his loved ones or his dog are trapped inside, we won’t first ask who he voted for. And when we find ourselves in a situation where we are unable to reach our child in need, there will be someone who will be able to do it. It allows us to believe that we can find humanity within ourselves no matter what.