'Noah' World Premiere In Mexico City
Darren Aronofsky, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth Talk To Latin Times' Editor-In-Chief, Ernesto Sánchez. Latin Times

"Noah" is not just another movie. It is directed by Darren Aronofsky, the master behind "Requiem For A Dream" and "Black Swan." Being an expert in the fragility of the human psyche and being capable of making a tiny movie transcend into greatness, it's frankly bizarre that he chose to direct a $120 million epic movie with stunning special effects and a grandiose scope on a story based on the Bible. Precisely because he works so well with very few resources, he can come out of "Noah" either a hero or with his reputation damaged. But he's not afraid.

When he was 17 years old, the first poem he wrote was about Noah. For Aronofsky, raised in a Jewish household in Brooklyn, that chapter in the Old Testament really resonated with him. "Noah was the world's first superhero," says the director at the world premiere of the movie held in Mexico City. No one had ever attempted to film a "serious" version of Noah's Ark, in the same manner as Martin Scorsese and Mel Gibson shot Jesus Christ's life. And, in the same way those filmmakers made movies about Christ, Aronofsky does for Noah.

This is his vision. Lots of poetic liberties have been taken. Many of the questions any reader would have are answered by the director in the way he believes makes sense. For example, how did Noah build an ark that was capable of holding thousands of animals by himself? How did he collect the animals? How did he keep them calm during the storm? Did people think Noah was crazy or was he in fact a prophet? Did God talk to him, and if so, how? And was he a descendant of Cain or Abel? Was Methuselah more than the oldest guy in the history of Earth?

All those uncertainties are answered through Aronofsky's filter, and that's where the connection between his former work and this epic film come hand-in-hand: the frailty of Noah's mind, the character walking on a thin line between reality and fiction, between sanity and madness, brilliantly portrayed by Russell Crowe. That has also been Paramount's achilles heel -- no pun intended. They believe Aronofsky's vision is too out there. More Scorsese than Gibson to put in another way. 'Noah' is a deeply personal interpretation of a chapter in the Bible that mixes realism with fantasy, the beginning of mankind with the worlds created by Tolkien in "Lord Of The Rings" and there's even some medieval aspects with Hopkin's character.

"Noah" has been banned in the Middle East, and Paramount has even placed a disclaimer where they distance themselves from Aronofsky's work because of the aforementioned liberties taken. Still, this is a unique movie. One that you should judge by yourself and not what you read or hear. Watch Latin Times' interviews with the director and cast (Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth) at the world premiere in Mexico City above, see the movie and make your own opinion about it.

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