Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine is a darkly comic story about two CIA agents against the backdrop of the 1973 coup in Chile. The film stars Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich as Lee and Chris, whose relationship—not the coup itself—is at the centre of the plot.
Lee takes Chris to Easter Island, ostensibly to see its monumental statues. But the trip also has a grim purpose: Chris is terminally ill and has advanced Alzheimer’s disease. As his condition leads him to reveal the CIA’s role in the coup to people he meets, Lee plans to kill him.
The film frames the historical events through the agents’ friendship, using an absurdist sensibility associated with McDonagh’s work. The coup and the assassination of President Salvador Allende are described as taking place under the command of army chief Augusto Pinochet, but are not shown on screen.
Sources: Le Monde Culture.