Bono Premieres Documentary at Cannes Film Festival
CANNES, France — Just a short drive from Bono’s seaside home in Eze-sur-Mer lies the Cannes Film Festival, where the U2 frontman recently premiered the Apple TV+ documentary “Bono: Stories of Surrender.” This film captures his one-man stage show and offers a deeply personal view of his life and career. Bono, who bought his villa with The Edge in 1993, credits the coastline with providing him a “delayed adolescence.” “I can tell you I’ve slept on beaches close to here,” he shared with a smile. “I’ve woken up in the sun.”
Despite his familiarity with the area, Bono admitted that Cannes is not a usual stop for him. His daughter, actress Eve Hewson, encouraged him to “just get over yourself and bring it.” Bono responded, “What do I have to bring? Bring yourself and your gratitude that you’re a musician and they’re allowing you into a festival that celebrates actors and storytellers of a different kind. I said, ‘OK, I’ll try to bring it.’”
Understanding the Shift Away From Globalization
Bono reflected thoughtfully on the current global move away from globalization, a topic central to his activism and the documentary. He noted, “Globalization did very well for the world’s poor. That and increased aid levels brought a billion people out of extreme poverty and halved childhood mortality — remarkable jumps for quality of life for human beings.”
However, he acknowledged that some communities, particularly in Europe and the United States, bore significant challenges from this shift. “Certain communities really paid the price for that,” Bono stated. “I understand how we got to this place, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the right place to be in. Nationalism is not what we need.”
Growing up in politically charged Ireland has shaped his wariness of nationalism. He added, “This is me speaking about surrender, ‘Stories of Surrender,’ at a time when the world has never been closer to a world war in my lifetime.”
Insights Into the New Pope and Personal Reflections
When asked about Pope Leo XIV, Bono commented on the pontiff’s fresh approach. “The new pope, he does look like a pope. That’s a good start,” he said. He was intrigued by the pope’s message urging people to stop shouting, suggesting God might prefer whispers. “I’m more of a shouter myself. I come from punk rock. But I’m learning to turn that shout into a whisper in this film to get to an intimacy.”
The documentary’s most moving moments revolve around Bono’s relationship with his late father, who passed away in 2001. Bono shared, “The accuracy of the put-down — ‘You are a baritone who thinks he’s a tenor’ — is so all-encompassing. I was going to call the play ‘The Baritone Who Thinks He’s a Tenor.’ He’s on my mind because he’s the reason I sing.”
He described how portraying his father on stage transformed his feelings: “After playing him on stage for all those nights — just by turning left or right — I always loved him but I started to really like him. He started to make me laugh. There was a gift, as well as the voice, that he left me.”
The Journey of Self-Analysis Through Art
Bono opened up about the past five years of self-reflection through his book, stage show, and now film. “Mission creep,” he quipped. “I knew I had to write the book. The play was so I didn’t have to tour the book in normal promotional activity; I could actually have fun with it and play all the different characters in my life.”
He realized that people don’t typically expect humor from U2 shows, but it represents a vital part of his personality: “There’s a mischief as well as the melancholy.”
Working with director Andrew Dominik, Bono learned the camera reveals when someone is not genuine. “If you want to tell this story, you better get ready to take your armor off. You’re going to feel naked in front of the whole school, but that’s what it takes.”
Hope Amid Global Uncertainty
Despite rising global tensions and the threat of war, Bono remains cautiously optimistic. He recalls a statement from an Albanian minister: “If you have a chance to hope, it’s a moral duty because most people don’t.”
Bono emphasized, “I believe in people enough. I believe in Americans enough. I’m an Irish person, I can’t tell people how to vote. But a million children dying because their life support systems were pulled out of the wall, with glee, that’s not the America that I recognize or understand.”
Reflecting on history, he noted the sacrifices made by various nations during World War II and the importance of acknowledging those memories today. “I believe there is integrity in the Russian people. They need to change their leader, in my view. I believe there is integrity in the Americans. They will figure it out.”
He lamented recent setbacks in global health efforts, especially the decline in HIV-AIDS interventions, calling it “bewildering to me” given the progress made.
For more news and updates on Bono’s reflections and activism, visit Filipinokami.com.