CANNES, France (AP) — Cannes is a brief journey from Bono’s seaside villa in Eze-sur-Mer. He purchased it with The Edge in 1993, and considers himself grateful to a shoreline that, he says, gave him a “delayed adolescence.”
“I can tell you I’ve slept on beaches close to here,” Bono says with a smile. “I’ve woken up in the sun.”
However that does not imply the Cannes Movie Competition is a very acquainted expertise for the U2 frontman. He’s right here to premiere the Apple TV+ documentary “Bono: Stories of Surrender,” which captures his one-man stage present. Earlier than coming, Bono’s daughter, the actor Eve Hewson, gave him some recommendation.
“She said: ‘Just get over yourself and bring it,’” Bono said in an interview on a hotel off the Croisette. “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.’”
Apart from, Cannes, he notes, was based amid World Conflict II as an alternative choice to then-Mussolini managed Venice Movie Competition. It was, he says, “designed to find fascists.”
Shifts in geopolitical tectonics was a lot on Bono’s thoughts. He has spent a lot of his activist life combating for assist to Africa and combating HIV-AIDS. U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantling of USAID has reversed a lot of that.
“What’s irrational is taking pleasure in the defacement of these institutions of mercy,” Bono mentioned.
“Bono: Stories of Surrender,” an Andrew Dominik-directed black-and-white movie that begins streaming Might 30, adapts the one-man stage present that, in flip, got here from Bono’s 2022 ebook, “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.”
Within the movie, Bono is self-effacing and reflective, sifting by the formative affect of his father, U2’s skyrocketing to fame and contemplating how ego and social work may be associated. He calls it “the tall tales of a short rock star.” And as was the case on a current sunny afternoon in Cannes, Bono makes a fascinating raconteur.
Remarks have been evenly edited for readability.
AP: You’ve lengthy maintained that globalization lifts creating nations out of poverty. What do you make of the shift away from globalization by many nations lately?
BONO: Properly, that’s proper. Globalization did very properly for the world’s poor. That and elevated assist ranges introduced a billion individuals out of utmost poverty and halved childhood mortality — outstanding jumps for high quality of life for human beings.
But it surely’s additionally truthful to say sure communities actually paid the worth for that — right here in Europe, in america. And I’m unsure these communities have been credited sufficient for weathering storms that globalization introduced. So I perceive how we received to this place, however it doesn’t imply that it’s the correct place to be in.
Nationalism will not be what we’d like. We grew up in a really charged ambiance in Eire. It makes you suspicious of nationalism and people animal spirits that may be drummed up. That is me talking about give up, “Stories of Surrender,” at a time when the world has by no means been nearer to a world struggle in my lifetime. At first I feel it appears absurd, a bit ridiculous — now that has by no means stopped me previously — however I feel it’s OK to look ridiculous for these concepts. Like give up, nonviolence, peace.
AP: Do you’ve any sense but of Pope Leo XIV?
BONO: The brand new pope, he does appear to be a pope. That’s a great begin. I simply noticed the opposite day his first piece and he was speaking about stopping shouting, God may want whispers. I assumed, “Oh, this could be interesting.” I’m extra of a shouter myself. I come from punk rock. However I’m studying to show that shout right into a whisper on this movie to get to an intimacy.
AP: Essentially the most transferring components of “Stories of Surrender” are if you discuss your dad, who died in 2001. How have you ever emotions about him advanced with time?
BONO: Properly, the accuracy of the put-down — “You are a baritone who thinks he’s a tenor” — is so all encompassing. I used to be going to name the play “The Baritone Who Thinks He’s a Tenor.” He’s on my thoughts as a result of he’s the rationale I sing.
It’s a wound that may by no means shut as a result of after taking part in him on stage for all these nights — simply by turning left or proper — I all the time cherished him however I began to essentially like him. He began to make me giggle. There was a present, in addition to the voice, that he left me. Would he forgive me for impersonating him within the Teatro di San Carlo, a sacred place for tenors, most likely not. However right here I’m impersonating an actor, so.
AP: You have spent the final 5 years in some state of self evaluation. First the ebook, then the stage present, now the movie. Why?
BONO: Mission creep. I knew I needed to write the ebook. The play was so I didn’t need to tour the ebook in regular promotional exercise, that I might even have enjoyable with it and play all of the totally different characters in my life. I assumed it was actually good enjoyable. Then I spotted: Oh, there’s components of you that individuals don’t learn about. We don’t go to U2 exhibits for stomach laughs. However that’s part of who I’m, which is the mischief in addition to the melancholy.
Then you find yourself doing a play with quite a lot of cameras in the way in which. Enter Andrew Dominik and he taught me one thing that I didn’t actually perceive however my daughter does: The digital camera actually is aware of if you’re mendacity. So if need to inform this story, you higher get able to take your armor off. You’re going to really feel bare in entrance of the entire faculty, however that’s what it takes.
AP: Popping out the opposite facet, did you achieve any new perspective on your self?
BONO: Based mostly on my habits simply previously week, the reply to that query might be: Should strive tougher. The pilgrim’s lack of progress. I’d say that I perceive just a little higher the place I got here from and that the place I find yourself is determined by how I cope with that.
I’ve been calling it the corridor of mirrors, if you strive to determine who you might be and who’s behind the face. You then simply see all these faces staring again at you, they usually’re all true. The actual star of this film is my dad. I form of like him higher than I like myself as a result of humor has turn out to be so vital to me. It’s not like all the things must be a stomach giggle, however there’s a freedom. Folks like me, we will sing about freedom. It’s significantly better to be it.
AP: You earlier spoke in regards to the rising risk of world struggle. As somebody who’s usually sang for and labored for peace, do you continue to have hope?
BONO: There’s a minister from Albania who mentioned one thing that basically caught with me. She mentioned: In case you have an opportunity to hope, it’s an ethical responsibility as a result of most individuals don’t. So, sure, I really feel we’ll determine our manner out of this. This can be a scary second.
I feel acknowledging that we will lose all we’ve gained is sobering however it might be course-changing. I simply imagine in individuals sufficient. I imagine in People sufficient. I’m an Irish individual, I can’t inform individuals learn how to vote.
I can let you know that 1,000,000 youngsters dying as a result of their life assist techniques have been pulled out of the wall, with glee, that’s not the America that I acknowledge or perceive. You’re on the entrance strains of Europe right here. America got here in and saved the day. Satirically, so did Russia. Extra individuals died from Russia combating the Nazis than everyone else. Now they tread on their very own sacred recollections by treading on the Ukrainians who additionally died on the entrance strains. I feel a part of that’s that historical past didn’t acknowledge it.
I imagine there may be integrity within the Russian individuals. They should change their chief, in my opinion. I imagine there may be integrity within the People. They’ll determine it out. Who was it who mentioned: Should you give People the info, they are going to ultimately make the correct alternative. Proper now, they’re not getting the info. Consider it: a 70% decline in HIV-AIDS, Republican-led, Democratically adopted although. The best well being intervention within the historical past of drugs to battle HIV-AIDS has been thrown away. It was almost there. To an area traveler, it’s like attending to Mars and going, “Nah, we’ll go back.” It’s bewildering to me.
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For extra protection of the 2025 Cannes Movie Competition, go to https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.
