Christian Bale: what 'Hostiles' says in the Trump era

When Christian Bale began work on "Hostiles," the actor had no idea how timely the film would become.

The movie stars Bale as a late 19th Century U.S. Army captain tasked with bringing a dying Cheyenne war chief, played by Wes Studi, home to a sacred burial ground on his native lands.

Based on a manuscript by Oscar-winning "Missing" (1982) and "The Hunt for Red October" (1990) writer Donald E. Stewart, "Hostiles" reunited Bale with his "Out of the Furnace" (2013) director Scott Cooper.

“Scott and I were looking for a gripping story that we could both become obsessed with to make together again, because we had thoroughly enjoyed our experience together on ‘Out of the Furnace,’" Bale said. "This came up.

"I saw it through a character’s point of view addressing the Native American genocide, addressing a man who has known nothing but war struggling to learn how to turn off hatred, how to deal with the guilt of rendering his friends’ deaths meaningless if he does turn that hatred off, all through a man who really is a man of very few words."

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"Hostiles" was already loaded with social, political and historical subtext. And then, the ideological bedrock of society seemed to shift under everyone's feet as they were working on the film.

"Then what happened in 2016 happened and we were making the film and then this year there started to become just many more Americans being very comfortable, far too comfortable, with expressing hatred towards people who are different from them," Bale said, "and (we are) witnessing the great divide once again.

"Now of course, we’re not talking genocide, but we are talking a lack of inclusiveness and a question about: ‘What is America? Who is America? What is the ideology of America?’ And that has been, to me, very surprising in how relevant this film has become because of that.”

"Hostiles" opens in New York and Los Angeles cinemas on Friday, Dec. 22; it then will hit more markets on Jan. 5 and start screening nationwide on Jan. 19.

Bale, an Oscar winner for "The Fighter" (2010) who iconically played Batman in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, is joined in "Hostiles" by a cast that includes Rosamund Pike, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Adam Beach, Timothée Chalamet, Ben Foster and Stephen Lang.

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The film is the latest in a lifelong series of works by the Wales-born Bale that look at some of the darkest chapters in human history with an unflinching eye.

Bale made his film debut at the age of 13 in Steven Spielberg's harrowing World War II epic "Empire of the Sun" (1987), and made waves in his late teens in the Nazi Germany-set drama "Swing Kids" (1993).

After "Hostiles," Bale reunites with his "The Big Short" (2015) director Adam McKay to play controversial former Vice President Dick Cheney in the film "Backseat."

Bale reflected on the power of cinema to help viewers come to terms with such incredibly difficult episodes that have occurred throughout the course of human events.

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"I think if done with sincerity, they're invaluable as a means of storytelling and coming together for creating conversation," Bale said. "You know, we're at a point in film right now where you're getting either sort of mega-blockbuster superhero movies or incredibly low-budget independents, and we're losing these films like 'Hostiles.'

"And I hope that really doesn't happen because there is something incredibly special about seeing this on a large screen, not only because of the incredible vistas but just of having a community of people sharing that experience together. And it is our modern way of storytelling, isn't it?"

And as "Hostiles" rings out with unexpected contemporary relevance today, Bale said he's hopeful about the possibility for real change in the future.

"Hopefully what can come out of all of this is that we will ultimately really be inclusive in not only Washington but Hollywood will cease to be a place that's run by older white dudes," he said. "Their stories deserve to be told too, but everyone's does and it can become a much richer culture for it." 

"Hostiles," 133 minutes, rated R, opens in New York City and Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 22, in select cities Jan. 5, 2018 and nationwide on Jan. 19, www.hostilesmovie.com.