Entertainment · Film · 4 hrs ago
Wild Horse Nine follows a CIA agent confronting his past
Wild Horse Nine follows CIA agent Chris on his final journey to Easter Island.
Directed by Martin McDonagh, the black comedy features John Malkovich as Chris, a provocative and difficult man who has spent his career carrying out orders that involved violence and killing.
As death draws closer, his jokes give way to anxiety, regret and loneliness.
Chris is joined by Lee, played by Sam Rockwell, his longtime partner in dangerous secret missions; their bond is close, though neither is good at expressing affection.
The film also draws on political intrigue surrounding Chile’s 1973 military coup, while Easter Island’s open landscapes and ancient moai statues contrast with Chris’s life of obedience.
Malkovich won the Venice Film Festival’s Volpi Cup for best actor for the role.
Wild Horse Nine is due to open on November 4, and is being discussed as a possible best picture contender at the next Academy Awards.
Wild Horse Nine is a black comedy about a CIA agent confronting the violence and contradictions of his past.
John Malkovich plays Chris, a cynical agent whose approaching death brings his anxiety, regret and loneliness to the surface.
The film follows Chris’s final journey on Easter Island, where wild horses and the landscape contrast with a life spent following orders.
Sam Rockwell plays Lee, Chris’s longtime comrade, with whom he carried out dangerous secret missions for decades.
Director Martin McDonagh uses black humor to explore political intrigue surrounding Chile’s 1973 military coup.
- Who
- Chris, a CIA agent played by John Malkovich, and his longtime comrade Lee, played by Sam Rockwell.
- What
- A black comedy about Chris’s final journey and his reckoning with his past.
- When
- The film is scheduled to open on November 4; the article was published on October 30, 2026.
- Where
- Chris’s final journey takes place on Easter Island.
- Why
- The film examines human contradictions and life’s absurdity through the story of an agent who took part in violence and killing under orders.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Political intrigue surrounding Chile’s military coup forms part of the film’s story.
John Malkovich received the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his role.
Yonhap published its review of the film.
The film is scheduled to open.
- Director
- Martin McDonagh
- Lead actor
- John Malkovich as Chris
- Comrade
- Sam Rockwell plays Lee
- Setting
- Easter Island
- Runtime
- 116 minutes
- Release date
- November 4
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What people are saying
Easter Island itself had to feel like a character.
So we spent enough time on drone filming and traveling shots to capture the landscape properly.