“I want to speak in Italian since I’m in Rome. I’m very proud of Alatriste and proud, above all, of representing Spanish cinema: Alatriste is an excellent example of what it has to offer today. Agustìn Dìaz Yanes has made a classic that will be remembered for a long time and that I personally will remember for the wonderful friendships I made on the set”: thus spoke Viggo Mortensen at the press conference, triggering applause from the journalists.

Speaking in perfect Italian, Mortensen, who plays the lead in Augustìn Dìaz Yanes’ Alatriste – which was screened for the press this morning at the RomeFilmFest – presented the film along with Yanes and fellow actors Eduardo Noriega, Ariadna Gil and Enrico Lo Verso and Teresa Cavina, one of the festival’s artistic directors.

The period film is set during the Spanish empire of the 17th century, and tells the story of Diego Alatriste, a heroic soldier who bears witness to his country’s decline. Based on an adaptation of a story by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, the film, released in Spain two weeks ago, is already a box office success: 3 million admissions and €16 million grossed.

“Alatriste was very difficult to make. Spain does not have much of a tradition with these kinds of films, but we have very evocative landscapes,” said Yanes “We shot everything in Andalusia. And we were fortunate to have Mortensen with us, only he could have embodied the spirit of Alatriste”.

Mortensen responded to journalists’ curiosity on why he speaks Italian so well, as well as Spanish (he acts in Spanish in the entire film): “I grew up in Argentina where Italian culture is very deeply rooted, which is why I speak Italian and Spanish well. I worked here in Rome ten years ago as well, and I love the musicality of your language”.