Angelina Jolie: ‘I Don’t Recognise My Country’ as She Voices Concern Over Free Speech

At the San Sebastian Film Festival, actress Angelina Jolie expressed concern over the state of free speech in the United States. Asked whether she feared for freedom of expression, Jolie said, “I love my country, but I don’t at this time recognise my country.”

The Oscar-winning actor added, “Anything, anywhere, that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms, from anyone, I think, is very dangerous. These are very, very heavy times we’re all living in together.”

On Her Film ‘Couture’
Jolie was in San Sebastian to promote her latest film, Couture, directed by French filmmaker Alice Winocour. The film is competing for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Shell.

In Couture, Jolie plays Maxine Walker, an American film director navigating Paris Fashion Week while facing a divorce, serious illness, and a romance with a colleague, portrayed by French actor Louis Garrel.

Jolie said she personally related to her character’s struggles. Having undergone a double mastectomy in 2013, followed by removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes due to a high genetic risk of cancer, she reflected on the particular challenges faced by women confronting serious illness.

“I wish she was able to speak more as openly as I have been, and have people respond as graciously as you have, and not feel as alone,” Jolie said, visibly moved. “There’s something very particular to women’s cancers, because obviously it affects us, you know, how we feel as women,” she added.