In 2009, documentarian Greg Barker made Sergio, a look at the unbelievable life of UN diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello and his harrowing ordeal in a bomb blast in Baghdad. But Barker wasn’t examining his subject. Now, 11 years later, Barker has made a new Sergio, his narrative fiction debut, examining the diplomat from a different vantage point. After a Sundance stint, the film comes to Netflix this spring — and we have the official trailer.
Netflix vet Wagner Boura, best known as Pablo Escobar on Narcos, stars as the title role, a man who seems to be simultaneously haunted and invigorated by his globe-trotting duties in areas of severe conflict.
Ana de Armas, who destroyed 2019 with her wonderful work in Knives Out, plays Carolina, the love of Sergio’s life, eager to see her husband safe and settled. The film, with a screenplay from Craig Borten (Dallas Buyers Club), will feature the horrific bomb blast and resulting ordeal. But the trailer seems less interested in positioning Sergio’s story as full of machismo and bombast, and more as a sensitive, nuanced, loving portrayal of love, professionalism, and all the complications therein. Wish Syriana was sweeter? Sergio might be the film for you.
Sergio comes to Netflix and select theatres April 17. Check out the official trailer and synopsis below. For more Netflix news, here’s the trailer for BoJack Horseman‘s final season. Plus, our interview with the creator and star of Messiah. And if you’re interested in more documentary-to-fiction-film comparisons, check out these battle royales.
Charismatic and complex, Sergio Vieira de Mello (Wagner Moura) has spent the majority of his storied career as a top UN diplomat working in the world’s most unstable regions, deftly navigating deals with presidents, revolutionaries, and war criminals for the sake of protecting the lives of ordinary people. But just as he readies himself for a simpler life with the woman he loves (Ana de Armas), Sergio takes one last assignment — in Baghdad, newly plunged into chaos following the US invasion. The assignment is meant to be brief, until a bomb blast causes the walls of the UN headquarters to come literally crashing down upon him, setting into motion a gripping life-or-death struggle. Inspired by a true story, SERGIO is a sweeping drama focused on a man pushed to his physical and emotional limits as he’s forced to confront his own divisive choices about ambition, family, and his capacity to love.
