Depp’s Character Plays Well in Venice

Johnny Depp’s character does everything to make himself unlikable in his new blood-soaked movie “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” He guns down a chef who cooks too well, he foments revolution – he even dons ugly clothing.

Still, his creepy CIA villain with a taste for Mexican cuisine and international intrigue came off as a scene-stealing charmer Thursday, as the Venice Film Festival screened the third episode of Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi” series, which also stars Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.

“No matter how bad we tried to make the character – and we kept trying – (Depp) makes him very likable, even though he’s the nastiest person in the world,” Rodriguez said.

Depp put his own touches on the character, wearing tacky tourist T-shirts, including one with the letters CIA comically emblazoned across it. The actor also wrote his own theme music, which he described as a combination of work by “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” composer Ennio Morricone and “some kind of S&M, bondage thing.”

In fact, the goatee-sporting bohemian star had such fun on the epic western that leaving the set wasn’t easy.

“It was the first time I’ve done a film where at the end I said to the director, ‘Are you sure there’s nothing else we can shoot?’” Depp said.

Rodriguez’s extremely violent film continues the adventures of the guitar-slinging gunman known as “El Mariachi” played by Banderas, who strums and kills with equal aptitude. This time, Banderas runs up against a drug-cartel plot to oust the Mexican president, while Depp’s American agent coldly looks to nourish a “cleansing” revolution.

The film – which also stars Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke and singer Enrique Iglesias – is a tribute to the spaghetti westerns of director Sergio Leone, while also taking action tips from Hong Kong filmmakers like John Woo.

Rodriguez first gained fame with “El Mariachi” in 1992, which he made for $7,000, a fact that has long made him an idol of aspiring young directors. He also wrote, directed, edited, produced and composed music for his latest effort, which he shot on high-definition video in seven weeks.

Viewers who chuckle at absurd on-screen bloodshed will like the movie; those who don’t may find it hard to take. Thousands of bullets fly, nameless villains are smashed by trucks and at one point a guitar case on wheels turns into a rolling bomb.

Sound like a comic book? That’s what inspired Rodriguez.

“I don’t think I could make a very realistic movie,” he said. “I like realistic movies, but to make one I’d feel a little handcuffed.”

He also defended the violence, saying the over-the-top tone excused it. And he stressed that the film was not intended to make a political point about Mexico, but rather was set there because “I just liked the title.”

Hayek, who was born in Mexico, added: “No, I don’t think we need a ‘Mariachi’ in Mexico. We need better politicians, but without having to shoot anyone.”

The actress – who got her big break in the second part of the trilogy, 1995′s “Desperado” – said she had worked with Rodriguez seven times and made it clear why she keeps coming back.

“He’s like a shrink. Anything that I really have a fear of, he makes me do, like jumping out of a building or singing, which I’m terrified of,” she said.

The director added: “Sometimes I like to push actors to do things they don’t want to do.”

“Usually people are much more capable than they believe themselves to be. They just need to be given permission,” he said. “You just need to be pushed over the edge and see how fast you fall.”

“Once Upon a Time in Mexico” is not in the competition for a Golden Lion prize at the 11-day festival, which began Wednesday.

Meanwhile, three of the 20 contenders for the big award hit the screens Thursday: “Raja” by French director Jacques Doillon; “Goodbye, Dragon Inn” by Taiwan-based filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang; and “Secret File” by Italian director Paolo Benvenuti.