Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another' brings revolution to the (very) big screen

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Thomas Anderson spent about 20 years writing “One Battle After Another.” After two decades, it’s never felt more relevant.

The epic action thriller, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland,” hits theaters Friday. With a running time of 2 hours and 50 minutes, “One Battle After Another” wastes no time immersing audiences in its politically charged world.

The revolution will not be televised, but it will be placed at the front and center of Anderson’s film. The director isn’t there to make his audience comfortable, star Teyana Taylor says, as he zeroes in on themes of immigration, racism and systemic corruption showcased at their most absurd.

“I feel like PTA calls out a lot of things that are trying to get swept under the rug,” Taylor told The Associated Press, referring to the director by his nickname. “And that’s what I respect. This is really waking, shaking and baking some s---. Like, you gotta shake the table.”

Taylor’s character, Perfidia Beverly Hills, is a member of the Weather Underground-inspired French 75 revolutionary group. From the film’s first scene, we see the French 75 take matters into their own hands, liberating undocumented detainees, destroying corrupt political offices and launching their own form of justice, one right after the other. The group is peppered with members portrayed by musicians-turned-actors like Dijon Duenas, Alana Haim, and Shayna McHayle and notable actors like Regina Hall and Wood Harris.

“I mean, this movie is based on some of the revolutionaries and anarchists of the late '60s, the Weathermen that were fighting for civil rights, environmentalism too at the time, capitalism, Vietnam,” star Leonardo DiCaprio told the AP. “But it’s about the implosion of that too, about the extremes that people go to for their own ideology.”

DiCaprio portrays Bob Ferguson, known in the French 75’s initial scenes as Ghetto Pat, a radical with deep knowledge of explosives and undying devotion to both Perfidia and the revolution. Together, Perfidia and Pat seem unstoppable, until the racist and xenophobic Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn) sets out end the group to fuel his rise to power.

“And this is a movie, fast-forward, in today’s day and age, where you see this sort of systematic breakdown that comes from it, if it’s not done with grace and purity and consistently, the whole sort of— our revolution is dismantled and our past comes back to haunt us,” said DiCaprio. “So that’s what I love that Paul did. He shows extremity on both sides of the spectrum and how no one seems to be communicating or getting things done in the right way nowadays.”

The film jumps 16 years into the future. Perfidia has disappeared and DiCaprio’s character lives under a new alias in a sanctuary city as a paranoid, stoner dad with his teenage daughter, Willa (newcomer Chase Infiniti). Everything is seemingly mundane until Lockjaw reappears, forcing the father-daughter duo on the run.

“There’s a lot of moments where I was like, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to do this, but thankfully I had amazing scene partners and a great support system to kind of assure me that I was here to do my job and I knew exactly that I could do it,” Infiniti said.

“One Battle After Another” is Anderson’s most expensive project to date and shot entirely in VistaVision — a decades-old format that's been revived in recent years by movies like “The Brutalist.”

Benicio del Toro, who plays karate instructor Sensei Sergio St. Carlos, says blending improv scenes with DiCaprio and shooting in the antique format forced the actors and Anderson to have unwavering faith in each other’s decisions, knowing they only had a limited amount of takes. His character, also the head of an undocumented migrant hideaway, hopes his storyline will be an example of showcasing compassion beyond political affiliation.

“I wouldn’t be pompous enough to say movies change people. But it might just open a door that leads to another door that leads to a hallway to another door,” he said.

DiCaprio says portraying Bob Ferguson is his own version of freedom of speech, allowing him to “shine a light on certain issues about humanity and different subject matters.”

“I’m always searching for a movie that doesn’t necessarily have meaning but is thought-provoking, that holds a mirror up to who we are as a society, as people, of humanity,” said DiCaprio. “And that’s what I think the heart of this movie is, is how to find humanity in a world that is incredibly divided. … It’s not a film where there’s a specific sort of ideology that Paul is putting into it. It’s saying this is who we are, this is the world we live in.”

For Taylor, the 20-year-old script's relevance is evidence of American history continuing to repeat itself.

“It didn’t need a change; it didn’t need to be updated because it was all still so relevant,” said Taylor. “It’s time to wake up, and it’s time to shed light on the necessary conversations.”

From left, actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Chase Infiniti and Paul Thomas Anderson pose for photos during a red carpet event for the film "One Battle After Another" in Mexico City, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Sean Penn attends a special screening of "One Battle After Another" at the Walter Reade Theater on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Leonardo DiCaprio, from left, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro pose during a photo call for the film 'One Battle After Another' in Mexico City, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Benicio Del Toro, from left, Chase Infiniti, Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'One Battle After Another' on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the second official day of the annual Islamic pilgrimage, considered the pinnacle of the Hajj.

Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill and surrounding plain for intense prayers and worship that often mark a spiritual peak for them. They fervently murmured prayers and poured their hearts out in supplications. Many raised their hands in worship. It is common for pilgrims on that day, some with tears streaming down their faces, to ask God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health.

The Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to perform it.

For pilgrims, the Hajj, performed over several days, can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas for shade.

A Saudi official said on Friday that more than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in the country from abroad.

This year, Muslims have been pouring into Saudi Arabia for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related uncertainty in the region.

The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats used to lay mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely." Iran on Tuesday denounced the most recent U.S. strikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations pressed on toward a possible deal to end the war.

For many, performing the Hajj can be a realization of a lifelong dream as they spend years hoping and praying to one day be able to undertake the pilgrimage or saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the trip.

“This happens once in a lifetime,” Mohammad Asal, an Egyptian pilgrim, said. “People here have prepared their prayers, hoping that God will respond to them, because we know that ... the most important ritual of the Hajj is being in Arafat.”

The Hajj brings together large numbers of Muslims of diverse races, ethnicities, languages and socioeconomic classes, creating a sense of unity for many. It’s a mass, communal experience, with Muslims performing rituals together. But it is also deeply personal, as every pilgrim brings their own yearnings and experiences.

“It was incredible,” Ahmed Sufyan, a pilgrim from the United States, said on Tuesday. “The unity and peace that we feel is something I’ve never experienced before,” he added via WhatsApp.

“Our wishes are many,” Mohammad Obaid, a Sudanese pilgrim, said, adding he was praying for Sudan and Muslims everywhere.

Fam reported from Winter Park, Florida.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A Muslim pilgrim pray atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims walk towards the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims are silhouetted as they pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims read a copy of Islam's holy book Quran atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)