Directed By Alejandro G. Inarritu

Starring – Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid

The Plot – A nostalgic comedy set against an epic journey. A chronicle of uncertainties where the main character, a renowned Mexican journalist (Cacho) and documentary filmmaker, returns to his native country to face his identity, familial relationships, and the folly of his memories, as well as the past and new reality of his country.

Rated R for adult language throughout, strong sexual content and graphic nudity.

BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube

POSITIVES

An introspectively psychological semi-autobiography to one of my favorite directors going today isn’t exactly the film that I feel like I was promised in the marketing, but it is one that intrigues me all the same for the level of sheer madness and mayhem that play constantly towards the dejected reality of his conscience. It’s a very tender film, but one conveying of the many ideas and commentaries that the visionary has brought with him throughout a prestigious career, with all of the triumphs and tragedies that life’s many spontaneities and unpredictable instances can bring forth. Thematically, Alejandro materializes these moments consecutively, feeling like a series of scattered memories that his protagonist lives through to not only give the audience a deeper sense of knowledge about the characters and their backstories, but also vividly convey that this experience lacks the consistencies and familiarity of real-life unraveling before us, playing into a unique framing device to be revealed during the climactic third act. It’s a lesson of knowledge to Inarritu, but also an educational one paid to the memory of Mexican history, with wars, genocide, and theft of land being among the many alluring angles that Alejandro imbeds to his own dreamer’s tale. As for visual flare, Inarritu is still tops among his peers, illustrating his signature style through a series of long takes and panning camera movements that study as much about the environments and their fantastical imagery as possible, with valued cinematographer Darius Khondji imbedding some breathtaking artistic merit for the cause. In addition to this, the performances are unanimously off of the charts, with Daniel Gimenez Cacho being the obvious show stealer with his own weathered exterior conveying the map of the world that he’s traveled. Cacho’s greatest strength, however, is in the element of his emotional versatility, flexing through a seven-course meal of range that is defined by each character from his past that he comes into contact with, which only further articulates the magnitude of sacrifice paid to his dream career. The appeal of the characters is certainly in the talents of the predominantly Mexican ensemble, but the dialogue in conversations are equally vital, balancing authenticity and believability accordingly, while dispersing exposition in methods that earns them with the kind of subtlety that stems from the beneficial commitment of its audience.

NEGATIVES

My best advice to anyone seeking this film out is to watch it with a window open to its Wikipedia page right next to you. This will help clear up some of the initial clumsiness of the plot’s materializing, especially because the script’s outline lacks any kind of semblance of structure to its appeal. Wikipedia captures aspects about the storytelling that I couldn’t have possibly generated, affording with it a poignancy to the abundance of creative and cultural tragedies that surround its storytelling, which could’ve easily been lost without the compass needed to navigate throughout its spontaneous and at times aimless direction. Speaking of poignancy, the film does attain with it some commendable dramatic heft that leads to elaboracy among conflicts, but it’s left abandoned by a tonal consistency with no commitment to its values. Inarritu is known for these awkward moments of levity supplanted to comedic relief, and most of the time it works, as such in 2014’s “Birdman”, but here feel like they constantly intrude on a meaningful reveal or character-building moment that should be seen through serious goggles, bringing with it inconsistency that abruptly clashes throughout the duration of the nearly three hour run time. This in itself is another of the many problems, as the film is simply too long and too redundant in execution to constantly maintain compelling interests. To be fair, I feel like the film did get better in the second half, once the framing device settles in, however it’s mostly all for naught as the journey getting there feels too self-indulgent and occasionally pretentious to connect to a majority of its audience, bearing the weight of the ambitious run time that it conjures in Inarritu’s single longest feature to date. Finally, the script itself is subjected to some internal frustration, as the lack of pursuit towards some remarkable topics lends itself to surface level exploration that continuously drops the ball. Cultural exploitation, upper class manipulation, and creative dissatisfaction are only a few of the prominent themes introduced and rarely, if ever, followed through upon, allowing “Bardo” to talk a big game, but refusing the fearlessness of its visual storytelling approach to ever produce anything substantial to match it thematically.

OVERALL
“Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)” is the key towards unlocking one of cinema’s most fearless filmmakers, but its overstuffed and occasionally aimless storytelling, with a complete lack of structure in tow, stalls its psychological sentiments, leaving what is easily the most underwhelming project of the prominent director to date. Though the film is impressively audacious, especially in the metaphorical meaning of its expressive imagery and scenically rich cinematography, the ambition clearly gets the better of him, leading to a disjointed passion project that is a little too self-indulgent to appeal to the masses.

My Grade: 6/10 or C+