Gueros (2014)
9/10
In a quest for the grail...
6 March 2021
...the grail may not be so important.

Set in 1999 amidst the university strike in Mexico, the film eschews the political (mostly) for the personal. The film moves with a pace that is both unpredictable, but in hindsight guided by some hand of fate. There are wonderful mirroring of events (seals, tigers and bricks/balloons), and the use of extreme sound/imaging borders on an ASMR trigger.

Memorable characters, humor and violence battle for your attention, and even if I only got the reheated meal via translation, this was maybe the most enjoyable Friday night film of the whole damn pandemic.

Two shorts and an interview accompanied the DVD I rented. Well worth watching, and not just for the sake of seeing Tenoch Huerta's acting chops. I was watching some of the deleted scenes included as well but I really did not want to alter the experience I had just completed.

One really unrelated tip, while I heard Ruizpalacios mention Truffaut, Jarmusch and Wender...not so long ago I watched the excellent multi-part documentary "Rompan Todo" which helped to set up the quest in a way.

That said, the film stands (strongly) by itself. Look forward to more from the film palace of Ruizpalacios!
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