Experimenting with the power of images has been in the history of cinema since its inception, and the linear way of telling a story has long been just another option. This opens up a range of narrative possibilities with images. Surrealism has precisely the task of being more above emotions, sensations. To convey thoughts in the best possible way, regardless of the narration understood in the most classic way. Alejandro Gónzález Iñárritu plays with this idea in his new film: Bardo, false chronicle of few truths, broadcast on Netflix.
Silverio is the protagonist of Bardo, a journalist who makes documentaries. He is Mexican, but lives in Los Angeles. He is forced to return to his native country and what seemed like a simple move turns into an existential journey that will stir his ideas about him.
This is the starting point of director Gónzález Iñárritu’s new film. This is important because in the film, even though the character isn’t himself, it’s clear that they share similarities. Too many. The film becomes a manifesto of his ideas, his past, his present, his fears and concerns.
It is true that the 174 minutes that Bardo lasts may seem a bit excessive considering that he is the director of the film and is about himself. Does he seem pretentious and maybe a way to inflate your ego? At first yes, even if the film tries to keep a balance in this sense.
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It sure is visually appealing. From the first image, Bardo shows us something powerful that won’t leave us indifferent. That shadow crossing the desert is a great metaphor for what the film ends up being. We also see right away that the film will have a great sense of humor.
Storytelling is at the service of reflection. The film is more than a concatenation of images with a purely poetic meaning: it also offers moments in which we believe we are witnessing reality. In this way he manages to make the viewer empathize with certain situations and with some of the most representative dramas of the film. Yes, some passages are more interesting than others, which is to be expected in such a long film.
Besides the visual aspect, another of the film’s strengths are its performances. The absolute protagonist of Bardo is Daniel Giménez Cacho, with whom we go hand in hand throughout the surreal journey. The interest that history has largely depends on him, that we feel the same confusion as he, that we are preoccupied with the same problems. And he succeeds, even if sometimes the film makes it difficult for him in the midst of so many changes.
In short, Bardo follows in the wake that the director started with Biutiful, proposing his most personal and reflective film to date. And also the one that offers the most humor, but which requires a lot from the viewer in terms of patience and attention.
