BARDO Review

Surreal, dreamlike visions coupled with ideas of loss and civic pride are explored in director Iñárritu’s return-to-form “Bardo.”

Rating: B+

Synopsis

BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths  is an epic, visually stunning and immersive experience set against the intimate and moving journey of Silverio, a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, who, after being named the recipient of a prestigious international award, is compelled to return to his native country, unaware that this simple trip will push him to an existential limit. The folly of his memories and fears have decided to pierce through the present, filling his everyday life with a sense of bewilderment and wonder.

Review

2015’s “The Revenant” was an interesting turn for director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. It had A-List actors, an intense revenge-redemption story and was a period piece based on exaggerated myth. It had all the makings of legend and even got Leonardo DiCaprio his long-pursued Oscar. But compared to the cinematic excellence of “Birdman” and the director’s first picture “Ameros Perros”, the film felt rushed and lacked the depth of his best work. Cut to 2022 where Iñárritu (now also serving as the editor and co-composer) comes back to his Mexican roots with “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” a Spanish-Language film about a journalist-turned-filmmaker having a dreamlike existential crisis.

We meet our protagonist, Silverio Gama, in the desert, struggling at first then finally flying high into the air, his elevation reflected in a shadow (a movement reminiscent of Keaton flying high in “Birdman”). That coupled with the scene of a woman giving birth and doctors pushing the newborn baby back into her vagina (“He wants to go back in”, one doctor says, “he says the world is too fucked up”) gives us a window into what kind of surreal world we’re entering. In the beginning (this film travels through years), Silverio is a proud, self-deprecating journalist/filmmaker who is on a tour following the release of his latest documentary “False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.” The documentary has a polarizing reaction within Silverio’s homeland of Mexico. Some say it pales in comparison to his best work, some say it’s a solid documentary and some, in a particularly brutal sequence of shame in front of a studio audience, think he’s forgotten where’s he come from and is clamoring for genius he touched and peaked at a long time ago.

The brutal sequence in particular is a moment where Silverio sits down for an interview with a former colleague. The former colleague challenges him, his politics and his ideals, pushing him into embarrassment as he parades about the stage, mocking Silverio’s history and upbringing. As the audience laughs, Silverio remains in his seat, silent, unsure of what to say, how to respond, how to defend himself. It’s a tough scene that brings us into Silverio’s head and how he reacts to criticism and pushback. Things are better at home but not without their challenges. Silverio and his wife Lucía (Griselda Siciliani, terrific) are a strong unit but are haunted by the loss of their baby boy Mateo. The film’s title “Bardo” refers to a state of limbo, specifically between death and rebirth. Iñárritu pushes this theme to shocking, hilarious and heartbreaking effect when the film deals with the premature loss of Silverio’s son Mateo. In a surreal love scene between Silverio and Lucía, a passionate oral sex moment is interrupted as Silverio has to push his baby back into his wife’s uterus (just as weird as you would think but not as crude). Loss and rebirth are themes that haunt Silverio – they represent why he has so many bitter thoughts towards his home of Mexico. His son Lorenzo, growing from an innocent young boy to an inquisitive, defensive teenager, challenges his father and questions Silverio’s toxic love for Mexico. Lorenzo points out how Silverio moved his family to the United States for work, would always praise his love for Mexico while living in the States, but would obnoxiously complain about it once they were back in their homeland. His daughter Camilia, in a beautiful pool scene, tells her father she wants to move back to Mexico and not in a cozy high-rise apartment her father set up for her in America. His efforts to keep her in the states and away from the dangerous part of Mexico are erroneous and are just another way for him to block the complicated emotions he has towards his home.

Iñárritu really beats up his protagonist here, showing him at his highest highs and piercing his intrusive cinematic lens on him when he’s at his lowest lows. All the while, lead actor Daniel Giménez Cacho is down for the challenge. Cacho gives a brilliant performance as Silverio, giving truth behind every range of emotions his character encounters – anger, sadness, shame, pride, happiness, confusion. He embodies this character with charm, humility and passion. Two great sequences to note:  a scene where a Mexican customs agent ignorantly tells Silverio the United States is not his home (not even regarding him, eye-to-eye) and Silverio confronts this agent, demanding why he questions his citizenship and what is considered home to him. Can he not be a citizen of both Mexico AND the U.S.? Is this scene real? Is this argument real? It doesn’t matter, what matters is this is a reflection of Silverio’s complicated civic pride. Also: a tender scene where Silverio has a surreal conversation with his father in a restroom. His father, presumed to be dead, speaks of being proud of his son and what he has achieved. As his father congratulates and praises him, Silverio physically shrinks in stature (to the size of a young son), looking up to his father with pride and gratitude. Cacho handles these surreal scenes with a vulnerability that brings this character and his surreal visions to beautiful life.

“Bardo” not only brings Iñárritu back to his Mexican roots but also back to a tastemaker of great cinema. There are truly beautiful moments within this film, Iñárritu’s classic in-your-face cinematography carrying a Terrence Malick-like gracefulness as it follows Silverio through this surreal chronicle of events. Whimsical real-life reenactments of the Mexican-American war; an excellent tracking shot through a chaotic, TV studio; the greatest David Bowie needle drop this side of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”; a philosophical conversation with conquistador Hernán Cortés on a literal pile of bodies. Iñárritu throws it all at the wall to see what sticks and ends up making a beautiful, heartbreaking, human mess. I say “mess” because not everything fits in this 159-minute journey that is thirty minutes too long. Iñárritu leaves things lingering where we don’t need to linger, there are literally whole scenes of Silverio just walking. Granted, he may be walking away from a surreal scene where people just suddenly drop dead (or unconscious) but still, he’s just walking. I appreciate that Iñárritu likes to linger on moments and let the “beauty” of the scene pop out in time but there is such a thing as having a philosophical (somewhat pretentious) conversation with a famous conquistador go on for too long. “Bardo”, for all its greatness, could’ve benefited with Iñárritu being not so liberal with the editing and focusing on controlled beauty rather than drawn-out beauty.

Final Thoughts

“Bardo” is a great return-to-form for director Iñárritu. While it may not be as controlled or near perfect like “Birdman”, it’s a humorous, deep, heartbreaking cinematic treat. Part of what sells on a film like “Bardo” is its protagonist – Silverio has insecurities, he has conflicting emotions about his home, his work and about life itself. Just like Iñárritu, just like all of us. He’s human. Humanity shines above all else in this film, harking back to the opening scene where Silverio flies high in the sky. Within Silverio’s humanity, there are deep ideas and questions he brings to the table through internal monologues, discussions and debates. “Bardo”, its excessive length and pretentious moments notwithstanding, has deep ideas begging to be dissected and real beauty begging to be marveled.  

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