BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Venice Film Festival #7 – PalaBiennale

Bardo, much like its official title, is a lot. The film doesn’t just throw you in the deep end, it completely submerges you in dense metaphors and absurdist comedy but by some sheer magic, it really works. Admittedly upon first viewing it’s really hard to make sense of what the hell is going on, but there’s such a strong thematic thread running through the entire girthy 3-hour runtime that once you let go of everything having to make perfect sense and let the symbolic scenes wash over you, it ends up such a pleasurable experience. Yet to top it all off, the film astonishingly comes together in such a smart way, that just adds to the beauty and genius of the entire film prior.

The masterful direction of Iñárritu shines in his deeply personal film that is a love letter to Mexico. Every scene is filled with so much love for his country for which he expertly explores his conflicted feelings and relationship with his identity. The film should be very disconnected and have a hard time maintaining an emotional throughline as the scenes are so bizarre and lack narrative connection, yet Iñárritu crafts such an interesting character in Silverio and always is using the foundation of identity and belonging as a base from which he builds his scenes, that it’s impossible not to be engaged.

It's not a stretch to presume that the character of Silverio is a stand-in for the acclaimed man behind the camera, someone who feels at odds with his identity and is still grappling with the toll of success. Some may call this self-indulgent, or simply an expression solely meant for one’s benefit, but I think that’s reductive to the story being told. It’s fragmented and is clearly drawing from personal experiences, but there’s a profanity and depth that one is able to unearth when using art as a way to indulge in aspects of one’s life.

Alongside the quite beautiful aspects of identity and his connection to Mexico, there’s simultaneous themes explored around success and how that effects one’s identity and the repercussions that has on one’s life, in indirect ways. Often this is explored through family, exploring Silverio’s connection to his father and in turn his connection to his children. These two threads complement each other as it becomes a reflection on the choices Silverio has made throughout his life and the realisation that had he done things differently he might not be where he is.

Much like Baumbach’s White Noise, Iñárritu indulges in all aspects of filmmaking with his larger budget and makes a film which is technically flawless. The sweeping cinematography, both in the more intimate scenes and in the larger set pieces, allows the scenes to be not only fun and absurd but also gorgeous. The score as well perfectly matches how strange the film is, using horns to create this frumpy motif that matches the character’s arc. A stunning performance from Daniel Giménez Cacho also helps