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To some, that sense of greatness is unearned.
And I get it.
The Inarritu Wars play out regularly in my own head: I lovedAmores PerrosandBirdman, but I detested21 GramsandBabel.
(I still maintain that theres a good film in there somewhere.)
Hes about to receive a prestigious prize from a U.S. journalism association, but he is filled with guilt.
Guilt over accusations that he kisses the gringos asses.
Guilt over criticisms that his work is self-centered, indulgent.
Guilt over his bourgeois lifestyle, his out-of-touchness with the common people.
Guilt over the fact that hes never there for his family.
Has he somehow been complicit in setting the stage for such a capitalist calamity?
A lot of critics arent buying all this introspection.
Bardois a film high on its own supply yet low on any sense of actual intrigue or intuition.
For the filmmaker, hes breathing in his own narcissism.
Theyre breathing in his exhaust fumes, writesMarshall Shaffer at Slashfilm.
Those are the reviews; theon-the-ground buzzhas in some cases been even more brutal.
From afar, as many immigrants can attest to, our yearning to belong often manifests in patriotic sentiments.
Nobody is prouder of being Mexican than a Mexican outside of Mexico, by choice or need.
Honestly, on paper, it sounds like the kind of thing I would love.
But I must admit that I really did not care forBardo.
But its more than that.
Without a central story, the film fails to breathe or move.
I was actually shocked at how coldBardoleft me.
Thats a devastating idea.
So why doesnt it work?
Everyone, including Silverios wife and his other two kids, seems to be there to reflecthim.
Not even his lost child.
Many have noted thatBardoconsciously evokes Federico Fellinis similarly surreal and semi-autobiographical masterpiece8 12.
It also recalls Ingmar Bergmans classic journey into memory,Wild Strawberries.
(Birdmanalso has, like, characters, and a story.)
(You used historical figures to talk about yourself!)
ButBardos critic doesnt get such a touching comeuppance.
For some of those critics, the feeling gives the impression of mutual.
