Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Bardo, falsa crónica de unas cuantas verdades - 2022)

Despite the interesting Oscar-nominated cinematography with bright colors, wide angle lenses, and long tracking shots, I lost patience during this 2:39 extravaganza, filled with dream sequences and heavy dialogue, about a documentary filmmaker who returns home to Mexico to receive an award. Described as a comedy, it didn't provide me many laughs.

Daniel Giménez-Cacho leads the enormous cast under the direction of Alejandro G. Iñárritu, working from a script co-written by the director and Nicolás Giacobone. Iñárritu is no stranger to wordy subtitles and long tracking shots, having helmed Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

The music by Bryce Dessner and Iñárritu is available on Apple Music and elsewhere. Some of it has the lilt of a comedy. 

Darius Khondji's cinematography is complemented by beautiful and imaginative production design, credited to Eugenio Caballero.

Iñárritu was last blogged for directing and writing The Revenant, Giacobone for co-writing Birdman, Dessner for scoring The Kitchen, and Khondji for shooting Uncut Gems. Giménez-Cacho's resume includes playing an abusive priest in La mala educación (Bad Education - 2004) and the narrator in Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001), and Caballero worked on Rudo y Cursi, The Impossible, and Roma, to name a few.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics wrote but a handful of good reviews, averaging 59%, while its audiences liked it better at 70.

I watched it on Netflix on February 22. Jack sat next to me on the couch but paid way less attention than I did.