What is life beyond our memories? Celebrated filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu journeys through recollections and the truths they conceal in “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.” The film, which focuses on an award-winning journalist/documentarian, seems to be a thematic successor to Iñárritu’s “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).” Part illusion, part reality — the principal aspects of ‘Bardo’ push the audience to question everything.
Iñárritu indulges his own queries in this stunning cinematic inquiry. “Memory lacks truth,” He wrote as part of the film’s 2022 Venice Film Festival director’s statement. “It only possesses emotional conviction. It is the truth in that emotion that I set out to search for in the enormous drawer of chimeras I have been carrying.” The film debuted there, but it was met with mixed results (read our review). Still, he remains unbowed, and Netflix is clearly still viewing it as an Oscar contender.
The project pushes a talented set of performers to their artistic limits. Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, and Iker Solano lead the cast. Cacho is an intriguing choice, having worked with Guillermo del Toro in 1993’s “Cronos” as well as Alfonso Cuarón in 2001’s “Y Tu Mamá También.”
The film’s official 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.
With both emotion and abundant laughter, Silverio grapples with universal yet intimate questions about identity, success, mortality, the history of Mexico and the deeply emotional familial bonds he shares with his wife and children. Indeed, what it means to be human in these very peculiar times.
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Following its Venice premiere, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” is set for a November 18 limited theatrical release, with the film premiering on Netflix on December 16. Watch the trailer for “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” below.
