[Not] For Your Consideration... Güeros

The goal of this blog is to point you in the right direction when it comes to watching foreign language films, so I was torn on reviewing this one. But I decided that in order to know what to watch, you also need to know what not to watch, and this 2014 independent Mexican film, Güeros, should be on that list for casual film fans, despite the fact it was nominated for 13 Ariel Awards (the Mexican equivalent to the Academy Awards) and won several other awards too. I was expecting a fun, attention-grabbing story showing life in Mexico City, but instead found a convoluted story that never tied up any of its loose ends.

Here's a quick recap of the plot: Güeros primarily follows the life of two Mexican college students and one of their younger brothers. The younger brother, Tomás, gets into trouble at home for some childhood antics and is sent off to live with his brother. The movie opens up to a great start, offering a glimpse of college life in Mexico City. Sombra, Tomás’ brother, and Santos live just like any two other typical college students; dirty dishes piled in the sink, beer bottles all over the place, eating as cheaply as they can, but also “borrowing” electricity from their neighbors downstairs and trying to get by as their university is shut down by protests. Growing up, Tomás & Sombra listened to a folk artist named Epigmenio Cruz and see that he is in the hospital, so they decide to try and find him to pay their respects. He is not there, but a nurse gives the boys his wallet, so they go on a quest to try and find Epigmenio.

This film is set up to be a great, comedic portrait of Mexico City, but falls flat. As the three guys drive around Mexico City, you forget what their purpose in doing so was in the first place. It’s not because they are doing anything extremely entertaining, but it seems the script just forgot about its own goal. The film is also self-indulgent at some points; there is one scene in particular where one of the director’s friends makes a cameo in the car. You can see the clapper board or slate (that is famously used before the director calls “action”), and the character reminds you that you are watching a movie by talking about the quality of the movie’s script. Writing the summary above was difficult because the movie isn’t really about anything. As a viewer, there is no character development, and there is no clarity to who the main characters are or what purposes they have, or how they grow through the process of the film. They are just kind of, well, there. A fourth character, Ana, comes and goes, and the film shifts its attention to her and Sombra’s relationship, but forgets about Tomás and even more so about Santos.   

After the film, director/writer Alonso Ruizpalacios said this film was 33 years in the making and the tale reflects the French New Wave, showing the influence of road films and 70s Mexican films. When asked, Ruizpalacios said the film was about friendship and the playfulness that is involved when making a film, evident by the fact that the cast and crew are close friends of his. He also mentioned the use of intentional anachronisms in the movie, not restricting the film to any one time period. However, most of these anachronisms only applied to people familiar with Mexican culture, and doesn’t translate so well for viewers unfamiliar with Mexican film and culture.

Ruizpalacios says, "I think some film makers want to secretly go d'arte someday." Well, he definitely did that in a way that makes this highly-acclaimed film not so entertainment friendly. If you want to see some great camera shots and the grittier side of Mexico City, feel free to check it out, but there are very many other films out there that do this much more effectively while clearly telling a story at the same time.