Here comes another Netflix splash into the Oscar race. The streaming giant has bought Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Bardo (False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths).”
Shot on 65mm, with striking cinematography from Academy Award-nominee Darius Khondji, the film is said to be a semi-autobiographical account of the Mexican filmmaker’s roots in Mexico. Cue in the “Roma” comparisons.
Netflix was lacking a big contender this year for Oscar contention; Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” and Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” seem more poised for critical attention than any kind of Academy love.
Deadline actually has an exclusive plot synopsis:
“It chronicles the story of a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker, who returns home and works through an existential crisis as he grapples with his identity, familial relationships, the folly of his memories as well as the past of his country. He seeks answers in his past to reconcile who he is in the present.”
As reported on 09.24.21, the film has been a source of controversy in Mexico, with a hefty batch of poisonous rumors indicating that Iñárritu completely ignored COVID protocols during the production of ‘Bardo’ and that a lawsuit, by some members of the production crew, was imminent.
Regardless, Inarritu is a major voice in cinema and this is without a doubt one of our most anticipated films of the year. It’s also the Mexican filmmaker’s first film since his 2015 technical triumph “The Revenant.”