The existential dilemma (sponsored by Cannes)
It seems that the weekend offers us a ruthless choice: go out to face a world that is falling apart or stay in the armchair watching others do it for us. The billboards, in an act of infinite kindness, offer us new bets and some relaunches that, according to them, deserve us to look for those lost coins on the couch and, what is more valuable, to scratch a hole in our agenda. How generous.
First of all, we come across “Enzo”. Director Robin Campillo poses a question that keeps us all awake at night: if you were 16 years old and your future was more than resolved by the simple fact of being born into the right family, would you throw everything overboard to pursue your dreams? Of course yes, Campillo responds with enviable confidence. His creation did not win the Palme d’Or at the last Cannes Festival, but, oh consolation!, he received carloads of applause for his honesty. Imagine: so much honesty it almost hurts. The director immerses his dramatic protagonist in a situation so human that we can almost smell the smell of adolescent uncertainty. Everything gets complicated, as it should, when he meets a young Ukrainian who, through narrative magic, teaches him to see life differently. We cannot reveal more about the plot because, apparently, a single detail would ruin the monumental surprise that awaits. Just know that you will relive those wonderful passages of anxiety, doubt and panic that we all miss so dearly from our youth.
Ghosts, nostalgia and the trauma of not having friends
Then there is the turn of a specter that returns to remind us how old we are. Before ghostbusters with their green slime became fashionable, there was a good-hearted spectral entity that only longed for one thing in the afterlife: a friend. His name was Casper (or Gasparín, for those who bought sabritas at the oxxo). This lonely little ghost captivated generations in the 1950s with his cartoons. However, it took four long decades for the industry to pass and for technology to allow it for someone to dare to give it a body (or something similar) in a live-action film. Thus, in 1995—almost 30 years ago, for a shock of reality—this gem was released with Bill Pullman (the same one who saved the world from aliens) and Cristina Ricci (the macabre and adorable Wednesday Addams). The plot, a family comedy where a father and his daughter arrive at a haunted mansion inhabited by Casper and his, in giant quotes, “evil” uncles. How terrifying, right?
Terror made in Mexico (with influencer ingredients)
To close with a panic, the local proposal. Blumhouse, the label that has given us gems to keep us awake like “Paranormal Activity” and “The Purge”, has decided to open a branch in Mexico. His workhorse is “No Me Follows”, a film that, with a marketing campaign worthy of a presidential premiere, will be on one in ten screens in the country. For this feat, they have teamed up with the Mexican production company Maligno, known for “Párvulos.” The perfect setting to terrify the public? The old Canada building in Mexico City, a place with a history so joyous that it includes murders and three decades of neglect. Of course, the protagonist couldn’t be a normal person; No, that would be too boring. She is an influencer specialized in paranormal phenomena, because in the digital age, even ghosts need followers. To bring this horror and social media drama to life, fresh faces like that of Karla Coronado have been chosen. Surely the spirits of the Canada building are delighted with so much exposure on networks.
There you have it, a cinematic menu for all tastes: existential crisis with European touches, ghostly nostalgia and local horror with influencers. Is the choice yours? Or maybe they’re just three different ways to kill time before Monday arrives. Share this cinematographic satire with your friends on social networks and discover more analysis, as scathing as this one, in our culture section.
