Karim Aïnouz's latest erotic thriller Motel Destino is a delicious cinematic mix of desire, sex, and crime. Aïnouz is a Cannes favorite, with six of his films having premiered at the Cannes Film Festival till now. This year, Motel Destino competed for both the Palme d'Or and the Queer Palm.
Set somewhere on the coast of Brazil, Motel Destino is a dingy sex motel characterized by neon lights. The hotel is run by Elias and his partner Dayana, who are indifferent to the world of sex and crime within the motel. They are sucked into this world so much that Elias is often found voyeuristically self-pleasuring and covering up criminal acts to keep the police at bay. This is a place where no guests stay for long, and no one asks any questions. One day, the young and attractive Heraldo arrives at the motel, bringing his own criminal baggage. He soon becomes a part of the couple's dynamic, disrupting the established order. The three principal characters then venture into the third and final act of this queer noir film as they reach their destinies.
The film is brilliantly shot, with intense, uncomfortable close-ups of the characters' faces trapped in their situations, and sweaty bodies pumping with desire. Heraldo's close-up shots of his naked body depict him as both strong and fragile at the same time. Dayana has a tenderness and is eagerly waiting for someone to give her a shimmer of hope to escape her abusive relationship with Elias. The film's color palette seamlessly switches between neon red and blue, red signifying the carnal desires of the occupants, and blue representing the dreadful feeling of emptiness that follows the high.
With Motel Destino focusing on raw emotions and carnal desires, masterfully captured through brilliant cinematography, the somewhat lack of world-building in the beginning seems intentional, giving the audience a sense of detachment from society.... Worth Watching... Adios...
