Simón (Lorenzo Ferro) likes to spend time with young adults with intellectual disabilities and away from his troubled home with his mother and her boyfriend. The problem is, Simón does not have any disability. His is an act.
Directed by Federico Luis, Simón de la montaña is a character study of a 22-year-old young adult whose intention to be part of that group where his newfound friends are seems to be so important as to devise a plan to get a disability certificate. When Simón is not working with his stepfather Agustín (Agustín Toscano) as a moving helper, he is spending time with Pehuen (Pehuen Pedre) and Colo (Kiara Supini). Pehuen sees through Simón and tries to help him by training him to get the certificate at the civil registry. Colo, on the other hand, sees Simón as more than a friend and her intentions as having him as a boyfriend will have both of them navigate different situations.
It is clear the film's greatest asset is Lorenzo Ferro's performance. He manages to capture in a nuanced manner the traits characterizing these conditions. Something that has a greater impact once he is seen acting in his true self. And despite its interesting premise, Simón de la montaña is more expository than anything else. Even if it is engaging and captivating by reason of its atmosphere, we cannot say it is a profound exercise in exploration of a character's persona since his intentions are never hinted at. This should not be mistaken with the writer's intention of allowing the audience to fill in the blank spaces, because the reasons behind his behavior are never hinted at in any way. This renders the movie more as a platform for questions than a study of disabilities or psychology. The cost of this is that it is difficult to create a connection with the story, sympathize with the characters, or be fully invested, since we are never let in.
