Museo

I like the tone of the movie, the characters are funny, the story is serious, the events are tense. You won't regret watching. The film was adapted from a real story, but came to me a little exaggerated. Especially when I was watching the robbery scene. I hope our museums are better protected.

This is Alonso Ruízpalacios' second masterpiece, after the gorgeous Güeros (2014). As a disclaimer, this is more of a road movie and character study, than a robbery movie, it doesn't glamorize neither the crime nor the criminals, and at the same time makes a commentary on Mexican society as a whole. Instead of the usual narrative of "the robbery of the century", the screenplay focuses more on asking the question "What kind of character would do something like that?" and creates the complex, troubled, and idealistic Juan, who, tired of his family that makes him feel like he doesn't belong, decides to find himself by doing something nobody else would do, he drags his best friend Wilson who is more of a victim of his friend's ideals than a criminal. They get on the road, and it will test the friendship of both. The cinematography is always top notch, camera acts as the thing that reflects Juan's unreliable point of view. Most of the time lacking depth of field, and distracting from the main film and contemplating parts of a world bigger than the plot, along with editing which is mostly slow, and other times experimental, it lets you see that the setting of the story is greater than the story itself. The acting is also amazing, this is one of those movies enhanced by how much an actor tells you about the character without the need to say anything. But where the movie shines the most is in the sound design, there are entire sequences in the film told only by sound, and other scenes that get a new context because of how the sounds are managed. And everything comes together by Ruízpalacios' directing. Many times through the film it reminds you, you are watching a movie by braking continuity, cutting in the middle of a conversation, or with actual directing orders in the middle of a scene, but it actually works to make it more magical.

As a side note This is a movie where setting matters, México is not only the place this movie happens, it is the only place it could happen. Not only because of the poorly managed security in the museum, the way road military operates, or the erratic way news travel, but because of the lack of identity in the characters, feeling as if the pieces were their right to steal because those too were taken. Something I've always find lackluster in most Mexican films is how little they resemble Mexico, most of them usually work as a parody of the people and culture. But in both, Güeros and Museo, it is a celebration of the things that makes México an unique country, In neither a negative or positive view, but in one full of awareness. It is the first time in a long time that I've seen a film and actually said "this is a movie set in the same Mexico I live".

Nihilism in the film captivated me from beginning to end. While there are implications of cultural imperialism, the culture poisoning of the individual has also been shown. The institution of 'family' has been included in the dilemma as the institution to which the individual both wants to move away and which he remains attached. Many people have criticized the lacuna in the script, but I think this was left on purpose because the movie rejected the causality principle from the beginning. Sound editing tooks part in the movie as an actor/actress. The black woman with a bleeding nose at the party, the rubik's cube, and the people jumping into the water... Each symbol is skillfully placed.

Museo was shown as part of the 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). It tells a great story with some quirkiness and comedic elements. As a Mexican movie, there are some aspects such as historical and political factors that are culturally-specific. These aspects made it difficult for me to comprehend totally, having no knoweldge of Mexican culture. It's not a criticism of the film, more a self-disclosure of my inability to relate to all of the content. This aside, there are many aspects of Museo which have universality: the relationship between parents and adult children, the humour, childhood friendships that continue into adulthood, the moments of pathos and family Christmas get-togethers, which is portrayed with great mischieviosness in Museo. These are built around the heist of the Archaelogical Museum, which is at the centre of the film. Museo also raises questions about storytelling which is in the background throughout the movie. Are stories which are passed down in narrative form always accurate or do they become embellished as time goes on? What is fiction and non-fiction? What is true and what is false? So that at the end of the movie the audience is left wondering how much of what is portrayed did happen. Gael Garcia Bernal as Juan (the brains behind the heist) steals the show (oops poor pun there .. lol). His sidekick Benjamin played by Leonardo Ortizgris makes up the pair and provides some of the funnier moments in the film. The film drags a little in the middle and could do with some editing. Overall, this is an entertaining film, which will have more salience for a Mexican audience.

The movie had a really cool/interesting story to pull from and I thought they did a pretty good job at keeping the story going, though there is one part where the plot drags a little. There were some really great and interesting cinematography. The movie over all is okay, would give it a 7.5 if I could. I think the film is worth the watch but make sure to read the actual story afterwards.