Sabor tropical

Jorge Ameer does it again! A truly disturbing and thought provoking reality style thriller. One of Ameer's most intense and interesting films to date. Watching the main character evolve into the twisted human being he actually is a treat in itself. Mathew Leitch is a great lead, he plays a likable character that an everyday person could relate to...until we find out he has a much darker secret. Jose Rosete also gives an outstanding performance, there are some great moments between Rosete and Leitch that are extremely powerful. The ending will leave you speechless, the final shot sent shivers down my spine, highly recommended, go see it!!!

The premise of the film is young, cocky Californian has been hired to shoot footage of the Carnival in Panama. He makes arrangements ahead of time to hook up with a woman he has met online but discovers he has been catfished after he arrives.

The blending of the story of what is happening in the Californian's life and the "documentary" he is being paid to film are woven together so completely that many people get sucked into believing it is just an odd travelogue. I was part of a film programming team that viewed this film as a prospective festival entry but most of the team felt this way. The style of the film is that masterful.

I do wonder if cutting back on the Carnival footage might have allowed the dramatic story to be clearer. You are really watching two films: One about the filmmaker and the other what the filmmaker is capturing.

Leitch is most of the film, and his portrayal of the confused, selfish California yuppy is multi-dimensional in that you see his swaggering and how that masks his insecurities and inner pain. The expression on his face in the final scene is haunting.

How did this movie ever get labeled as a thriller? I must have fallen asleep during those thriller sequences. In other words, there are no thrilling parts, no suspenseful parts and not a mystery to be found. Unless you try to count the online event as the mystery. It is not a mystery but an unfortunate occurrence that anyone using the internet should be wise to. The movie is nothing more than a boring rendition of a Panamanian travelogue with some repulsive violence near the end.

If you're interested in seeing the lead, Matthew Leitch, in various states of undress or nakedness, then the movie does provide that. Otherwise, good luck at finding anything else in the movie that's worth the wasting of your time.

Jorge Ameer's latest outing is as much fascinating as it is distinct in style. I saw this film at a theatre in Ft. Lauderdale and wondered why there were only evening shows, but as I began to watch I immediately realized why. With a reality/documentary (think "Quarantine") - follow your every move - photography, the film summarizes Brian's (played by the very talented Matthew Leitch) travels through Panama and the high energy, intensely beautiful and awesome carnival of Las Tablas. This film definitely made me want to make reservations for next years festivities. I have seen other Ameer films, but this one by far is his best. I was specially engaged in all of the hedonism and shameless pursuit of Brian's libido fulfillment. The images of the opening credits are most disturbing, yet quite allegorical and symbolic to Brian's plight in what I would call a most amazing vitriolic conclusion. What I found even more clever was the fluidity of the unfolding proceedings. It was hard to figure out what was scripted from what was improvised or true, an element I would have to say is an asset and a definite merit to the film. Don't think I should say much more about this without feeling like I'm giving the story away, so all I will say is see it for yourself.

I enjoyed this movie, it had a lot of interesting twists to it. Very colorful and informative.It's a suspenseful and captivating journey with a young man's visit to an unfamiliar country and his experiences along the way.The story was a roller coaster ride of emotions.The characters were interesting and often not what you would expect.The scenes were real and unfiltered showing the heart and soul of Panama. Which made for an interesting story, not very predictable.I would have liked to have seen more background on the main character learned more history on him.Definitely will checkout future films from the young lead actor.Loved the previous works from the director Jorge Ameer. I would recommend this movie if you are captivated by the unexpected.