Alejandro G. Inarritu is a revolutionary director. On top of making numerous award-winning films, he can also direct a masterpiece about a filmmaker. BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is dazzling. It contains many inner emotions of one person that explodes with visuals and all kinds of excitement. The film is like Inarritu’s Birdman (2014) meets Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004). This comparison is because BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths portrays a filmmaker in sporadic stressful moments that lead in exhilarating directions.
BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths has many of the common themes that Inarritu tends to explore in his projects. Issues regarding the past, present, and future are the big ones. With BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, he makes their climax more figuratively classical, and then transitions it to darkness. Still, Inarritu knows how to find clever pieces of joy in spite of the darkness.
BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths gears on Silverio Gacho (played by Daniel Gimenez Cacho), a journalist and documentary filmmaker with a lot on his mind. At the start of the film, the story dives into his life. His issues range from dealing with family problems to facing his identity to acknowledging the reality in which he presently lives. BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is a mosaic of thoughts for Gacho, most of which are intriguing and shocking. Its direction takes the cake due to the complex world of problems that keep resulting in revolutionary resolutions.
The concepts of accomplishment and curiosity are what makes this movie spellbinding in both its writing and directing. It is honest in terms of why topics are being revisited and why the challenges are a struggle to be tackled by Gacho. As a fan of Inarritu, my appreciation for his directing is because of the realism he presents in BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. He exposes the mental struggles of Gacho in his narrative. The journey of Gacho’s conflicts immerse viewers in a world of success and failure with many difficult questions.
BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is one where I found myself thinking about how mindful adventures can create surreal experiences that can be vivid, dark, and engrossing. The performance by Cacho is unbelievably good, as is the film itself. Inarritu’s level of artistic directing goes above and beyond. BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is not missed.
Four stars.
Editor’s Note: BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is coming to Netflix December 16, 2022.
