Netflix has just dropped a brand-new official trailer for legendary filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu‘s latest film Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. The film just premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival and received between a four and six minute standing ovation. Bardo tells the story of a famous Mexican journalist who faces his own existentialism when he comes back to his native country after winning a prestigious award. Bardo stars Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, Iker Sanchez Solano, Andrés Almeida, and Francisco Rubio.
The trippy trailer makes great use of psychedelic imagery and “I Am The Walrus” by The Beatles, creating an almost indescribable vibe that only Iñárritu could convey. In the trailer, the audience is shown the fantastical looking life of main character Silverio as he attends parties, travels on trains, and is caught up in what looks like a war reenactment, but considering the otherworldly feeling of the trailer, it could actually not be a reenactment. Based on the trailer, Bardo seems to be the exploration of the inner psyche of a creative mind, and appears to teeter on the edge of reality and fantasy. Bardo looks like it will be a heavy yet enjoyable film, and yet another tour-de-force from Iñárritu.
When Bardo initially premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it was three hours long. Iñárritu, who directed the film from a script by himself and Nicolás Giacobone, has since decided to cut 22 minutes from the original version. The version that will premiere on Netflix and play theatrically will hold a runtime of about two and a half hours. Bardo has been rated R by the MPAA for language throughout, strong sexual content and graphic nudity.
Iñárritu is an Oscar-winning filmmaker who has directed a total of seven films. His debut feature Amores Peros, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000, putting the writer and director on the map. His next two films, 21 Grams and Babel, followed in Amores Perros’s footsteps by telling multiple intertwining narratives that show the dark side of life. Iñárritu then made the films Biutiful and Birdman, the latter marking a change in the filmmakers style from gritty realism to fantastical sensationalism. The Revenant, which was the directors’ last film before Bardo, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and was a huge commercial and critical success, earning a total of 12 Academy Award nominations.
Bardo will be released in limited theaters on November 4 before a nationwide wide expansion on November 18. The film will drop on Netflix on December 16. Check out the official trailer and synopsis below:
“BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is an epic, visually stunning and immersive experience set against the intimate and moving journey of Silverio, a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, who, after being named the recipient of a prestigious international award, is compelled to return to his native country, unaware that this simple trip will push him to an existential limit. The folly of his memories and fears have decided to pierce through the present, filling his everyday life with a sense of bewilderment and wonder.With both emotion and abundant laughter, Silverio grapples with universal yet intimate questions about identity, success, mortality, the history of Mexico and the deeply emotional familial bonds he shares with his wife and children. Indeed, what it means to be human in these very peculiar times.”