So this is of course polarizing and yes, Silva does have a tendency to deliberately shock for no dramatic purpose, but this film is carried by his muse Catalina Saavedra who helped him to stardom as "La Nana" (2009) which won Sundance back in the day. Silva then moved to the US and made one terrible film after another, all lacking the ingenious timing of "La Nana", so he has good reasons to be depressed and suicidal. This film is obviously a cleansing ritual of sorts, Silva kills himself to be born again, and while this may seem terribly self-centered, it does provide one of the most neglected actresses a chance to show her vast range.
It's also a rare satire of hedonistic queer life as only Almodóvar did before respectability killed his genius, also in collaboration with muses, most importantly Carmen Maura. It's no coincidence that Saavedra's part has similarities with Maura's in "What have I done to deserve this" (1984). Firstman is pretty gutsy doing a role like this (just imagine, Michael Cera turned it down). He is an Instagramer and this film makes you hate them even more. Most people don't seem to get the allegory of the artist working on film and canvas (which Saavedra destroys in her first scene) being replaced by the digital usurper, although that elevates the film to social criticism.
For me it's a positive surprise as I didn't expect much from it, but the shock value for non-gays makes it niche. To paraphrase a Latino saying, Americans just can't look cocks in the eye(s).
Rotting in the Sun
2023 [SPANISH]
Comedy / Mystery / Thriller
Plot summary
A filmmaker facing an existential crisis goes on a vacation to a Mexican gay nudist beach, where he meets a social media celebrity who convinces him to collaborate with him on his new TV show. But one disappears and another embarks on a wild journey through Mexico City to find him.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
September 17, 2023 at 04:46 PM
Director
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB.x265Movie Reviews
Closest to '80s Almodóvar ever
blinded by the 'flashing lights'
Overall, Rotting in the Sun has everything it takes to make a decent thriller. It's pacy, it's good kind of chaotic, well acted by the protagonists and interesting twists and turn.
I get that excessive drugs use from the hedonistic protagonists seems like a 'social commentary' of influencers life, but it ended up being tacky. Haven't you heard, hedonism is no longer cool in this economy ?
Coming into this film i expect a certain degree of nudity, but my goodness, i didn't expect this many flashing of male genitalia and explicit sex scenes that pretty much a 'corn'.
These things felt like it serves as a 'shock value', with purpose to compensate other things that this film lack of, and that is humor. It has nothing to do with the story and i don't see any reason why this is necessary.
I watched this film cause of some rave on tiktok. Maybe it's not the most reliable apps to gets films recommendation.
Oh come on!
This was such utter rubbish I had to fast forward much of it. I don't mind "unconventional" films at all, but this was just so uninteresting and over the top that it veered into being unwatchable.
To me the film just seemed like it wanted to shock. The sex scenes were unsexy and grafted on. Really, what were they there for? They didn't advance the plot. It was just for titillation.
Annoyingly, subtitles were only provided in English for the Spanish-language parts. This meant I had to switch on the French subs. Fortunately I'm fluent in French, but I'd have preferred English all the way through.
I didn't find the film upbeat or "zany" at all. It was simply a mess that had no meaning. Really, this is not worth the time.