By Roger Costa
MOTEL DESTINO
Strong bonds can surge from unexpected circumstances. They tend to last for a lifetime or dismantle within phases. The mysterious force between two people or a group varies in its forms, as parents, relatives, friends, acquaintances or lovers. One of the most critically praised contemporary Brazilian filmmakers, Karim Ainouz has been successfully investigating the effects of strong bonds, especially when it means the depths of desire. Throughout his vast international career, the director has provided a landscape for questioning just how far someone could go in order to achieve their obsessions or compulsive desires. He has traveled the world with ambitious, respectable projects, but every time he returns home, to his roots and origins, he scores higher notes.
In this case, “Motel Destino”, his latest sexually-charged drama which premiered at last year’s Cannes and was nominated for the Best Picture Grande Otelo Award, is Ainouz’s return to good form. A neon-fueled erotic crime thriller, this is among his best works, next to the extraordinary trio “Invisible Life”, “Madame Sata” and “Futuro Beach”.
The screenplay co-written by Ainouz, Wislan Esmeraldo and the director’s regular collaborator Mauricio Zacharias (who also pens the films of Ira Sachs) is a deeply raw and vibrant character study, fully undressing the young hustler Heraldo as he navigates crime, sexual desires and aspirations, while trying to escape the harsh reality of poverty in Ceara and give it a chance in Sao Paulo where opportunities may happen. Then again, Ainouz and his pair of co-writers masterly explore the dynamics of desire, passion, power and manipulation with accuracy and intimacy.
Through Heraldo’s strong bonds, whether to the devotion to his best friend, the group he belongs to, or the new “family” who takes him in, the narrative presents important questions on the value of these bonds and the blurring line between loyalty and deceit.
Just when he was getting ready to board on for the next chapter of his life- migrating south in search of building a stable future- Heraldo sees his dreams shattered by irreversible circumstances. Fleeing from his own criminal group after a gone-wrong operation, he hides at a roadside motel, forming an unexpected, lust-fueled and dangerously intense bond to its owners, the eccentric couple Dayana and Elias. As their relationship intensifies and comes to extreme, violent behaviors, Heraldo must decide whether to move forward with his plans or to stay and face the consequences.
Extracting convincing and confident performances from the central trio, Iago Xavier as the impulsive Heraldo, Nataly Rocha as the ambiguous Dayana and a fantastic Fabio Assuncao as the vulnerably tempestuous Elias, Ainouz crafts an intriguing, sexual heated drama that masterly revolves around these characters, their desires, voyeurism and expectations.
It’s a visually arresting production, gloriously shot in neon lights, impeccably designed and pleasurably erotic.
(Strand Releasing. 8/29. IFC Center).
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