How Locarno Competition Player ‘De Noche Los Gatos Son Pardos’ Bucks Cinema Norms
variety.comJohn Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentTo the exuberant tones of Christophe’s “Aline,” lamenting the loss of his love, two shirtless men rejoice orgiastically as water tumbling down a rock face drenching their bodies.
Meanwhile, at a country house, maids and a gardener, dressed in period costume, proudly pour what looks like a mixture of water and milk onto plants.The scenes, it seems, are from a libertine costume drama, being shot in the wooded French countryside.
Then suddenly Valentin, the director, disappears. Clodhopping local cops interview the crew; some time later, Robin, the film’s DP and Valentin’s lover, travels to the Pacific-shore Mexico to fulfil a promise.Sensual, sexual, playful, genre-blending and very meta, “De Noche los Gatos Son Pardos,” winner of Locarno’s 2021 First Look on Swiss Cinema, world premieres later this week in international competition at the Locarno Film Festival.
Picked up for world sales by Italy’s Open Reel in the run-up to the Festival, few films buck more norms of popcorn movie entertainment: Everyone Gets LostIn mainstream movies, the hero accomplishes a goal.
Read more on variety.com
