Pornomelancholia (Spanish)

This film (which often feels like a documentary, given its real life subject) is study of a guy trying to make it in the gay porn industry, but done with sensitivity, wit and thoughtfulness. Combining reality and fiction, is a compelling portrait of loneliness in the times of social media where there is no place for privacy. And this is evident from the very first scene of the film where all, a good looking guy is standing in a busy street and unexpectedly breaks down in tears.

Lalo Santos. A good looking man in his 30s works in a factory in Oaxaca, where to fit in he has to pretend to be a married man and a machista, but moonlights by uploading hardcore images of himself to Twitter. He finds validation by checking the comments and likes. He clearly is in need of money and that is what he is trying to balance with the two worlds. Thanks to social media Lalo learns Mecos Films offers money for doing porn, they require a photo of the face and naked body with an erection. He likes to be seen so he auditions and is hired.  The film introduces us to gay porn movie-making with visual references to Colt in the 1970s and how this culture has changed due to Twitter via Only Fans.

A good chunk of the film is devoted to a shoot for a pornographic film based on the Mexican revolution, with scenes alternating from loving showcases of toned bodies, to downbeat discussions between the cast around everything from HIV status to their relative happiness with their lot, to the nuts and bolts of making a pornographic film. However, it is the way Lalo’s loneliness is juxtaposed with the spicier elements of his life that makes this world especially interesting. As we advance from one scene of the film to another, so much for the porno part of the title. But it’s in the melancholy part that the key to Pornomelancholia is found, in the between scene conversations between a gang of sombrero-wearing guys who share not only required professional qualities, but also multiple insecurities. Their chats are where the film’s themes are explored, and include AIDS, masculine insecurity, the broken backgrounds from which these men have emerged, worries about the future, and fundamentally, the lack of love to be found in a world in which bodies are commodities.

The film belongs to  Lalo Santos, the camera loves him.  He has a powerful presence and gives a natural performance full of nuances and mystery, and if you watch the film you will find out. But apparently the actor had some sort of falling out with the film makers where he mentioned that had he known how this film would turn out, he would have never participated. Nontheless this docufiction film is a bold statement on contemporary movie making in queer space. (6/10)