Picture of the movie Chicuarotes © Ale Carbajal
Gael García Bernal explores the dark side of Mexico in Chicuarotes
Mexican actor and director Gael García Bernal presents Chicuarotes, a film in which he tells a hazy tale of Mexico City and ponders its history, past and present, through two young men ready to do anything to escape their precarious social condition. The filmmaker’s second feature film is presented in Special Screenings.
Discovered in Cannes in 2000 for his talented acting performance in Amores Perros by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the President of the Feature Films Jury, Gael García Bernal has since made his cinematic mark in both Mexico and the world as a socially committed artist. The actor has made films with directors Alfonso Cuarón, Jim Jarmusch and Michel Gondry, in addition to the short films he has made in collaboration with Amnesty International.
A fervent champion of human rights, he tackled the themes surrounding migration in Central America in his documentary Who is Dayani Cristal?, before directing his first work of fiction, Déficit, in which he paints the portrait of gilded youth in Mexico in order to explore the faults of a certain societal layer in the country and reflect on class relations.
With Chicuarotes, the filmmaker continues his exploration of Mexican society and its inequalities by focusing this time on poorer youth determined to dramatically change their destiny. Chicuarotes follows the paths of two teenagers, Cagalera and Moloteco from the San Gregorio Atlapulco neighborhood in Mexico City, who want to improve their living conditions and leave their “rotten” city by whatever means necessary. In search of a better future, the two young men suddenly find themselves face to face with a violent and criminal world.
