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I'm Gonna Explode (Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico): 62

Except they're not, is the thing. What they're actually gonna do is enact the most desultory, useless lovers-on-the-lam scenario ever, "fleeing" to a tent on the roof of Román's family's posh home and then sneaking downstairs to almost fuck after everyone leaves. Their whole adventure could scarcely be more pathetic -- which is pretty clearly the point, even if nobody seems to have noticed. Pace Michael Sicinski (who I suspect was distracted by class issues that are largely a red herring), the film isn't "pseudo-Godardian" but rather an affectionate piss-take on the very notion of Romantic Youth, one that doesn't even remotely take its two protagonists' rebellion seriously, even as it takes the feeling of disaffection that inspires it very seriously. "And now here's Román Valdez to perform a dramatic monologue entitled 'See You in Hell'." I mean, come on. Do we need Christian Slater doing a Jack Nicholson impression? The tricky part was maintaining our interest in these sad wannabes along their road to nowhere, and for the most part I thought Naranjo (and his cast) did a fine job of walking the perilously thin line between blasé and dull, though obviously others disagree. It falls apart at the end, admittedly, as these movies are wont to do...but even then, I was grateful that Maru's fate turns out to be not the dose of cheap irony we first assume but instead something thoroughly in keeping with the film's doleful emphasis on fantasies unrealized. drama/mex was more distinctive, less shaky, but this is still a filmmaker to watch in my opinion.

 Watch FilmCatcher's interview with Gerardo Naranjo about I'M GONNA EXPLODE

Posted on 09/30/08 by: dangelo 09:11 PM