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One night, the arrival of young Heraldo definitively changes the daily life of the place
Under the scorching sky of the Ceará coast, Motel Destino is the stage for dangerous games of desire, power and violence. The sixth film directed by Karim Ainouz, which premiered worldwide at the Cannes Film Festival, after Madame Satã (2002), O Abismo Prateado (2011), Nevidljivi život Eurídice Gusmão (2019), Marinheiro das Montanhas (2021) and Firebrand (2023).. Karim Aïnouz’s latest erotic thriller Motel Destino is a delicious cinematic mix of desire, sex and crime.
This year, Motel Destino is competing for the Palme d’Or and the Queer Palme
Aïnouz is a favorite at Cannes, with six of his films premiering at the Cannes festival so far. Located somewhere on the coast of Brazil, Motel Destino is a dark sex motel characterized by neon lights. The hotel is run by Elias and his partner Diana, who are oblivious to the world of sex and crime at the motel.
He soon becomes part of the couple’s dynamic, disrupting the established order
They are so drawn into it that Elias often indulges in voyeuristic fun and covers up criminal acts to keep the police away. It is a place where guests do not stay long and no one asks questions. One day, the young and attractive Heraldo arrives at the motel carrying his own criminal baggage.
Heraldo’s close-ups of his naked body portray him as both strong and fragile
The three main characters then embark on the third and final act of this strange film noir as they reach their destinations. The film is brilliantly shot, with intense and uncomfortable close-ups of the characters; faces trapped in their situations and sweaty bodies full of desire. Diana is soft-spoken and longing for someone to give her a glimmer of hope to escape her abusive relationship with Elias.
The film’s color palette seamlessly alternates between neon red and blue, the red signifying the inhabitants’ carnal desires and the blue representing the terrifying sense of emptiness that follows the euphoria
With Motel Destino’s focus on raw emotion and carnal desires, masterfully captured through brilliant cinematography, a certain lack of world-building at the beginning feels deliberate, giving the audience a sense of detachment from society…. Worth watching… Adios…
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