Review: Motel Destino
by Marta Bałaga
- CANNES 2024: It’s getting hot in here in Karim Aïnouz’s fun, sweaty noir
Get a mop and a bucket, because Karim Aïnouz has just made everyone sweat with his sexy thriller Motel Destino [+see also:
trailer
film profile], presented in Cannes’ main competition. Said competition has delivered spectacular duds, explosive horror and a musical featuring a song about vaginoplasty, but it hasn’t really delivered the sexy yet.
No worries – now it’s all about erotica in this questionable establishment where no minors are allowed. It’s not quite the hotel that The Eagles sang about, but Motel Destino is also one of those places that “could be heaven or it could be hell”. People go a bit insane in this heat, but there are rules established by Elias and his wife Dayana (Fábio Assunção and Nataly Rocha). That is, until Heraldo (Iago Xavier) arrives, trying to outrun his problems and just creating new ones instead. People haven’t perspired and plotted this much since Kathleen Turner and William Hurt in Body Heat, and as Heraldo and Dayana inevitably get together, they start echoing that couple’s most famous exchange:
“You aren’t too smart, are you? I like that in a man.”
“What else do you like? Lazy? Ugly? Horny? I got 'em all.”
The pretty Heraldo really doesn’t make the best decisions: it’s not a good idea to go to a bar right before an attempted assassination. But that’s how he ends up in that weird place – with a woman he has never met before, who uses him, robs him and flees. Luckily, a good handyman always comes in useful, and not just in porn plots. He stays.
As for the rest of the story, there is some, but that’s not really the point: Motel Destino is more concerned with making you – and its sexed-up protagonists – feel things. Also, who has the energy to actually do anything when it’s this humid? It’s a fun, atmospheric return for Aïnouz after the pointless historical drama Firebrand [+see also:
film review
film profile], which lacked the magic of The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Karim Aïnouz
film profile]. Now, he is back – back to the region where he grew up, and maybe to old fascinations and forgotten wet dreams.
His regular collaborator, cinematographer Hélène Louvart, makes the most of this tense, noir setup: of the neon lights, the reds and the piercing sun that exposes everything these short-term guests try to hide. There is a dark side to desire here, and even the moans sound disturbing: it’s hard to tell if these people are enjoying themselves (“It’s rare to hear a man moan,” says Elias before running off to investigate) or just begging to leave. Heraldo needs to clean the rooms, and the leftovers of all this lovemaking – to put it elegantly – aren’t pleasant. The guests are looking for fantasy, mirrored ceilings and swan-shaped towels, but reality is never far away. Oddly enough, nor are the mating donkeys.
This motel, like the people who come here, has seen better days. So what? You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
Motel Destino is a Brazilian-French-German co-production staged by Cinema Inflamavel, Gullane, The Match Factory Productions, Globo Filmes, Maneki Films, Telecine Brazil and Canal Brazil. Its sales are handled by The Match Factory.
Photogallery 23/05/2024: Cannes 2024 - Motel Destino
16 pictures available. Swipe left or right to see them all.
© 2024 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it
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