A critic takes a second look at Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s ‘Bardo’ — and is thankful he did
Alejandro G. Iñárritu is hardly the first filmmaker to be smitten with his debut — but he’s easily the most eloquent in his defense.
The Mexican director is having his breakout year with “Bardo,” a haunting, deeply affecting drama, and it’s easy to understand why he’s the darling of critical opinion. It’s his first film since “Inception,” which did so much for the man who made it: He won the Golden Globes for Best Director and the Oscar for Best Picture.
While everyone was still digesting “Bardo,” Iñárritu had already been hailed as the next great auteur.
Even if his career isn’t quite yet there, Iñárritu has been working tirelessly to achieve excellence in his second feature and, he said, he’s glad he decided to make a film about death.
“I think it was the right moment,” he said in an interview last year, the most recent of two he’s conducted since completing shooting his debut, “Cronos.” “I wanted to make a film that reflected not only what I believed, but also what my faith was about.”
“Bardo” is his first film in English, and he’s thrilled about the opportunity to present it all at once.
“I’m thrilled,” he said, adding that his directorial debut was “a very important film for me.” “I know that no matter how much of a great director he becomes, I still respect him, even though I don’t like him. I respect him as a person and a great director. But I also respect him because I know that this film is so important for him.”
Iñárritu has always been a great admirer of his father, who raised him in a Mexico City slum and taught him the basics of filmmaking. While he was raised in the U.S. in the 1940s, he’