BARD, False Chronicle of a Few Truths is the first film that Alejandro González Iñárritu has shot in Mexico since the success of loves dogs in 2000. What is it about? Who stars? What does the word “bard” mean? All this and more we tell you.
As a curiosity before starting, the five-time Oscar winner returned to the editing room after the film’s lukewarm reception at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. BARD it is now 22 minutes shorter, with a final runtime of two hours and 32 minutes without credits.
What is it about?
According to the official synopsis, BARD tells the story of Silverio Range, a prestigious Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, who is forced to return to his native country after receiving an international award. This journey will take you to an “existential edge”:
“The absurdity of her memories and fears infiltrate her present, filling her daily life with a sense of bewilderment and wonder. With deep emotion and laughter aplenty, Silverio grapples with universal yet intimate questions about identity, success, mortality, Mexican history, and the deep family ties he shares with his wife and children. Indeed, what it means to be human in these peculiar times.”
BARD It is also described as a nostalgic comedy, recounting an epic journey. It was shot on 65mm and promises to be “an epic, immersive and visually stunning experience.”
You might also be interested: First reactions to BARDO, the new film by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
who stars in the movie BARD?
the mexican actor Daniel Gimenez Cacho, five-time winner of the Ariel award, plays Silverio Gama. In his passage through the last edition of the Guadalajara International Film FestivalGiménez Cacho spoke of his experience in this film, which had a total of 22 weeks of filming and four of rehearsals.
«It was a process, I would describe it as a fantasy. It’s a dream, because I’ve never worked like this in my life and I don’t think I’ll do it again, with that amount of time and resources,” he said, as reported by El Sol de México. “Let’s go see the Mexico City like we’ve never seen it.”
Giménez Cacho has previously worked with Alfonso Cuaron and with William of the Bull (in the movies Alone with your partner, and your mom too Y Chronos), but this is the first time that the actor has worked in a film directed by Iñárritu, which is why he confessed to having doubts at the beginning, when he was invited to participate in the film.
“I really like to say that at the beginning of BARD I said: ‘Híjole, Iñárritu’, because of his fame, conflictive, difficult, he has gotten angry with many actors, and I said ‘Ay nanita’. So I checked the I Chingwhich I do when I have an important question and something beautiful came out: ‘Above the mountain, the thunder, the creative genius, below the lake and serenity,'” said the actor, according to what was reported by Ivett Salgado for Daily Millennium. “With the character that I am going to play, he is reflecting himself, and for this to happen I must be serene, because without serenity, the lagoon cannot reflect the mountain and that is how I worked and that is how it worked very well.”
“[Iñárritu] he is experiencing talking about personal things for the first time, projected on my character who is a journalist who returns to his country of origin. He is very interested in acting, he has studied acting and directing actors, that contributes”, added Giménez Cacho.
The film also stars the Argentine actress Griselda Sicilianrecently nominated for the award Goya for his work on the film Sentimental. The cast also includes Ximena Lamadrid (What happened to Sarah?), Iker Sánchez Solano, Andrés Almeida (Narcos: Mexico, Luis Miguel: The Series, Shared time) and Francisco Rubio (Narcos: Mexico).
You might also be interested: With BARDO I grew as an actor: Daniel Giménez Cacho on the experience of filming the dreams of Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Where in Mexico was it filmed?
The film was shot in Mexico City. According to reports from L.A. Times, one of the first locations was the Historic Center of the city, to which the Churubusco Studios were also added later. The film was the first feature film of such magnitude to be shot in the capital after the break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
BARD It concluded its filming in September 2021.
Who else is involved behind the scenes?
The film has Stacy Perskie (No Man’s Land: Sicario, drug lords mexico) as a producer and was written by Iñárritu in conjunction with the Argentine Nicholas Giacobonewho shared the Oscar for Best Screenplay with the Mexican filmmaker for Birdman. Giacobone also co-wrote the screenplay for beautiful and served as producer of the reborn.
Another outstanding behind-the-scenes credit is the cinematographer Darius Chondjiwho this time replaces Emmanuel Lubezki, frequent collaborator of the so-called “three friends” (Cuarón, Del Toro and Iñárritu) and who has photographed Iñárritu’s last three projects. Khondji was nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for his work in avoidand since then his work has stood out in films such as Se7en, Midnight in Paris, Love, okamong other.
Also joining the team was Mexican production designer Eugene CaballeroOscar winner for his work on the film The Pan’s Labyrinth and who recently received another Academy Award nomination for the universe he built for Romeby Alfonso Cuaron. The music, on the other hand, was left to the composer. Bryce Dressnermember of the rock band The National and who also collaborated for the score of the reborn.
Finally, the participation of the costume designer stands out. Ann Terraces, whose recent work includes designing the costumes in the film Rome and who in 2019 was invited to be part of the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
And to all this… what does it mean to be a bard?
The word comes from the Latin barduswhich in turn comes from the Welsh bardd, which means poet or person who is dedicated to poetry. In its first meanings, the dictionary of the RAE defines it as “a heroic or lyrical poet of any time or country.” In ancient times, the bards were the poets or singers who went from town to town to poetically recite legends, historical facts or events orally. Since the main character in Iñárritu’s film is a journalist and documentary filmmaker, the term could allude to his job or some important part of his journey… or maybe not.
Bardo is also a term that in Tibetan Buddhism refers to a transitional state, an intermediate state, sometimes between death and rebirth: it is a suspension, a parenthesis from ordinary life.
And finally, the word is used –less frequently– to refer to mud or a rabbit hole covered by weeds, but something tells us that these last meanings are far from the Mexican filmmaker’s film.
When and where can we see the film BARD?
Netflix announced that BARD, False chronicle of a few truths It will be released on its platform and in theaters around the world at the end of 2022.
To be more precise, the new Alejandro G. Iñárritu will arrive on October 27 to theaters throughout Mexico; followed by a limited release on November 4 in theaters in the United States, Spain and Argentina; before its global launch on November 18, contemplating countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Japan and Korea, among others.
Finally, BARD will be added next December 16 to the catalog of Netflix.
official poster
trailer of BARD, False Chronicle of a Few Truths
Staff Cinema PREMIERE This text was conceived, created and developed at the same time by a team of experts working in harmony. All together. One letter each.