Renowned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar has picked the Mexican film I’m No Longer Here / Ya no estoy aquí as one of his favorite movies of 2020 in a list of eight titles posted today in the website of his production company El Deseo.
“I’m No Longer Here, the Mexican candidate for the Oscars tells the miserable life of a gang, Los Terkos, whose young people are more concerned with exotic hairstyles and the dance, turned into a ritual, of cumbia in very slow version (and its hyper-wide clothing outfits that sometimes remind of Japanese kimonos) than for violence and drugs,” wrote Almodóvar.
“One day they find themselves in the middle of a shootout with members of the local cartel. Ulises, the survivor, flees to New York, where he leads a miserable life and longs for the miserable life of Monterrey, along with his colleagues with whom he danced cumbia. An unexpected Mexican film with a protagonist of irresistible charm. Great photography and splendid soundtrack. Perhaps a mixture of Buñuel's Los Olvidados and The Odyssey,” he added.
Frías’ acclaimed film was the winner of ten Ariel Awards presented by the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences, and is currently streaming on Netflix.
