Review of Sundown (2022) by Bertobellamy — 06 May 2023

Michel Franco is one of those directors for whom anything that comes to his mind will interest European producers and distributors. "Sundown" looks like the first draft of something that, perhaps, could have potential with more meat, but from this version, there is hardly anything to be salvaged.

Tim Roth (who appears to be Franco's cheerleader) just hangs around and sunbathes. It's not until three minutes before the movie ends that the reason for his apparent nihilism is finally revealed. But frankly, at that point, it's no longer relevant.

The character, far from being intriguing, is just impenetrable. The script pretends that we empathize with someone in a second, but it seems like a trap to me, almost like in "Chronic," which is practically the same as this one, although with another argument.

And then there is the pseudo-commentary about the violence in Acapulco, which could not have been more superficial; I can already imagine Europeans in shock seeing those images and then getting up to applaud at a festival in which he participated.

I think Franco should better focus on his role as a producer since several of the works in which he has been involved are worth more than the ones he has done.