37/12
One night, the arrival of young Heraldo changes the daily life of the town forever
Plot
Under a burning sky on a road on the coast of Ceará, Motel Destino is the scene of dangerous games of lust, power and violence. Sixth film by Karim Aïnouz, which celebrates its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival after Madame Satã (2002), O Abismo Prateado (2011), Nevidljivi život Eurídice Gusmão (2019), Marinheiro das Montanhas (2021) and Firebrand (2023). Karim Aïnouz’s latest erotic thriller Motel Destino is a delicious cinematic mix of lust, sex and crime.
Aïnouz is a Cannes darling; so far six of his films have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival
This year, Motel Destino competed for both the Palme d’Or and the Queer Palme.Located somewhere on the coast of Brazil, Motel Destino is a dingy, neon-lit sex motel. The hotel is run by Elias and his partner Dayana, who are indifferent to the motel’s world of sex and crime. They become so drawn into this world that Elias is often caught voyeuristically masturbating and covering up criminal acts to keep the police at bay.
He soon becomes part of the couple’s dynamic, disrupting the established order
This is a place where no guests stay long and no one asks questions. One day, the young and attractive Heraldo arrives at the motel, bringing his own criminal baggage. The three main characters then venture into the third and final act of this queer noir film as they reach their destiny.The film is brilliantly shot, with intense, uncomfortable close-ups of the characters’ faces trapped in their situation and sweaty bodies pulsing with desire.
Heraldo’s close-ups of his naked body show him strong and fragile at the same time
Dayana is tender, waiting longingly for someone to give her a glimmer of hope to escape her abusive relationship with Elias. The film’s color palette seamlessly alternates between neon red and blue, with red symbolizing the inmates’ carnal desires and blue representing the horrific feeling of emptiness that follows intoxication. While Motel Destino focuses on raw emotions and carnal desires masterfully captured through brilliant cinematography, the initial lack of world-building seems intentional, giving the audience a sense of detachment from society…. Worth watching… Adios…