Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: A MALE [Cannes Film Festival 2022]

The texture of masculinity and its place in the world in the new age is both Darwinian and lost in time. In certain areas, where there is less opportunity or tragedy has befallen the young, the aspect of encouragement is wracked with armor and self doubt pushed by what alpha males may except and accept. "A Man" [Director's Fortnight], set in Bogota Columbia is directed by Fabian Hernandez and speaks (as he said in his opening remarks) to the reality of the streets that he portrays in his lead character. Carlos is not manly per se because of his physique but tries to get by but his more emotional tendencies tend to rule him. His sister has to work the streets. His mother is in jail and he deals a little bit to get by. Everyone knows that they can dominate him. The things that should according to the code make him a man in this specific world (intimidation, murder, sex) are things that he doesn't lean into at all but knows that people expect him to participate. Felipe Ramirez gives a raw portrayal as Carlos that is both haunted and vulnerable but also puts up a front that the audience can see through but his cohorts cannot or don't care or don't want to know. They just want their stash, their kick or their money.

A couple minutes with Carlos interacting with his real family however disjointed (especially on a phone call with his mother) are heartbreaking because one knows it is just a matter of time before he succumbs or dies. There is a framing mechanism at the beginning involving a would-be documentary crew but that falls a little bit by the wayside in terms of the discussion. This initially makes it hard to discern whether this is narrative or documentary which is part of the point. The dilapidated slums speaks to a city lost in time but also affected by the world as we see grown men talking about watching a Pepe Le Pew cartoon which is the perfect representation of the skewed view of the world but one that is necessary to maintain something of sanity for some of its participants. For the most part Carlos wants what any person wants: to be accepted but also to have a normal life without persecution but as one scene shows when someone gets out, they look to the next generation to feed their power. B

By Tim Wassberg