review of the film directed by Sebastian Silva

Rotting in the Sun is an LGBT-themed film: a dark satire of influencer culture starring Sebastian Silva and Jordan Firstman.

Rotting in the sundirector’s drama film Sebastian Silva available exclusively on MUBI from September 15, 2023. Feature film is a dark and self-deprecating satire produced Jacob Wasserman (My Mother’s Eyes, Tyrell) and played by actor, screenwriter, and social media phenomenon, Jordan Firstman in his first leading role, from the same Sebastian Silva (both playing versions of themselves) and from Catalina Saavedra (Ema, Maid). Produced by Hidden Content and The Lift in association with Robert Pattinson’s production company Icki Eneo Arlo, Spacemaker Productions and Caffeine Post, the film had its world premiere at Sundance 2023 in the Premieres section; The Chilean director returns to Sundance for the fifth time, where he has already won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize and the Director Award.

A depressed director mysteriously disappears in Mexico City, and a social media star is looking for him.

From an expressive point of view, the director gives preference discontinuous footage captured with a hand-held camera to create a realistic effect that recreates the subjective movement of the film’s characters. – before Sebastian Silva, then tell me Jordan Firstman. In the story, a man drowns and the director is depressed. Sebastian Silva try relaxing in a Mexican gay beach town. The drowning man for whom Sebastian almost sacrificed his life turns out to be a narcissistic, successful American director and influencer. Jason Firstman (who has almost a million followers on Instagram). Jason he immediately seems obsessed with his savior and is struck by the randomness of the strange incident and proposes Sebastian to work with him on a series about his life and his world. Silvia reluctantly agrees to collaborate on an upcoming project, but when Jordan returns to Mexico City, Sebastian is nowhere to be found, and the powerful man sets off on an unimaginable and almost exploratory journey. At this point, the main character disappears, turning the story upside down and shifting the focus to Jason – minor character.

A dark satire on influencer culture

Rotting in the sun this is not a light film, it is an LGBT themed film with references to drugs and the fear of death. But this isn’t the only recent Mexican queer drama to feature real-life Instagram personalities playing themselves in a meta-fictional story. Perhaps it will also remind you of the theme of the mysterious disappearance of a gay man after meeting on a “sex beach.” Stranger by the Lake (Alain Guiraudie, 2013), a French thriller that works, but lacks the humor and grit of this MUBI-listed Chilean-Mexican production.

Rotting in the sun: assessment and conclusion

The story told Rotting in the sun does not shine with originality. However, his humor and crudeness are his strengths insofar as he succeeds in achieving his intended goal: to mock empty people and, in his own way, expose the lack of attention to the physical and moral suffering of ordinary people. anda film that, like many others, tries to talk about the world of social networks and all the impoliteness of masks that is absorbed by the “digital truth”, but which does not leave its mark even in the second part, in which something terrible happens: the film sheds its satirical (and more convincing) skin and tries to move closer to the tradition of the Agatha Christie-style murder mystery…