Skateboarders Miguel (Diego Calva Hernandez) and Johnny (Eduardo Eliseo Martinez) navigate the fine line between mixing business and pleasure in Julio Hernandez Cordonās stylish new film. The friends and lovers earn money from finding blood donors for local gangs and their greed gets the better of them when they agree to supply 50 donors for a big payday. After accepting the deal, Miguel and Johnny find they are in way over their heads.
I Promise You Anarchy is the definition of a slow burn but sticking with it until the end may not provide the satisfaction you may be hoping for. The film is a product of style over substance that believes it has something more to say than it really does. The film positions itself as a love story and thatās perhaps the most interesting angle. Miguel and Johnny have a lust-powered relationship that is somewhat hampered by Johnnyās bisexuality and his ongoing relationship with Adri (Shvasti Calderon).
One of the problems that comes up time and time again is that nothing is really developed all that much over the course of the film. The love triangle never gets the focus you expect or hope for and the characters are disappointingly flat. Add to that the messy blood donor/gang plot and youāre left with a film that sorely lacks cohesion.
On the one hand I Promise You Anarchy seems to be commenting on the sexual fluidity of the modern teenage generation but itās also highlighting issues of poverty and crime in Mexico. The two themes arenāt combined in a way that is satisfying and it leaves a muddled mess with not a lot going on to endure. The pace of the film is so slow and the lack of development quickly becomes frustrating.
Itās hard to pass much of a comment on the acting, as the actors arenāt really required to do very much. The dialogue is fairly sparse and the characters are so two-dimensional thereās nothing to relate to.
I Promise You Anarchy definitely doesnāt live up to its title and the only anarchy I could spot was one fighting against creating a satisfying and cohesive film. Thereās an interesting idea at the heart of the film but itās suffocated by the messy narrative piled on top of it.
[brid video=”81071″ player=”531″ title=”I Promise You Anarchy (Te prometo anarqua) Official Trailer TLA Releasing UK”]
Cast: Diego Calva Hernandez, Eduardo Eliseo Martinez , Shvasti Calderon Director: Julio Hernandez Cordon Writer: Julio Hernandez Cordon Certificate: 18 Duration: 88 mins Released By: TLA Releasing Release Date: 7th November 2016