I'm Gonna Explode
Gerardo Naranjo’s exhilarating thriller about two rebels without a cause bristles with the energy of youth. Fifteen-year-old Román is privileged, growing up the only child of a corrupt Mexican politician. Román blames his father for his mother’s untimely death and does everything in his power to make his father’s life miserable. Expelled from all of the best private schools, Román ends up at a public school, where his contribution to the school talent show is a sketch called “See You in Hell,” in which he fakes his own hanging. That bit of nihilism captures the attention of schoolmate Maru, who falls hard for Román and goes along with his plan to run away. They don’t get far. Pitching a tent on the roof of the congressman’s hilltop villa, the two camp out in luxury. Meanwhile, the parents are frantic, fearing the kids have been kidnapped. Although most of the grown-up scenes are played for comedy, there’s always a hint of danger lurking—the sense that this youthful prank might end badly. Like an adolescent version of Godard's Breathless, Naranjo’s film explores the tenderness of a first love that belies the bravado and posturing of the young lovers. Recommended for ages 17+
Sponsors:
Adobe Youth Voices, Consulate of Mexico, Longhouse Media, Renton and the Renton FilmFrenzy III, The Boeing Company
Cast & Crew
Director: Gerardo Naranjo
Producer: Pablo Cruz, Gerardo Naranjo, Hunter Gray, Alain de la Mata
Editor: Yibran Asuad
Screenwriter: Gerardo Naranjo
Cinematographer: Tobias Datum
Awards: Guadalajara Mexican Film Festival 2009 (MEZCAL Award)
Thessaloniki Film Festival 2008 (FIPRESCI Priz
Music: Lynn Fainchtein
Principal Cast: Daniel Giménez Cacho, Maria Deschamps, Juan Pablo de Santiago, Rebecca Jones, Martha Claudia Moreno
Filmography: Drama/Mex (2006); Malachance (2004)
World Sales: Elle Driver
Average rating:
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(1 review)
User reviews
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Mexican Romeo and Juliet, May 17, 2009
By dmitrineilovich
“Misfits from different worlds unite to aggravate the adults in their lives and have their voices heard. That they don't know what message to impart with those voices means little. The inevitability of a bad end for these two youths is seen in the first 15 minutes of the film; the rest of the time”
… full review
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