The self-indulgence of Hombre al Agua (which translates to “Man Overboard”) is kind of its point, for it’s about the ways people play parts in their lives and how privilege allows the privileged to change the terms of the act. Fortunately a movie in which the writer-director-coproducer also stars as a man irresistible to women has enough self-awareness that these indulgences manage to be amusing. (It’s also fair to wonder whomst amongst us, if given the chance, would not.) There’s also a pretty good plot twist, and Ricky Martin briefly shows up in an amusing little cameo, so what’s not to love? Well, a movie about shifting realities should have more firmly grounded itself, but everything here is done with such good cheer it’s hard to mind the flaws.
Camilo (said writer-director-coproducer Gael García Bernal) lives in splendor in Mexico with his wife Juana (Esmeralda Pimentel), their baby daughter, and the nanny Malvina (Anna Díaz). Camilo is Cuban, and met his wife after he was working as a lifeguard and saved her wealthy and powerful father Abel (Jorge Salinas) when he was swimming on holiday. In gratitude Abel got Camilo a visa, a job in his factories and watched with joy as Juana fell in love with him. Theirs is a love match, or was; unfortunately these days things are not as rosy. Juana is bored now her athletic career is over and therefore decides to make a movie about her own wonderful life, hiring a Brazilian actress named Fabiana (Débora Nascimento) to play the character inspired by herself. Mr. Martin is playing the character inspired by Camilo, of course. In addition to the film crew at home, a documentary crew is filming within the factory, as the workers are unhappy and attempting to unionise, which Camilo is of course meant to stop. On top of all that Abel’s mistress Silvina (Natalia Oreiro) has been lightly injured in a car accident and handed over to Camilo to keep safe while she recuperates since of course she can’t go to the hospital. And if that wasn’t enough Silvina has the world’s least effective stalker: her ex-husband Ricardes (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). He and Camilo get to the point where instead of arguing about Ricardes’ sneaking around they share cigarettes and sigh about women.
Camilo works very hard at always acting like he knows what he’s doing, whether that’s negotiating under his hard hat with various factory workers, having sex with his wife in her desired fashion, or asserting his right to walk in his own kitchen regardless of how many cameras are running. Mr. García Bernal gets to have a wonderful time looking permanently bewildered at all the antics around him. Only Malvina sees through his act. While Ms. Díaz is a terrific actress whose career will hopefully explode very soon, it’s a terrible cliché to have the only working-class female character be the voice of reason. But Malvina is also the only person here is who is only ever herself. Absolutely everybody else in Camilo’s life is putting on some kind of act. Fabiana is always imitating others, Juana suddenly begins an unexpected journey of self-discovery, and Silvina does not love Abel nearly as much – or for the same reasons – as he thinks she does. Ricardes is just pathetic, and knows it, but he is out of other ideas to get Silvina back. Whether or not he actually wants her anymore is kind of not the point.
How much of our own lives do any of us really want? It’s pretty clear none of this is the life Camilo thought he’d have for himself. How much of it is he faking? Well, certainly not his love for his little daughter. The rest should not be spoiled, but suffice to say it takes aim at corrupt politicians, foolish old men, spoiled little rich girls, and the biggest evil of them all: actors. The worst! But it all kind of adds up to nothing; the end is where the self-indulgence so neatly avoided before finally takes over. And yet the comedy throughout Hombre al Agua provides the spoonful of sugar that makes its medicine of denouncing hypocrisy go down very easily indeed. And we get to look at a lot of pretty people in pretty clothes have minor problems in pretty places, with an ending that satisfies if you don’t think too hard. And who goes to the movies to think hard? Well, let the poseurs denounce Hombre al Agua. The rest of us can just admire the hubris that brought us here and appreciate its feather-light touch.
Hombre el Agua recently played at the Venice Film Festival.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
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