BFI Flare 2016: I Promise You Anarchy

K A O S

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B F I  F L A R E

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"Miguel and Johnny live in Mexico City. Committed skateboarders and occasional lovers, they dabble in the illegal blood trade as a means of making extra money. Faced with an opportunity to up their cash flow by making a risky deal with a gang of black market drug traffickers, the boys hesitantly agree. But when the job goes sour they quickly find themselves drawn into a dangerous underworld." BFI Flare

There's a lot of skateboarding in Julio Hernández Cordón's Te prometo anarquía (English: I Promise You Anarchy). I'm no fan of skateboards. I mean, I love Back To The Future, which also contains lots of skateboard action, but crucially, it has a lot of other things going on, too. Y'know, like plot, character, energy... I Promise You Anarchy has none of these things.

Inert and vague, it frequently feels like nothing is happening, even when something is happening. Various issues are touched upon, but ultimately left unexplored: class, crime, sexual fluidity, immigration; we're always left guessing. The actors, non-professionals, do a good job, seemingly with nothing to work with.

A horrific mass murder (which occurs offscreen) plays out like a storm in a teacup. No one onscreen really appears to care very much, and nor do we. This isn't anarchy, it's apathy.

READ ALL MY REVIEWS FROM BFI FLARE

Every year, KAOS reports from the annual BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival. This year, I'll be reviewing twelve films (including a few programmes of shorts). I Promise You Anarchy was the last film I attended at this year's BFI Flare.