Netflix is once again setting Oscar success in its sights, by lining up the next film by Alejandro González Iñárritu, who has twice won Best Director. Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths will have a wide theatrical release, as well as coming to streaming at the end of this year, which in Hollywood is known as awards season.
Iñárritu is one of the ‘The Three Amigos’ – along with Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón. The Mexican trio (who are close friends) have dominated the Best Director category in the last decade. Cuarón won for Gravity in 2014, Iñárritu won for Birdman in 2015 and The Revenant in 2016, Guillermo del Toro won for The Shape of Water in 2018, and Cuarón won again in 2019 – for Netflix’s Roma, which unfortunately failed to win Best Picture.
The streaming giant has done several big awards campaigns in the last few years, for the likes of Roma, The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Power of the Dog, but as yet, have not managed to secure the coveted Best Picture prize. Apple beat the company to the punch this year, becoming the first streamer to win Best Picture with Coda.
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is shot on 65mm and boasts striking cinematography from Oscar nominee Darius Khondji – which will obviously be best served by the big screen. It is written by González Iñárritu and Nicolás Giacobone.
According to Deadline, “the film is a nostalgic comedy set against an epic personal journey. It chronicles the story of a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker who returns home and works through an existential crisis as he grapples with his identity, familial relationships, the folly of his memories as well as the past of his country. He seeks answers in his past to reconcile who he is in the present.”
To find out which Best Picture winners made the cut, check out our guide to the best drama movies.