New Order (2020, Mexico/France)
Sundown (2021, France/Mexico/Sweden)
Two recent films by Michel Franco take common associations of Mexican crime and beaches and turn them into multi-layered cinematic case studies.
In New Order, there are no beaches but crime is present. The film came out 2 years before the eat-the-rich films Triangle of Sadness (2022) and The Meal (2022). However, unlike those films, New Order takes the poor vs rich depiction and extends that into an actual revolution which morphs into a fascist society. No time period is highlighted in the film yet it feels like a time in the not so distant future. Given the way things have been unraveling in the world over last few years, the film may be considered a documentary one day. The brutal killings, torture and abuse shown in New Order are those that have taken place in countless countries around the world over the last few decades especially in several Latin American nations. Perhaps, there are already some parts of the world where things exist exactly like that shown in the film.
A beach is present in Sundown but so is crime. Although, the crime takes place a lot later in the film. At first, the motives of the main character Neil Bennett (Tim Roth) appear vague and hard to understand until a few memories and snippets of dialogue indicate that his family fortune has been made in the meat processing industry: the killing of animals for profit was part of the Bennett family business handed down to Neil. He never questioned the business and became part of the empire, made money and lived a luxurious life. Yet, somewhere within his psyche he likely felt a sense of guilt and horror when watching animals get killed. Those buried feelings surface in the warm weather of Acapulco when Neil has easy access to beaches, cold beer and women. So instead of leaving Mexico with his family to visit his dying mother in UK, Neil finds an excuse to stay behind, do nothing but watch the sunset on the beach. The film is a mix of dry humour and satire yet the most visible signpost of this style is the character of Alice Bennett (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Neil’s sister, who is aghast at her brother’s lack of empathy and concern. Her behaviour is clearly a sign for how one should interpret the film. As Neil continues to spend time on the Mexican beach, drinking a bucket of beer on a daily basis, his sister continues to manage the family business back in UK after the passing of their mother. Slowly it becomes clear to others around him that Neil has money and that sets in motion a series of criminal events.
Both New Order and Sundown depict class divide in Mexican society but with varying degrees of violence and tone. New Order shows a much starker version which dials up the crime while Sundown lets things quietly idle away saving the violence for the final third.
