This is Not Berlin

Released in 2019, This is Not Berlin is a provocative and stirring film that explores the dynamic, complex beauty of youth, rebellion, and self-discovery in Mexico City during the mid-1980s. The title provides an intriguing clue to the film's focus on a specific time and location where societal ambiguity, punk ideologies, machismo, and sexuality intertwined to shape a new cultural revolution.

This is Not Berlin is a sweeping, atmospheric coming-of-age drama that tells the story of seventeen-year-old Carlos, sensitively portrayed by Xabiani Ponce de León, who finds himself navigating the tumultuous waters of adolescence, friendship, and burgeoning sexuality. Amid the backdrop of the 1986 World Cup, Carlos and his best friend, Gera, played by José Antonio Toledano, set out on a visceral exploration of Mexico City's underground artistic scene — a world where they are exposed to the pulsating interplay of art, photography, punk music, drugs, and sexual divergence.

The film circles around a literal change of scene for Carlos, from the suburbs to an exciting, scandalous world inside an enigmatic nightclub known as Aztec – the portal to his sexual and emotional awakening. Within its walls, his senses are awakened by a pandemonium of surreal art, seductive-performances, and free-thinking individuals who challenge societal conventions. The club's intoxicating allure and acceptance of self-expression and sexual freedom make it the perfect backdrop for Carlos's journey of self-discovery.

Directorially, This is Not Berlin is helmed by Hari Sama, who showcases his attention to detail, capturing the essence of Mexico City in the 1980s, as well as his personal experiences with self-discovery and homosexuality. The film possesses a profound memoir-like quality, drawing directly from Sama's adolescent experiences within this epoch and landscape, providing an authentic, intimate look at Mexico's underground scene that is particular and personal, yet universally resonating.

The film is visually stunning with a striking and conducive mise-en-scène, transporting viewers to a time and place teeming with color, sound, desire, and revolution. Sama succeeds in embodying the fiery spirit of the era, alongside the daringness of the youth who dared to challenge societal norms, question their own identities, and explore their own desires and fears amid this societal upheaval. Each frame is skillfully crafted with careful attention to lighting, setting, and character composition, all underpinned by an aesthetic reminiscent of the artful disarray the film seeks to depict.

Facing machismo within a patriarchal society, both Carlos and Gera find solace from familial and societal pressures within the Aztec club's inclusive community. Lumi Cavazos, who rose to international fame with her breakout role in Like Water for Chocolate, portrays Carlos’ mother, who embodies the conventional societal norms Carlos is straining against. An equally compelling performance is given by Marina de Tavira, an Academy Award nominee for Roma, as Gera’s mother, a woman grappling with the complexities of her liberal beliefs as her son immerses in the underground sub-culture.

Furthermore, the movie provides an informative commentary on the AIDS epidemic, sexual liberation, and the struggle for identity, explicitly seen through Carlos – who is caught between the complexities of the daring counter-culture he's plunged into, and the societal norms he's expected to fit into.

In the end, This is Not Berlin is empowered by its superb ensemble cast, evocative storytelling, and a nuanced exploration of youth navigating their identity amid societal expectations. It's a film not to be missed for its vibrant depiction of Mexico City's underground scene in the '80s and its pulsating narrative about liberation, acceptance, and the audacity to discover and be true to oneself. To its credit, the film inherently asserts that while Carlos’s experiences unfolded in and are very specific to the context of 1980s Mexico City, his tale of coming-of-age and self-discovery remains as significant and prevalent today as ever.