Meeting the love of your life can cause you to do some crazy things. A bloodied Moises (Dante Ureta) appears to hold onto that sentiment as he’s rushed into the ER. Doctors rush to his aid, struggling to stem the copious bleeding coming from his mouth, all while the young man smiles and laughs through the pain. He reminisces about the hours leading up to his ordeal: a milkshake date with the handsome Itzcoátl (Fransisco Jácome Garcia) in a local café. How did the night take such a turn? And why is his date one room over in the same hospital?
Told through several bite-sized chapters, ¡Beso de lengua! is a love story few can match in terms of originality and pure insanity. The film’s style evokes a restrained version of Gaspar Noé’s aesthetic, with similar raw intensity and visual experimentation, but tempered with more subtle and controlled execution. There’s a hint of the grotesque thrown in for good measure, a layer that reveals itself as the short’s tension reaches a fever pitch.
The art of shooting on film is quickly dying out as mainstream productions switch to digital cameras, yet Director of Photography Constanza Moctezuma makes a bold case with a dreamy 16mm feast for the eyes. Shot on Kodak film, it should come as no surprise that the short’s visual language is characterized by rich textures and vivid colors. Ariana Pérez’s outstanding production design makes the café a character on its own, contrasted by the colder hospital corridors.
At the center of all this are Ureta and Garcia, fueling a viscerally romantic journey together. Awkward at first before opening up to each other, Moises and Itzcoátl make for a daring on-screen pair. Definitely, a couple audiences will remember.
José Luis Zorrero’s Tribeca-selected short ¡Beso de lengua! is one of the most original, unhinged, and at times shocking, romance stories you’ll ever see.
