Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s ‘Bardo’ Might Be the Film to Beat at the Fall Fests

If my intel proves correct, and I have no doubt it will, then the upcoming fall festival season is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s for the taking.

With Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” now 2023, not to mention Ari Aster’s “Disappointment Blvd” in limbo, and Paramount keeping Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” in hiding, Inarritu’s “Bardo” could very well be the movie to beat at Venice/Telluride/Toronto.

I still have hopes for Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” to be ready by September, but my source is confident that it’s out. The film’s delays don’t make much sense to me, especially since it wrapped production very late last year. What is going on with that film?

Back to Inarritu, three of his last four films were Oscar-nominated for Best Picture; 2006’s “Babel,” 2014’s “Birdman” and 2015’s “The Revenant.” There is no reason to think “Bardo” will not be a major factor in this year’s race. A festival programmer tells me they were blown away by Inarritu’s mix of surrealism, drama and comedy in “Bardo.”

“Bardo” is Inarritu’s autobiographical film, shot in Mexico, that will inevitably be compared to “Roma.” It’ll probably be more accessible than Alfonso Cuaron’s film. Netflix will be in charge and have a massive campaign behind it.

As it stands, the ten hotties for the upcoming fall festival season are Inarritu’s “Bardo,” Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise,” Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde,” Todd Field’s “TAR,” Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Luca Gudagnino’s “Bones and All,” Florian Zeller’s “The Son,” Joanna Hogg’s “The Eternal Daughter,” and Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking.”

The above list also implies that Scorsese, Spielberg, Chazelle, Fincher and O. Russell are all skipping the September fests with their respective new films.

Venice is supposed to announce its lineup the last week of July. Toronto announces their first wave of films the last week of June. Telluride doesn’t reveal its lineup until the day before the fest begins in late August.