We Are the Flesh (2016)

July 13, 2018

Directed by: Emiliano Rocha Minter

Starring: Noe Hernandez, Maria Evoli, Diego Gamaliel

Quotes: Love doesn't exist. Only demonstrations of love.

Trivia: This is the fourth film in Mexico to achieve the highest rating, which is the "D" certificate. Only this film as well as Eli Roth's Hostel (2005), Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs (2004) and Gaspar Noé's Love (2015) have gotten this certificate, which is usually given to pornographic films.








We Are the Flesh is not a horror film in the traditional sense, although there are some extremely horrific scenes. We Are the Flesh is a surrealist look at what it takes to survive in the modern world. For whatever reason, Mexico has always been the center of surrealist films. Mexico is where the two great surrealist filmmakers, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Luis Bunuel, did much of their best work. While these two directors were not Mexican, Jodorowky was Chilean and Bunuel was French, the made Mexico the capital of surrealist filmmaking. We Are the Flesh, also filmed in Mexico, built on the work of these directors especially Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain. However, We Are the Flesh definitely carves out its own niche in the annals of film. The movie is but revolting and beautiful. The camera work, use of colors, and acting are as good as it gets. I am writing this discussion three days after watching the film and I have been thinking about it constantly since.

We Are the Flesh takes place in a postapocalyptic landscape where two young siblings, Fauna and Lucio, encounter a man, Mariano (played by Noe Hernandez), who takes them in and feeds them. Meanwhile they help him turn the building into a type of cocoon. Eventually the man has siblings have sex with each other while he masturbates finally dying as he climaxes. His body will be resurrected and the three move as a murderous family, killing a soldier, raping a woman, and eventually engaging in a cannibalistic orgy as they consume Mariano. The film has an ambiguous ending that I do not want to spoil, but it certainly left me with a lot of questions and a lot to think about.

There are several scenes that are difficult to get through. In one scene, Fauna drips period blood into the mouth of her brother. In another scene, the three capture a random soldier and then slit his throat to ferment his blood. The most shocking scene however is the incest sex scene. What makes the scene so memorable, aside from the sexual act committed and the blowjob closeup, is that the director chooses to include a Spanish rock n roll song and changes the colors that give the scene a truly beautiful look. The juxtaposition of beauty and the grotesque makes the scene just as confusing a viewing experience as it is for the characters involved.

The film's central message, (at least to me... I'm sure there are hundreds of different ways the film could be interpreted) is explained in the beginning of the film by Mariano. When asked about living alone, Mariano declares, "Solitude drags you, forces you to come face to face with your darkest fantasies – and when nothing happens, you stop being afraid of your most grotesque thoughts.” The film has the characters not only face but delve in deep to their darkest most base thoughts and feelings. It is only when we confront who we really are that we can become the people we are meant to be. The film is a love letter to freedom and honesty, no matter how ugly or beautiful it may be.

The film is definitely not for everyone and it has received mixed reviews. Some called it disgusting, which I don't think is a valid reason to not like a film. Some called it pretentious, which isn't altogether an unfair assessment. Pretentious or not, the film has left a lasting impression on me and explored some very interesting issues. Still others criticize the film as nothing more than shock porn. While it is shocking, there is a purpose behind these shocking scenes. Sometimes life is ugly. More importantly, sometimes there is something ugly within us. We Are the Flesh has the courage to look at this ugliness and it does so with the beauty and talent of a group of brilliant filmmakers.

You can criticize the content of the film, but no one can say these filmmakers and actors are not experts at their craft.