Amexico: A Swede in No Man’s Land

So, I sat down with “Amexico” last Friday night, with popcorn and surströmming (bad combo, trust me), not really knowing what to expect. I mean, when you see Javier Bardem’s name popping up in the cast, you just think, “Well, there we go, he’s gonna eat the screen again.” And Margot Robbie, looking like she just dropped in from Stureplan, only dustier. Directed by Mariana Chenillo, who’s got some real flair when she wants, and with Guillermo del Toro’s pudgy fingerprints as one of the producers. Not exactly your Friday kvällsfilm, but here we are.

This movie — I wanna call it a roadtrip without a map. The border between Mexico and the US, but it might as well have been the border between Odenplan and Söder, so bloody confusing. The script bounces around; some scenes hit right in the maggroten, other times I just thought “nej, nu har ni kört vilse.” But man, the atmosphere! Dust everywhere, mariachi music, and that bloody sun, so you feel sweaty just watching. And for half a second I remembered an old Midsommar night when I tried sneaking across my neighbor’s lot, all secretive, only to get caught—kinda felt like Bardem’s character, but with less tequila and more mosquitos.

I love how the film pokes at identity, home, and that Någonstans-Ingenstans feeling. You don’t gotta be stuck between America and Mexico to get it. We Swedes know about feeling out of place too, right? Sometimes you’re in ICA Maxi in Luleå at 02:00 and think, “Where am I? Is this real life?”

But, honest, the pacing drags sometimes, and the ending just… stumbles. It’s like, ok, did the editor go for coffee and forget? Still, the acting’s tops. Shoutout to Bardem, always.

Take it for a spin if you like films where not everything is spelled out for you. And bring some lösgodis – the movie’s bittersweet enough already.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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