Searching for Identity in Iñárritu’s Bardo
The director's latest is a dreamlike exploration of a consciousness torn between two homelands, and the implications of history and memory suspended in limbo.

In the 11th century, there was a powerful and sensitive man, Al-Mu’tamid Ibn Abbad, whose personality became mythological. His life took place in the territory today divided by Portugal, Spain and Morocco. In the 21st century, a contemporary man undertakes the journey through this territory in search of the myth. As the journey unfolds, the traveler embodies the figure and personality of the poet king dialoguing with those he meets on the way, assimilating the issues that he struggled with, the feelings and contradictions he lived, questioning himself. Time is made of cycles. So are we.
The director's latest is a dreamlike exploration of a consciousness torn between two homelands, and the implications of history and memory suspended in limbo.
If you mix religious rituals with dark mythology, the result will be effective, and the story powerful in 90% of the cases. That is exactly what happens at the beginning of The Vigil.
This coming-of-age movie based on the 1970 book by Judy Blume gives viewers a scope on female topics in the quest for a religious identity.
This is not a story of oppression but a story of liberation.
Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a fan-favorite, as are some of the more science fiction angled movies like 28 Days Later or World War Z. I recently watched the 1995 Wolfgang Peterson-directed movie, Outbreak for the first time, which is currently available on Netflix.
Richard speaks with Dia Frampton about some of her experiences with acting and music.