Motel Destino (2024)

Twenty year old “Heraldo” (Iago Xavier) is hoping to leave his seaside Brazilian home and head to São Paolo and make a fresh start. Thing is, his elder brother “Jorge” (Renan Capivara) and he owe the local queenpin “Bambina” (Fabiola Liper) one last favour. “Heraldo” goes out and gets laid in the town’s knocking-shop-cum-motel and awakens to discover that his brother tried to do the job en seul and, well now the young man has to find somewhere to hide. Fortunately, he made a bit of an impression at the motel with it’s owner “Dayana” (Nataly Rocha) and so she agrees to shelter him whilst her brutish and frequently drunk husband “Elias” (Fâbio Assunção) lets him do odd jobs. From here on in, you can probably guess what happens and that’s not without it’s just deserts and irony. There’s some humour to be had, plenty of sex (even the donkey’s get some fun) but as the thriller element starts to kick in the writing starts to become more important and doesn’t really rise to the occasion as it gallops along to it’s conclusion. There is some sexually charged chemistry between Rocha and Xavier but too much of the plot is either implied or just plain missing and in the end, though it’s a good looking and effectively seamy looking production, it disappointingly ran out of steam.