In director Mauricio Calderón Rico’s feature debut, Todos Los Incendios, a teenaged pyromaniac runs away from his struggles with loss, his sense of self, and the relationships in his life and embarks on a journey towards self-acceptance.
Young Bruno (Sebástian Rojano) is a sullen teenaged boy. On top of his general angst, he still feels the loss of his father and has a difficult time accepting his mother’s new relationship. Bruno often retreats to his room or tries to sabotage his mother’s date nights, but his main outlet is his obsession with lighting things on fire.
Sometimes Bruno shares this hobby with his best friend Ian (Ari López); other times, Bruno records his amateur pyrotechnics in his bedroom and posts them on YouTube. His online activity has also led to a digital friendship with a girl named Daniela (Natalia Quiróz), with whom he messages often but has never met in real life.
One night, Bruno becomes overwhelmed. His mother is hosting a birthday party for her new boyfriend and it’s all too much: too many strangers, too much redecorating and erasing visible memories of Bruno’s father, and too much celebration in the face of Bruno’s frustrated despair. He makes a quick (albeit heated) exit and escapes to Ian’s house.
There, however, instead of finding comfort he finds more conflict and anxiety. Ian evidently has romantic feelings for Bruno, but our protagonist isn’t sure what he feels (or isn’t ready to embrace his feelings), and in his confusion and self-doubt he panics and leaves.
With only a backpack, cell phone with no charger, and his trusty matches, Bruno hops on a bus to visit the one person he hopes he has left to turn to—his online friend, Daniela.
In Daniela’s hometown, the two teens embark on their own pyrotechnic adventures, and she takes him to parties where he is out of his element but game for the experience. At her family home, Daniela’s parents welcome Bruno in like he’s one of their own. Hesitant at first, Bruno embraces this picturesque family life.
Playing “happy family” gives Bruno a glimpse into the life he either misses or desires, including bonding with a jovial father figure who invites Bruno into his world and having a mother figure who dotes on Bruno with her full attention. The one piece that doesn’t seem to fit is Bruno’s romantic relationship with Daniela.
The more Bruno settles into Daniela’s family, the more she seems to put distance between them. Bruno is confused, but he comes to realize that the picturesque family isn’t quite what it seems and that neither he nor Daniela are truly being honest with each other about their feelings. After a confrontation, the two teens help each other on their respective paths to self-awareness and self-acceptance of their sexuality and identity.
It takes time for us to warm up to Bruno. His moody disposition, quiet disrespect and dangerous pastime don’t exactly reel us in. We empathize with his grief and his hurt watching his mother move on with someone new, and we remember the turmoil of the teenage years, but the set-up as well as Bruno’s dramatic actions keep us distant and wary. However, over the course of the film we come to embrace Bruno as he reveals deeper layers, vulnerability, and a desire for acceptance.
Bruno’s obsession with matches and lighting fires in the film is an obvious cry for attention, but it is also revealed to have more significant meaning to him and as a multi-layered metaphor in the film which can be interpreted in different ways.
Prior to writing and directing Todos Los Incendios, Rico directed a number of short films and completed his master’s degree in screenwriting. The story of Todos Los Incendios is quite personal as it is loosely inspired by moments and themes from Rico’s life.
Todos Los Incendios has its world premiere at this year’s Locarno Film Festival in the Concorso Cineasti del presente category, which offers a selection of first and second feature films directed by emerging global talents.
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