“A hauntingly strange, provocative work of socially charged filmmaking.”

When one looks at the vast, expansive highways that act as passageways connecting a continent, romance is not always the first subject that comes to mind. Yet, David Pablos finds unconventional beauty in the sweeping landscapes of Mexico, using its long, winding roads as the stage for En el camino, a film whose title evokes Jack Kerouac’s iconic novel On the Road, not being an adaptation so much as a subtle riff on some of the core themes that defined an entire generation of storytellers. The film follows Veneno, a reserved young man who frequents truck stops that litter the landscape, having brief but passionate affairs with the men who pass through, their relationships fleeting but incredibly intense. It is only when he encounters the gruff and aloof Muñeco that the protagonist comes to realise the dangers that lie before him, plunging him (and the audience) into a deceptive, unsettling story of lust and longing. The film is handcrafted by a director whose fascination with these themes informs his vision, allowing him to develop a story built around some intimidating ideas, but in a way that is hypnotic and mesmerising, becoming one of the year’s most essential and daring works, a mystifying blend of romance and road movie that feels genuinely essential and singular in its vision.

If there is one theme that ties everything in En el camino together, it is transience, since the story follows characters that are always in a state of motion, to the point where they struggle to feel any sense of belonging, and instead just embrace the open road as their home. Utilizing this core theme, the director is able to paint a vivid portrait of a young man who has surrendered to the insatiable sense of restlessness and unease, drifting between places where he can satisfy his carnal cravings, but never feel the joy of returning to a place he can call home. In the process, Pablos explores masculinity and the role it plays in defining someone’s identity – the two core characters embody different ideals of what it means to be a man, yet find themselves receding from public view, knowing that they live in a society where their choices have to be concealed behind closed doors, the only place where their desires are considered acceptable. Violence and exploitation begin to define the relationship between the men, who are unable to find the comfort that becomes more like a privilege for them as time progresses. All of this is set against the strikingly beautiful backdrop of working-class Mexico, which provides the location for some of the most enrapturing but deeply unsettling depictions of desire committed to film in recent years.

There are certainly many complex ideas that govern En el camino, a film that is forceful in its vision and deeply moving as a commentary on masculinity and how society perceives it in different circumstances. Stylistically, it is quite simple on the surface, which benefits such a story as it draws us in and makes us curious to see how the director is going to challenge the structure to be more daring, reflecting the off-kilter aspects of the narrative. As it progresses, the film becomes more abstract – the aesthetic is raw and unfiltered, with a lot of handheld camera work and close-up shots situating us right in the heart of these often hyper-violent sexual interactions, giving us firsthand glimpses into the minds of the characters. Telling such a story requires drawing a clear line between the art of observation and the perpetual threat of intrusion, something that we begin to question as we peer voyeuristically into the daily routine of these characters who are much more comfortable in the shadows than in public view. The constant use of contrast – quite literally in terms of the shadowy highways being littered with neon signs and unnatural lights – elevates this film and makes it a far more elegant affair, while never losing its renegade lustre. Even the long stretches of dialogue don’t feel overwrought, exhibiting a clear purpose that the film certainly is not afraid to address throughout.

En el camino is yet another compelling entry into this ongoing era of challenging, provocative queer films that set out to redefine certain perceptions around identity and how it manifests both on screen and in the surrounding discussions. The film blurs sensuality with the looming thread of danger, which is something that the director does not neglect, especially in the portions where it seems like he is commenting critically on themes much deeper than we’d expect from a cursory glance. It may contain a lot of passion, but it’s far from a romance, particularly in how it shows that queerness can come with an inherent risk in some communities, something that Pablos makes sure to emphasise without making the film a heavy-handed cautionary tale. There is a lack of resolution, but we don’t feel underwhelmed or at a loss, since it’s the journey to this particular point that makes En el camino so fascinating. It’s a deeply immersive experience, and one that is best enjoyed by simply surrendering to the director’s vision, embraced in what is essentially nothing more than a lengthy mod-driven tone poem about desire, identity and the foolish pursuit of satisfaction that grows more intense as we venture further into this hauntingly strange, provocative work of socially charged filmmaking.