Worth: $12.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Flavia Atencio, Raúl Méndez
Intro:
...gorgeous to look at and is likely to find traction with the 50 Shades of Grey set.
2020 found most of us locked in doors, having completed Netflix and surrounded by sourdough bread. Now in 2021, giving The Tongue of the Sun (La Lengua Del Sol) a spin, from director José Luis Gutiérrez Arias, is liable to initially give some viewers a sense of intense jealousy. As a couple trapped inside their stylish Mexican apartment, Emilia (Flavia Atencio) and Ramiro (Raúl Méndez) appear to be everything aspirational about being in lockdown. They’re good looking, they eat well, and they generally look like they’ve got their stuff together.
However, through their opening discourse, after what appears to have been a night of marathon sex, it becomes apparent that everything is not right in the world. Literally. Planet Earth is on its last days and an undisclosed cataclysmic event looks set to wipe out the human race. Arias looks over the shoulders of the couple as they plan to live out their last days together in total bliss.
During various stages of undress, Emilia and Ramiro agree to only ever talk about good things and not to mention the outside world. Something that appears to be easier for Ramiro than it is Emilia. For Emilia, the oncoming apocalypse appears to have made her address her mortality – funny that – and the milestones of life she’s going to miss out on. These are illustrated by the film taking breaks for her internal monologues. For Ramiro, this is the perfect time to just keep rooting.
Bandied around as the most erotic film in Mexico, some will go into The Tongue of the Sun with an eye on a good time. Whilst there are some erotically charged moments between the couple, it’s not enough to distract from the slow-moving nature of the plot and how unbearably unlikeable our male protagonist is.
Whilst the intention is clear that Ramiro must face up to reality and his responsibilities before time runs out, his arc is particularly unsatisfying. At times, he treats Emilia as nothing more than a sexual distraction, hell bent on making her try a particular sex act that all his other girlfriends let him do. Even as his candle comes ever closer to being blown out, he can’t even entertain the idea that he could marry Emilia. It’s all just rather depressing than it is titillating or romantic.
Admittedly, the film, like its cast, is gorgeous to look at and is likely to find traction with the 50 Shades of Grey set. Sure, if you dig a little deeper, you’d probably find a half-decent allegory about relationship issues and overcoming issues that are bigger than the both of you. However, taken at face value Tongue of the Sun is a rather frustratingly non-event of a film.
