Bardo is the Tibetan term for the intermediate state between death and rebirth that lasts for forty-nine days. Acclaimed journalist and documentarist Silverio Gama returns to Mexico after he “ran away from censorship” more than two decades ago. His success is begrudgingly accepted among his Mexican frenemies as well as pretentious Americans. He is a stranger caught in a limbo between the border of where it used to be home and where he still cannot call home. Like Alfonso Cuaron’s autobiographical Roma (2018), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu explores his estranged past to reflect some deeply personal yet fundamental existential questions. Silverio’s battles with the ghosts of his past are elaborated on an epic scale, and at times we are overwhelmed by the galore of magnificent visuals captured through Darius Khondji’s camera lens. Nonetheless, Inarritu’s ouevre culminates bravura with his intimate depiction of the surrealistic odyssey and his grace of letting go. (Karen PARK)