Narciso

Narciso - image - a film by Marcelo Martinessi
Narciso - image - a film by Marcelo Martinessi
Narciso - image - a film by Marcelo Martinessi
COMING SOON FROM PALACE FILMS
Narciso - image - a film by Marcelo Martinessi
Great! Don't sleep on this one. A compelling and poignant story of repression, rebellion, and the kind of society that turns us into monsters and persecutors. By the times the end credits roll, it’s with much sadness that we bid farewell to the warm, flawed but oh so human crew of well-meaning people we’ve grown incredibly fond of during the film.
Martinessi keeps the unfolding of his story simple, and choosing to do so gives space to a large array of political and artistic echoes but also a brilliant depiction of the period. The film is visually gorgeous, and this beauty serves a narrative and dramatic purpose – to have us fully immersed in the times, to live them as if they were the present. Thus, we are not merely watching a period-piece drama; we are experiencing from the heart, directly, its timeless emotional and political urges and hardships, complexities and truths.
Director: Marcelo Martinessi
Cast: Diro Romero, Manuel Cuenca, Arturo Fleitas, Margarita Irún, Mona Martínez, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart
Duration: 101mins
Country of Origin: Paraguay
CTC
Great! Don't sleep on this one. A compelling and poignant story of repression, rebellion, and the kind of society that turns us into monsters and persecutors. By the times the end credits roll, it’s with much sadness that we bid farewell to the warm, flawed but oh so human crew of well-meaning people we’ve grown incredibly fond of during the film.
Martinessi keeps the unfolding of his story simple, and choosing to do so gives space to a large array of political and artistic echoes but also a brilliant depiction of the period. The film is visually gorgeous, and this beauty serves a narrative and dramatic purpose – to have us fully immersed in the times, to live them as if they were the present. Thus, we are not merely watching a period-piece drama; we are experiencing from the heart, directly, its timeless emotional and political urges and hardships, complexities and truths.

WINNER - 2026 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL (Panorama) – FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film

Inspired by notorious real-life events, the seductive new noir from multi award-winning writer/director Marcelo Martinessi (The Heiresses) unravels the mysterious death of a charismatic radio host in late-1950s Paraguay — an incident seized on by the regime to unleash a ruthless moral panic and deepen political and social repression.

Asunción, 1959. Under dictator Alfredo Stroessner’s tightening military regime, magnetic young DJ Narciso Arévalos (a captivating Diro Romero) is found dead after his provocative final broadcast. His popularity has risen in tandem with the arrival of imported American rock ‘n’ roll music, which Narciso – having returned from Buenos Aires energised by the likes of Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly - has convinced the station’s repressed owner Lulú (Manuel Cuenca) to play in place of traditional Paraguayan folk standards. Filmed live before an adoring crowd, Narciso’s show ignites a generation craving freedom. Yet his defiant allure also earns powerful, dangerous attention, and stirs envy among the fearful...

Visually stunning and immersive, Martinessi’s atmospheric thriller probes how desire, fear, and shared beliefs work together to sustain dictatorships. Sounding a very timely warning from the past about the authoritarian resurgence today, NARCISO also serves to remind that there is no greater threat to conformity than what art - and especially the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll – can inspire. 

 

Narciso - image - a film by Marcelo Martinessi
COMING SOON FROM PALACE FILMS
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