Victoria Film Festival Review: "Son of Monarchs" is a Quiet Meditation on Identity
Alexis Gambis is a man with multiple identities. He is a French Venezuelan filmmaker who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Rockefeller University and is the founder of the Imagine Science Film Festival, an event that unites the sciences, movies, and arts. By combining his passions in these fields, Gambis crafted some of the most artistically riveting and meticulously detailed indie pics, including but not limited to The Fly Room and Campo Experimental. Now the biologist turned filmmaker has done it once again with his latest drama. With its strong performance from Tenoch Huerta, engaging story, and enchanting magical realism elements, Son of Monarchs is a well-made character study on a Mexican biologist living in the United States.
Set during the presidency of Donald Trump, Son of Monarchs follows Mendel (Huerta), a Mexican-born biologist who lives in New York City. While dissecting a monarch butterfly for his research project, Mendel receives a phone call from a family member that his grandmother is one step away from death. And so, Mendel reluctantly heads back to his homeland Angangueo, a small mountain town in Mexico, to attend his grandmother's funeral. Once there, the scientist reunites with his estranged brother Simon (Noé Hernández) and catches up with old childhood friends Brisa (Paulina Gaitan) and Vincente (Gabino Rodríguez). Though Mendel is a man of many accomplishments, he still needs to overcome his childhood traumas, heal his family wounds, and accept his identity as a Mexican immigrant.
The conflicts in Son of Monarchs are low stakes, but the story is still riveting. Mendel's obsession with his work, his strenuous relationship with his white girlfriend Sarah (Alexia Rasmussen), and his desire to connect with his Mexican roots are issues people, regardless of race or status, go through in their lives. Basically, Gambis is trying to prove with his film that immigrants like Mendel are just like everyone else. Despite what Donald Trump and his ilk say, they're not criminals or monsters. They are scientists, creators, brothers, and so much more. And although the former president is an invisible force, Mendel is the focal point throughout the entire film.
Another highlight of the film is Huerta's performance. He brings an equal amount of quietness and intensity to his role as Mendel. The protagonist may be a reserved person, but there is a fire in him ready to burst out. One scene that showcases this is when Mendel's close friend and fellow scientist Pablo (Juan Ugarte) tells him that he has accepted a new academic position in Tuscan. As Pablo tells Mendel the news in their lab, the Mexican man stays silent. Mendel tries to hide his jealousy and sense of loss, but his face betrays him. Thankfully for the film, Huerta performs this scene with aplomb.
Visually speaking, Son of Monarchs is a gorgeously grotesque film thanks in part to Gambis's incorporation of magical realism. The director depicts this effect whenever Mendel is dreaming or daydreaming. For example, when the biologist stares out of a window in his university, bright colors bleed into the windowpane. Slowly, these abstract shapes begin to take the form of a monarch butterfly, a motif that shows up in the film. These images not only touch on Mendel's internal turmoil but also call back to a time when he used to marvel at butterflies as a child. With that said, the cinematography can get a tad bit dark at times. The film can certainly benefit from better lighting.
Son of Monarchs is a quiet but impactful meditation on being a Mexican immigrant in the United States. The drama's story, acting, and visuals will immediately grip viewers of all stripes – well, not all of them. Folks like Donald Trump may not like the movie. But hey, these are people who think Mexico is not bringing its best to the United States. When we all know it is an absolute lie.
