New
Order (Mexico, 2020, Michel Franco)
Ben Livant:
Given our conversation beforehand, I misunderstood the scale of
the situation. I thought the dramatic setting was strictly within the
confines of a single private dwelling. After you told me that the
servants rebel, I confirmed my (incorrect) understanding that the focus was
within "the feudal manor;" again, on a solitary estate. Plus,
since you criticized the film for failing to flesh out the characters of the
rebellious slaves while attending more substantively to the masters, I was
expecting New Order to be some sort of The
Exterminating Angel and/or The Discreet Charm of the
Bourgeoisie; albeit no doubt, without Bunuel's properly proletarian radical
point of view, (never mind satiric wit, surrealist artistry and overall
cinematic auteur uniqueness).
So, I was taken aback by the totalizing perspective; i.e., the
complete societal purchase of the piece. From from being restricted to
local rebellion, the lens takes the much wider angle, looking at the nation as
such and the violence is at the level of revolutionary insurrection. This
being the case, yes, New Order is not a properly proletarian
point of view. Furthermore, this general class issue intersects
culturally with respect to race and indigeneity as per the concrete particulars
of Mexico specifically. Yet, I do not think it would be right to dismiss
the film as entirely misguided politically. It is not simply attending to
aristocratic dread of the mob as nothing but lumpen proletarian criminality ,at
bottom a reactionary pre-emptive strike against systemic change. Rather,
the film means to make it plain to muddled petti-bourgeois consciousness that
'nasty' bourgeoise power will opt for fascism, whether 'nice' bourgeois power
gets with the nasty program or not.
Institutionally, this comes down to the military assuming
governmental authority in the state of emergency. On this topic, the film
is at its most intense and insightful. Cartel kidnapping for ransom is a
regular occurrence in Mexico. It is one of the main means for controlling
politicians in office and corporate executives, and it has the added benefit of
paying for itself as a reasonably profitably business sideline.
New
Order takes this existing fact and extrapolates it to the point that
the military has assumed responsibility for this operation
administratively. The Mafia business sideline has become its own
ministerial mainline and what is more, this is just the tip of the direct
fascist appropriation of the regime. I agree that the film is null and
void when it comes to what the riotous looting vandals want beyond immediate
revenge. At the same time, though, New Order is
worthwhile insofar as it lays bare as hopelessly naïve, any sort of noblesse
oblige charity and liberal reformism on the part of wealthy elites
with a conscience.
Not a great film, by any means, but not just a reactionary piece
of shit either. I give it one thumb, halfway up.
And Dan continues:
Yeah,
I didn’t wanna tell you too much, so kept my description purposefully vague. We
agree that the film has value, and I have said as much both in person, and in
my brief written comments. I also found the film’s intensity ratchet up during
the military’s fascist quelling of the uprisings particularly compelling and
completely plausible. I just wanted to spend more time with the
peasants. Do they have an end game? What sort of system do they imagine
replacing the current one? What is their “New Order?”
Good,
but feels like an incomplete film.
Then
Ben:
Fair enough. And I figured as much. I realized once
into it that you did not want to "spoil" the film for me.
The few peasants with whom we spend time are those still loyal to
their master; either still on the job, or once having been, believing that
their old boss will be a benevolent benefactor in their time of need.
But the aristocrats with whom we spend time are no less instrumental
props for the narrative. All the characters are basically mannequins of
sociological/ideological positions.
This hollow dramatic characterization is not the problem
with New Order, perfectly entitled to adopt this formal
strategy. The problem is the sociological/ideological vacancy of the
peasantry very much no longer loyal to their masters.
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