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‘Pornomelancholia’ is a work of docu-fiction by Argentine director Manuel Abramovich that features real-life porn star Lalo Santos as its subject. The film catches you off-guard by opening with a shot of Lalo stood in a busy street, where he breaks down into uncontrollable sobs. What’s the source of his pain and misery? Well, that’s one of the issues with the film because we never really find out. While Lalo is painted as a man who feels very lonely due to his secret side-gigs, there’s no really deep exploration of who he is or why he feels the detachment and sadness that he does.
‘Pornomelancholia’ is certainly an interesting feature, and it’s one that asks more questions than it answers. Essentially it’s a look into the world of a sex worker and the difficulties that come with that, but its lack of depth stops it from ever being something you can truly connect with. You can’t help but feel that we’re not completely seeing the real Lalo, which may be in part due to the blend of documentary and fiction that Abramovich has created.
Pornomelancholia is a slow paced character study of a up-and-coming porn star navigating the Mexican porn industry. It has plenty of dry humor and an underlying commentary on social media culture.
The film starts with a mid-range shot of Lalo standing alone by a busy street in the city. People walk past him and cars pass behind him as we watch him peer around. It seems like he’s waiting for someone or taking a breather in a chaotic day. However, before the shot lingers further, Lalo breaks down into a soft sob as the title credits pop up: Pornomelancholia. It’s a prelude for the critique of superficial influencer-culture that Lalo uses to make his way into the porn industry.
