Hari Sama’s ‘This Is Not Berlin’: But It is Now Latin America
Hari Sama’s “This Is Not Berlin,” a buzzed-up contender in next week’s Copia Final, charts a teen’s rebellion at the social stupor of Mexico in 1986, sunk in repressive conservatism, World Cup herd fervor, and the frat-boy sexism of his classmates.Carted off to a night-club as payback for mending a synthesizer, he discovers a dazzling anti-system nightlife of death post-punk, drugs, avant-garde art and, for Mexico of that time, avant-garde sex, single sex or hetero, but with the women making the moves.Sama’s heartfelt retro but vital and very autobiographical tribute to the 1980s, “This Is Not Berlin,” portrays a Mexico where outrage at Mexico’s ruling elite was a badge-of-honor of the outrageous minority.30 years later that sentiment has gone mainstream. The victory of Amlo in Mexico was a vote for radical change in a country beset by corruption and narco civil war. Few films ...