Lázaro, Luisa, and Francisco are a trio of fortysomething actors living in Mexico City who happen to be in a mundane love triangle. As they all navigate unorthodox auditions for the same film, they begin to reminisce on an acting workshop, listening to a recording from their instructor. Taken from an interview with Uruguayan author Mario Levrero, this YouTube clip is repurposed for the scene and was also director Nicolás Pereda's starting point for this film. The words of their instructor prompts Luisa's lovers to goad her into telling her adaptation of the story of Aladdin, but this isn't Disney. Her retelling is inspired by a lecture on realism by Argentine writer César Aira—a dryly comic interpretation where the poverty stricken protagonist can only wish for food for him and his mother.
Working with his usual troupe from the artist collaborative Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, Pereda explores relationships between longtime friends both on and off screen. His trademarks of rearticulation of ideas from writers, moments of quotidian humor, and exploration of the artistic process are on full display, but with this project, Pereda has also taken on the sound design for the first time, pushing beyond what we can see in front of us.
