HFC at SXSW '24: Bionico’s Bachata

South by Southwest offers a diversity of both genre and culture at its film festival. Comedy, horror, action–name it and you’ll get your fill on any day in any language. But what’s more exciting than that diversity is the melding of genres and cultures you’ll see in some of the festival’s more interesting features. It's often the films you take chances on–that you have no expectations for–that hit you with a refreshing gut-punch of blended tropes. This is exactly what you get with Yoel Morales’s second feature, Bionico’s Bachata.

When reading the film’s description of a Dominican crack addict attempting to get his life together for the newly-sober woman that he loves, one may have a few ideas of what the movie will be. Tales of addiction are normally filled with characters beaten down to their lowest, bleakly losing hope before beginning a long and painful journey towards sober life (Trainspotting, Requiem for a Dream, etc). Not so for Bionico, who begins this film literally high, falling through the sky with a smile on his face until hitting the ground in front a “documentarian’s” camera. His best friend Calvita busts his balls for taking the tumble, and we follow them through a raucous day of getting high and living life. 

La Bachata de Bionico | Credit: Manuel Raposo as Bionico

The tone is set for what essentially is a stoner comedy filmed as a mockumentary, with plenty of crazy parties and dangerous hijinks to come. In Hollywood films, fun with vices is usually reserved for potheads or the occasional alcoholic, never something as serious as crack addiction. But the euphoria of any high can be portrayed similarly on-screen, and the film uses this to great effect. This isn’t to say that the film doesn't have cautionary elements, only that its humor is inherent to the characters. 

Bionico is played irreverently by Manuel Raposo in his first lead role: a tough job that risks portraying negative stereotypes of Dominicans or downplaying the real risks of crack addiction. Luckily, Raposo’s performance perfectly walks the line between lovable and selfish that charms to the bitterest end, while showcasing the struggles of serious addiction. He sets off on a quest for a better life, not for himself but for his partner La Flaca (played by Ana Minier). Her homecoming is imminent, and Bionico must be sober and housed by the time she returns from rehab. Many zany characters join Bionico on his journey, such as the aforementioned Clavita (played by rapper El Napo) and a drug dealer named Andres (Yasser Michelén), who is also in love with La Flaca. 

Already, you can see the pieces for the stoner comedy’s botched drug deal or the rom-com’s love triangle, but the documentary perspective adds hints of realness and unease to these familiar tropes. Much like Jackass, the audience is constantly pulled between laughing at a situation and seriously worrying about the consequences in a way they may not with something filmed traditionally – “great escapes” aren’t luxuries in a world so real. Morales’ juggling of these tones is truly masterful, as is his and Cristian Mojica’s writing. This film has tragic deaths, it has cheated deaths, it has death as a literal character, but none of these feel cheap. The care in crafting this script translates to the same care the audience feels, building up to an end that doesn’t feel optimistic, itself a blend of sadness and hope – similar to what one feels for the addict in their real life. 

HFC writer Blake Williams (center-left) with cinematographer Alexander Viola (left), writer Cristian Mojica (center-right), and director Yoel Morales.

Addiction is complex. It deserves both nuanced solutions and depictions in media, or risks becoming overly moralized to the point of apathy. The filmmakers after my screening lauded the real-life residents of the barrios in which they filmed as jovial and welcoming people, who found a sense of humor among their dilapidated surroundings. Their love for these residents is shown with this film's injection of comedy. 

Bionico’s Bachata is a melding of recorded observation and Hollywood tropes that shows art’s connection to life while evoking the empathy that serves to connect us all. But also, have fun with it!