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The Ardor (original title: El Ardor) is a 2014 American Western film, written and directed by Pablo Fendrik. It stars Gael García Bernal as a lone shaman who rescues a kidnapped woman from mercenaries who kill her farmer father and take over her property.
The film premiered on May 19, 2014, at 2014 Cannes Film Festival out of competition, at "special screening" section. It was also one of the Argentinian films which were in consideration to send as Argentina's official entry for 87th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film but ultimately Wild Tales was selected.
Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International in her review said that the film "looks bewitching, the banks of the Parana River shrouded in mist and vegetation. Cinematographer Julian Apezteguia switches tack to handle the showdown gunfight in a classic, dust-driven Western manner, and the interludes featuring the local jaguar are particularly attractive." But ultimately called the film "an atmospheric if slightly plodding jungle revenge romp."
Cine.gr gave the film two and a half star out of five and said that "Pablo Fendrik has things to say and delivers a film rich in content and technically perfect, but loses the opportunity for great cinema, due to weaknesses of the script."
CineTradicional in its review said about the performance that "Gael, who along with the gorgeous Alice Braga, delivered a couple of interesting and committed performances." But concluded that "the director, who in his claim fails to show a stance."
Mediapart gave the film a negative review by saying that "At first glance, the choice to place the action in the very current phenomenon of violent dispossession of land made against different Amazonian populations, was wise. Because in addition to telling a story to an audience, then there was the desire to warn about this area of law not intolerable to the international community. But the film does little case of social reality. In addition, the cast is limited to professional actors: no room for extras that could embody this reality. The film does not keep his promise made by the director of waking awareness about the seriousness of the context of Amazon deforestation."
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