Gael Garcia Bernal stars as Juan; a thirty something veterinary student that lives with his sibkings at home. Juan is often the butt of his family jokes (they poke fun at his height or lack of it) and they all have given up on him.
Juan wants respect and he thinks he can get it when he conjures a plan to lift some valuable Mayan artifacts during a Museum restoration project.
Juan's accomplice Wilson, played by Leonardo Ortizgriz joins him in the heist. The beginning of the heist lacks tension as Juan and Wilson meander through the museum late on Christmas Eve. Much of the sequence is filmed in long shots and it zaps the film's energy. Perhaps filming hand held or with a Go Pro showing would have injected much needed energy to the scene but director Alonso Ruizpalacios redeems himself when he builds palpatable tension by eliminating the score as the would be thieves quietly pry the treasure from the plexiglass case.
Juan and Wilson's journey runs into some roadblocks as they try to fence the loot. The progressive complications in Ruizpalacio and Manuel Alcala's script are great. Juan and Wilson catch a break when one of their colleagues puts them in touch with Simon Graves, a British artifact collector played convincingly by Simon Russell.
Russell's reaction is not what the boys expected, opening up more gaps in the brilliant screenplay.
Museo is definitely worth watching. It definitely doesn't add anything new to the heist drama but it's well done. It's a well told story. Personally, I think the movie would play better if the director went for a grittier look because at times the movie loses momentum with its current look. We feel that we are being robbed of something that could have been more exciting.
Catch it at TIFf.
Vince Sannuto
