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There are many ways to tell a story. If you were to make a movie about, say, a teenager desperate to lose their virginity, you could make it into a raunchy comedy or an intimate drama. Heck, you could even turn the premise into a space opera, if you wanted. In the end, it all depends on their creativity. Thus, when screenwritersLuis Ortega,Rodolfo Palacios, andFabian Casaswere first struck with the idea of a story about a disgraced jockey being chased by the mob, they had more than one choice. They could do the most basic thing and play it straight, turning their plot into an old-fashioned crime film. Or they could take a walk on the wild side and turn the story of Remo Manfredini (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) into an absurdist dramedy with hints ofDavid Lynch, and that is precisely what they did.The result works best in its initial minutes, with the second half draggingthrough a plot that feels flimsy to say the least. Nevertheless, Ortega’sKill the Jockeyis a movie with a lot to say. Too bad it also seems a bit confused about what exactly that “lot” is.
Argentina’s pick for the 2025 Best International Feature Film race - the movie did not get nominated -Kill the Jockeyfollows the aforementioned Remo, a jockey who lives in the pocket of a powerful, but shady businessman named Sirena (Daniel Giménez Cacho). Throughout his career,Remo has seen better days: currently, he loses more races than he wins and takes to the courses with his head full of whiskey and ketamine. When things go terribly wrong during a race Sirena had a lot invested in, Remo is as good as dead. However, a new identity emerges out of the depressed jockey, one that will also allow him to have a new shot at life. In parallel with this story, we have Abril (Úrsula Corberó), Remo’s girlfriend and fellow jockey, who has to decide between staying pregnant or giving up racing for at least nine months — a plot that should have some emotional depth, but which the screenwriters fail to develop.
Abril’s plot is one of the many things that doesn’t work inKill the Jockey. However, it is perhaps best to start by going over what the film does right, as our first impression of Ortega’s work is far from negative. Gifted with uncannily wide, green eyes and a face that can adapt to any expression while also making it more and more exaggerated,Nahuel Pérez Biscayart is the ideal lead for any movie that looks for comedy in the absurdities of life. Ortega uses his main performer wisely, keeping the camera trained on his face, which, for most of the plot, is also decorated with a headbandage that turns Biscayart’s face into a giant Q-tip. It is hard not to crack a smile whenever Biscayart is on-screen, at least during the immediate aftermath of Remo’s accident.
It is also hard not to let yourself be absorbed byKill the Jockey’s Lynchian vibes, from the weird man who visits Remo at the hospital to the scene in which the protagonist confronts Sirena at a horse auction, so reminiscent that it is of the Club Silencio scene inMulholland Drive. There is something comforting and familiar about the world created by Ortega, something that bizarrely coexists with the strangeness of it all. It’s just a pity that the director often relies on the presence of disabled people to highlight the oddities of his world. In not just one, but two scenes, one-shot characters with disabilities appear as a way to add a sense of unease to the situation. It’s okay the first time, but by the second, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
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Ortega’s stylishness can also be excessive by its own accord, sometimes.Timo Salminen’s cinematography renders every shot into part of an editorial for a very hip fashion magazine. Set into motion, they become almost like music videos. The sound design and the soundtrack of the film also merge to create a kind of non-stop background music. Alas,for a movie that is not a musical, this gets old pretty quickly. For instance, there is not just one, but two extremely stylish dance sequences indicating courtship inKill the Jockey. They are both equally stunning, but they are also repetitive. Furthermore, this focus on style might make viewers mistakeKill the Jockeyfor a movie with little to no substance.
‘Kill the Jockey’ Is a Movie About Identity and Gender
That, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth.Kill the Jockeyis a movie that has a lot of things to say, not so much about horse racing or the Argentinian underground, but mostlyabout identity and, quite surprisingly, gender. Without spoiling too much, suffice to say that Remo experiences a lot with his gender expression, something that is quickly accepted by most of the people around him, but that doesn’t alter his place in the social narrative. Closer to the end, the movie becomes very much about whom this jockey is and who he can be, what identity he is allowed to claim for himself in a world that sees him only as a surefire way to make money.
It is an interesting turn of events, one that lends itself to a lot of debate in a bar or restaurant after the lights of the movie theater go up. However, it’s a debate that is only presented at the very end of the film. Much like Abril’s desire to end her pregnancy, it isn’t all that well-tied to the rest of the plot. Furthermore,the movie can also be read as extremely essentialist when it comes to gender. But this is a discussion that is perhaps better left to trans reviewers, and I, for one, can’t wait for this debate to happen in film circles around the internet.
Ultimately, when it comes to wild romps about being transgender and involved with the criminal underworld,Kill the Jockeyis a lot better than last year’sEmília Pérez. It is prettier, more fun, and less offensive to everyone involved. Alas, that doesn’t necessarily make it a good movie. It works for about half an hour, butits excess of panache eventually gets tiring, and the story’s seams are just too frail to hold it together. Still, those dance sequences are really something.
Kill the Jockeyis now playing in theaters.
Kill the Jockey
Despite its style and its strong lead, ‘Kill the Jockey’ gets boring pretty fast.
Kill the Jockey: Set in the competitive world of horse racing, this thriller follows the complex dynamics between jockeys, trainers, and horse owners as they navigate intense rivalries and hidden agendas. When a mystery unfolds that threatens the sport’s integrity, the characters must confront their ambitions and personal ethics.
