But destiny of a sort, shaped by class and money and family abuse, is waiting for the hero and heroine of this movie. Heraldo has to go into hiding, and the only place is within the creepily enclosed gated community of Motel Destino itself, where no customer stays long and no one asks questions.
And it is with Dayana that Heraldo begins a passionate affair, made more dangerous and more poignant by the fact that the older Dayana represents a gentleness and tenderness that Heraldo has never known. The fact that Dayana has been abused by Elias is the igniting factor.
The motel itself is deeply strange. Heraldo has to join in with the grim task of changing the rooms every day, dealing with the soiled sheets and replacing the sex toys. And he also has to deal with the boozy and leering attentions of Elias, one of whose eccentricities is that he keeps two donkeys on the property, donkeys that we see mating, a fiercely unsentimental commentary on the sex that we see happening all about.
Elias likes to watch his guests: part prison guard, part voyeur. This film is terrifically acted by its central trio: three intensely and unselfconsciously physical performances in which their bodies are frequently on show, sensual but fragile. Gentleness and tenderness β¦ Motel Destino. Photograph: Santoro. This article is more than 8 months old.
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