The Bald

Los Calvos

Marcos Simon Mossello & Elias Ezequiel Gismondi
Argentina, Colombia, Mexico | 2024 | 79 min
World premiere
Language : Spanish
Subtitles : English, French

Are there any bald men in the room? Filmmakers Marcos and Elias! They set out to explore this "complex" with a few of their fellow residents of Tostado, an Argentinian town where most men seem to be afflicted by premature baldness. The result is a lively tragi-comedy, tinged with self-mockery and peppered with bald heads and hair plugs.

For some, it's an almost dynastic curse. Others swear that if they had to choose between hair and a Ferrari, they'd be happy to drive an old banger if it meant they could have their prized mane back. Ruly, an ice cream maker by trade, has solved the problem: he has had his hair tattooed onto his head. Marcos Mossello & Elias Gismondi, who are also prematurely bald, have decided to tackle the issue through film. They take us on a tour of Tostado, an uninviting Argentine hamlet, to meet their companions in misery. They confide in the mischievous camera, against a backdrop of brightly coloured tableaux (a nod to Wes Anderson?) that sometimes feature the mysterious Paico, a local football “god”, juggling a ball - and endowed with a thick head of hair that seems to taunt his less well-fortunate peers. The absolute precision of the editing and a pop-accented soundtrack infuse The Bald with the energy of a sprightly tragicomedy, which pokes gentle fun at the hang-ups developed – or not – by these contemporary Argonauts, who would gladly trade the Golden Fleece for hair implants.

Emmanuel Chicon

Elias Ezequiel Gismondi
The Bald, 2024

Marcos Simon Mossello
The Bald, 2024