The Man Who Loved UFOs Review: An Intriguing Story of A Daring Journalist Who Fools the World

The Argentine film The Man Who Loved UFOs tells the intriguing tale of journalist José de Zer. His obsession with aliens and bringing up his ratings create one of the most sensational news of all time as he takes drastic measures to prove his point. The film brings us behind the scenes to some of his over-the-top ways of creating news that became a hit.

-No Spoilers-

The Man Who Loved UFOs Review

The plot of the film revolves around the daring journalist José de Zer who became a sensation in Argentine journalism when he hit the world with proof of the existence of aliens. The man is known to have gone to great lengths to prove their existence, later even falling into creating evidence to show the truth made by him.

Focusing on how easily one man can manipulate people through his confidence and the lies he creates for the camera, the film starts strong. José de Zer’s eccentric yet bold journalism has everyone’s attention, while his ability to capture any opportunity that presents itself in front of him is strong. He is seen as an impressive man who has a charming way with his words that can leave people speechless.

However, he is also a manipulator who can gain people’s trust in believing what he wants to show them. José de Zer is the character who will leave a bad impression on you, but he will also have you amazed with the way he works. But while the character is strong, the plot fails to keep a focus on the genre it promises to show.

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Before we go deeper into talking about the plot, I have to point out the beautiful performance delivered by Leonardo Sbaraglia and the rest of the cast. The cinematography is also intriguing and wonderfully done, though the wide-angled camera work can be a little overwhelming for a while but you will soon get used to it. Don’t worry it only pops up in a few selected scenes.

Moving onto the plot, while it is labelled a comedy, a lot of sci-fi elements also emerge in the film that deviates from the film in many ways. The focus soon shifts from the man himself and into confusing both José de Zer and us about the existence of aliens. The character carrying this element is the engineer whom José befriends but is only seen by him and no one else. This shift already has us confused and then we see José getting psychological treatment and him avoiding his medication.

To add to this confusion is the ending which only makes you wonder how you ended up in a sci-fi when you paid for a comedy film. While the film intrigues us despite this confusion, it is still a letdown when such a mix-up happens. Thus, while José’s means of falsifying news to capture the nation’s attention follows most of the original plot, his hallucinations and encounter with “aliens” throw us into a confusion that can make you scowl.

Summing Up

The Man Who Loved UFOs may have been an intriguing film about journalist José de Zer, however, the sudden mix of psychological and sci-fi elements can throw viewers into confusion. The man’s ways to fool everyone on national television are surely marvellous, but it also makes us think of a reality where we never know when we will be fooled this way by another man holding a microphone.

Watch The Man Who Loved UFOs on Netflix.

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