The Message (2025) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for each in-person animal consultation
Take a Drink: whenever the subject of money comes up
Take a Drink: whenever a consultation is discussed over the phone
Do a Shot: for each reminder of life on the road
By: Henry J. Fromage (Three Beers) –
Last year the rather fascinating documentary Look Into My Eyes followed a group of New York psychics in their day-to-day, creating a fascinating examination of belief and doubt even if you don’t buy what they’re selling for a second.
The Message gets even more specific than that, following a young girl and her two adult handlers/caregivers as they drive around Argentina and peddle her services as a pet psychic to credulous animal lovers.
A Toast
Director Ivan Fund throws you right into these folks’ lives and the quiet absurdity of the pet psychic schtick that seems to financially support both the adults and child, even if not overmuch (they live out of their van and eat gas station food to get by). He takes an extremely patient approach, slowly uncovering who these people are to each other and helping us appreciate their relationship despite the rather grifty particulars of their lifestyle.
Everything is shot in rather handsome black and white photography, with a particular eye for everyday beauty in the small and often forgotten things. You may not realize how invested you’ve become in these people until the still minor yet undeniably evocative ending, which isn’t so much that as just another quiet yet significant step in their quiet yet significant lives.
Oh yeah, and capybara!
Beer Two
This film is very slow and deliberately paced, and extremely low on incident. It’s hard to discern any growth in these characters for much of the film- this could easily be a documentary, although most documentaries (for good or ill) have more of an arc than this.
Beer Three
As we go from reading to reading, the film gets a bit repetitive. We don’t get to know any of these pet owners or what they really think of the “service” they’ve received. The ripe potential for conflict when the pet owners don’t seem to get very much at all for their money is never fulfilled- do only the most gullible or least discerning end up ponying up for this?
Verdict
The Message is a beautifully rendered yet languorous portrait of a young Argentine pet psychic and the couple who both use and care for her.
