Simon of the Mountain (2024) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever someone mentions a certificate of disability
Take a Drink: every time the boys get up to shenanigans
Do a Shot: whenever the boys play up their disabilities to get an edge
By: Henry J. Fromage (Two Beers) –
Through the church I grew up in, I’ve worked with mentally and physically disabled people for years, and believe you me, they have lives and desires of all sorts like anyone else.
Simon of the Mountain embeds us in the life of a disabled young Mexican, in his late teens and just starting to figure out what kind of man he is, if anyone will let him actually do that.
A Toast
Director Luis Federico approaches these Mexican disabled teens in an almost documentary fashion, and is rewarded with realistic performances with no hint of artifice, particularly from his lead Lorenzo Ferro, who gives off young Gael Garcia Bernal vibes at times.
His parents refuse to treat him like a young adult, someone who can even possibly become a full one, which the movie shows the lie of whenever we spend time with just these teens that are clearly like any others. They’re as normal in all our foibles as either your or I.
Youthful rebellion takes on a more sinister cast in a society that refuses to view you as a regular teenager, but rather a damaged and possibly dangerous individual who needs to be controlled, and the claustrophobia Simon feels is strikingly evident, especially in his interactions with his infantilizing mother and her asshole boyfriend. Simon isn’t just striving to be free, but already very much so, even if those around him won’t let themselves see it.
Beer Two
Simon’s mom and step-dad are pretty awful, but at times inconsistently tolerant as well. I sure as hell would have gotten into a lot more trouble for making off with a parent’s car.
Verdict
Simon of the Mountain profiles a teen trying to figure out life like any other, and one whose disabilities have very little to do with that universal struggle.
