Voy a Explotar is Gerardo Naranjo's follow-up to his acclaimed second feature, Drama/Mex (2006). The film traces the frenetic love story of two fifteen-year-olds who discover themselves through one another, realizing that they are not as alone in the world as they previously believed. Infused with the same youthful energy that characterized Naranjo's previous work, this is a charged and inspiring story of first love and its many revelations.
Misfit Román Valdez is the son of a respected yet corrupt politician in the city of Guanajuato. Having grown up in a world of privilege, he does nothing but give his father grief, blaming him for his mother's untimely death. After being expelled from the best private institutions in the country, he ends up at the same, less prestigious school as the offbeat Maru, who comes from a middle-class background and lives with her mother and sister. During the school's talent night, Román's provocative one-man show, titled “See You in Hell,” prompts yet another expulsion, but also piques Maru's interests – she is the only person in the audience who applauds his performance.
The teens fall in love instantly, and come up with a plan to be together. Román will steal a car, Maru will get herself kicked out of class, and they will drive away together. At least, that's what they want their parents to believe. Instead, Román and Maru hide out, away from the world, on the roof of Román's father's mansion. Their idyll is thrown into jeopardy, however, when Maru's mother and sister move into the house so that the two families may wait for news of their children together. This unlikely arrangement brings often hilarious results until disaster begins to loom.
Naranjo crafts distinctive portraits of these two young lovers – Román's boundless energy and Maru's gentle touch. He frames their wildness in vigorous, precise images, never condecending to them, treating their emotions and insecurities with genuine care and tenderness. He recognizes them as outcasts and revolutionaries whose passion is too strong to be contained in a society founded on conformity.
Diana Sanchez
Gerardo Naranjo grew up in Salamanca, Mexico, and studied at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. After making a short film entitled Black Dog (01), he earned an M.F.A. at the American Film Institute. Upon completion of his award-winning thesis film, The Last Attack of the Beast (02), he went on to direct the features Malachance (03), Drama/Mex (06) and Voy a Explotar (08).