Road to Perdition: Pablos Charts a Brutal Journey to Redemption
Solidifying himself as the queer counterpart to Michel Franco, David Pablos‘ On the Road features none of the poetic romanticism of the Kerouac beat tome with which it shares its name. No, the road, whether its the one less traveled or the well beaten path, is a remorseless state of transition, where rolling stones gather no moss but also wear themselves quickly into oblivion. As violent as it is intensely intimate, Pablos explores the burgeoning relationship between two drifters brought together by circumstance. Both broken, a sense of compromised salvation becomes the result of their tenuous union, but with such consequences death seems as if it would be a serviceable alternative.
Veneno (Victor Prieto Simental) is a handsome young hustler in trouble, drifting to ruin in the north of Mexico. A chance meeting with affable truck driver Muñeco (Osvaldo Sanchez) leads to Veneno hitching a ride. Muñeco makes it clear he’s heterosexual when he notices Veneno’s whose wandering eyes, clearly suggesting alternative interests in his new chauffeur explain an unstated tension. But with a bag of cocaine for sale, which enhances their journey, boundaries are blurred between the men. Unfortunately, the owner of Veneno’s stolen goods is eager to reclaim his property, leading both men towards a destructive intersection.
We’re introduced to Veneno shortly after a transgression from which it seems he cannot escape. Pablos introduces us to his trauma in the film’s opening moments, where he’s cowering, doused in gasoline. In the throes of a drug induced dream, a vibrant visualization depicts Veneno’s recent background, wherein he was one of many young men and boys sold as sex slaves to a brutal drug lord whose demands upon those he owns are steep. After disobeying his captor, Veneno’s lover and cohort is burned to death while he himself is spared, a favored jewel still cherished. Absconding with the bag of drugs, Veneno isn’t aware just how closely he’s being hunted when he takes up with Muñeco, a father estranged from his wife and children thanks to his drug use.
Their names are significant, as Veneno means ‘poison’ and Muñeco, a nickname, means ‘doll.’ Of course, terms could be interchangeable, as theirs is a relationship doomed to fail. Unexplored and exploited sexualities find them at the opposing ends of a spectrum already endangered by a machismo culture which already made them vulnerable to the opposing traps ensnaring them. There’s is a situation often exaggerated in American genre films, and conjures reminiscence of something like True Romance (1993)—a sex worker finding solace with a lover taking up his cause. But this reality is much more stark and less sensational (despite a surprising sexual choreography mounted between the two leads).
Pablos, whose previous films also deal with traumatized children on road trips (The Life After, 2013) and/or child prostitution rings (The Chosen Ones, 2015), feels akin to not only Michel Franco, but his specific proteges, such as Amat Escalante’s similarly sexual The Untamed (2016) or Lorenzo Vigas with his exceptional From Afar (2014). Sanchez and Simentel build upon the chemistry of their camaraderie effectively, and an explosion into intimacy feels accurate considering their powder keg situation. The film’s third act of sacrifice and betrayal ends quite beautifully, similar to the finale moments with Leonie Benesch in this year’s Late Shift, suggesting those we care for are inevitably the psychic baggage accompanying us on our journeys.
Reviewed on September 4th at the 2025 Venice Film Festival (82nd edition) – Orizzonti section. 93 Mins.
★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆