Lava 2 (The New Narciso Show)

Lava (2019), the animated film Ayar Blasco presented at the 34th edition of the Mar del Plata Film Festival, left many subplots unresolved in a sci-fi narrative in which an alien civilization dominated the planet through technological devices. This incompleteness, which could then be attributed to the director’s aesthetics, always free and prone to absurdity, was actually a pause that now, four years later, is resumed. The protagonist continues to be Débora, a somewhat insecure tattoo artist who ends up involved in the resistance when a new batch of invaders threatens to wipe out every single record of the human race. With the childlike strokes and the uncontrollably innocent humor characteristic of him, Blasco continues to shape his own epic, a hallucinated version of El Eternauta, with click beetles and all.

Directed by Ayar Blasco, Lava 2 (The New Narciso Show) leans on a strong ensemble — Sofía Gala Castiglione, Martín Piroyansky, Bimbo Godoy — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about animation titles of 2023.