# Motel Destino
**Motel Destino** is a 2024 Brazilian erotic thriller directed by Karim Aïnouz, a Brazil/France/Germany co-production set at a neon-lit roadside sex hotel on the northeastern coast of Brazil, where the arrival of a young gang member on the run upends the marriage that runs the motel.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/) The film premiered In Competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.[2](http://www.manekifilms.com/motel-destino-eng)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and year | Karim Aïnouz, 2024[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/) |
| Countries of production | Brazil, France, Germany; original language Portuguese[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) |
| Runtime | 115 minutes per the Cannes record; approximately 112 minutes per the sales catalog and AFI listing[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/) • [3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) • [4](https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100004715) |
| Central cast | Iago Xavier (Heraldo), Nataly Rocha (Dayana), Fábio Assunção (Elias)[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) |
| Premiere | In Competition, 2024 Cannes Film Festival[2](http://www.manekifilms.com/motel-destino-eng) |
| Screenwriters | Karim Aïnouz with Wislan Esmeraldo and Maurício Zacharias[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) |
| French release | December 25, 2024, distributed by Tandem[2](http://www.manekifilms.com/motel-destino-eng) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
The film takes place at the Motel Destino, a roadside sex hotel under the burning skies of the Ceará coastline in northeastern Brazil, run by the hot-headed Elias and his restless younger wife Dayana.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/) • [5](https://www.gullane.com.br/projetos/motel-destino) Heraldo, a 21-year-old on the run after a botched hit, arrives and disrupts the established order.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/)
Heraldo's backstory is given in the AFI program note: he and his brother Jorge work for the lower rungs of a local gang led by a fierce mob matriarch, and after a botched debt-collection job in which Jorge dies, Heraldo flees to the motel.[4](https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100004715) He begs for sanctuary and is reluctantly allowed in, in return for doing odd jobs, and with Dayana, who has been abused by Elias, he begins a passionate affair.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/22/motel-destino-review-cannes-film-festival) As the two navigate a dance of power and desire, a dangerous plan for freedom emerges.[7](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/motel-destino) The producer Gullane describes the motel as the stage for dangerous games of desire, power, and violence.[5](https://www.gullane.com.br/projetos/motel-destino)
### Cast and characters
The central trio is played by Iago Xavier as Heraldo, Nataly Rocha as Dayana, and Fábio Assunção as Elias.[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) • [4](https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100004715) The supporting cast includes Renan Capivara as Jorge, Heraldo's brother, along with Fabíola Líper, Isabela Catão, Yuri Yamamoto, and Davi Santos.[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) • [4](https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100004715)
## Production
The film was produced by Cinema Inflamável, based in [Fortaleza](https://www.edgepedia.org/fortaleza), Brazil, and Gullane, with co-production by Maneki Films, The Match Factory, Globo Filmes, Telecine, and Canal Brasil.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/) • [3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) Support came from Ancine, FSA/BRDE, the Government of the State of Ceará, the CNC's Aide aux cinémas du monde, and Medienboard Berlin-[Brandenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandenburg).[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html)
Aïnouz wrote the screenplay with Wislan Esmeraldo and Maurício Zacharias; the Cannes festival notes that Aïnouz wrote the film with one of the students of his own screenwriting school in his hometown of Fortaleza.[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) • [8](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/motel-destino-karim-ainouz-s-sensual-thriller/) The film marked Aïnouz's return to filming Brazil after *Firebrand*, his 2023 UK historical drama that competed at Cannes.[8](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/motel-destino-karim-ainouz-s-sensual-thriller/) • [9](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/motel-destino-review-1236012216/)
## Release and reception
**Festival run.** *Motel Destino* screened In Competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and later played at the Sydney Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival (Cinecopro [Competition](https://www.edgepedia.org/competition)), the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal, and Viennale 2024.[2](http://www.manekifilms.com/motel-destino-eng) It was released in French theaters on December 25, 2024, distributed by Tandem.[2](http://www.manekifilms.com/motel-destino-eng) The film later streamed on [Globoplay](https://www.edgepedia.org/globoplay) in Brazil, MUBI, and the Criterion Channel.[10](https://globoplay.globo.com/motel-destino/t/x2JJzYgWG7/) • [11](https://www.criterionchannel.com/motel-destino) • [7](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/motel-destino)
**Critical response.** Variety's Cannes review characterized the film as a slow, mood-heavy erotic thriller light on plot, in which the sex scenes themselves function as the story, and noted that Aïnouz and cinematographer Hélène Louvart shoot sex as sex, not porn.[9](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/motel-destino-review-1236012216/) The same review compared the motel's hold on its occupants to the Overlook of *The Shining* or the [Hotel California](https://www.edgepedia.org/hotel-california).[9](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/motel-destino-review-1236012216/) The Guardian's 22 May 2024 review called the film a terrifically acted Brazilian erotic noir thriller.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/22/motel-destino-review-cannes-film-festival) The Criterion Channel described it as a feverish tropical noir, a ravishingly shot blend of high-art stylization.[11](https://www.criterionchannel.com/motel-destino)
## By the numbers
The Cannes record gives a runtime of 115 minutes, while The Match Factory sales catalog and the AFI Silver listing give approximately 112 minutes; the two figures are both in circulation and the discrepancy is unresolved.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/) • [3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) • [4](https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100004715) The sales catalog lists a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, DCP format, and 5.1 sound.[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) The Cannes festival editorial places the setting in Ceará, where temperatures hover around 30 degrees Celsius year-round.[8](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/motel-destino-karim-ainouz-s-sensual-thriller/)
## In Aïnouz's filmography and Brazilian genre cinema
Aïnouz's prior features include *Madame Satã* (Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2002), *Futuro Beach* (Berlin Competition 2014), and *The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão*, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes 2019.[3](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html) *Motel Destino* followed *Firebrand* (In Competition, Cannes 2023) and the 2021 Special Screening *Mariner of the Mountains*.[8](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/motel-destino-karim-ainouz-s-sensual-thriller/)
The Cannes festival essay identifies two framing traditions. Aïnouz drew on the pornochanchada, the Brazilian erotic-comedy genre that was very popular in the 1970s, and he frames the film as a film noir about youth deprived of a future by a despotic elite.[8](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/motel-destino-karim-ainouz-s-sensual-thriller/) Visually, the film continues the collaboration with cinematographer Hélène Louvart, who also shot *The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão*; the two work in the same humidly saturated tones, here in glowing neon monochromes.[8](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/motel-destino-karim-ainouz-s-sensual-thriller/) • [9](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/motel-destino-review-1236012216/)
## References
1. [Motel Destino, Festival de Cannes film page](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/motel-destino/)
2. [Motel Destino, Maneki Films](http://www.manekifilms.com/motel-destino-eng)
3. [Motel Destino, The Match Factory catalogue](https://www.the-match-factory.com/catalogue/films/motel-destino.html)
4. [Motel Destino, AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center](https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100004715)
5. [Motel Destino, Gullane](https://www.gullane.com.br/projetos/motel-destino)
6. [Motel Destino review, The Guardian, 22 May 2024](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/22/motel-destino-review-cannes-film-festival)
7. [Motel Destino, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/motel-destino)
8. [Motel Destino, Karim Aïnouz's sensual thriller, Festival de Cannes editorial](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/2024/motel-destino-karim-ainouz-s-sensual-thriller/)
9. ['Motel Destino' Review, Variety, 2024](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/motel-destino-review-1236012216/)
10. [Motel Destino, Globoplay](https://globoplay.globo.com/motel-destino/t/x2JJzYgWG7/)
11. [Motel Destino, The Criterion Channel](https://www.criterionchannel.com/motel-destino)
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