Sergio Leone is undoubtedly a reference point for a number of filmmakers over the years. His intense close-ups, deliberate pacing, potent use of music and the overall beauty of his framing and filmmaking is enough to inspire legions of directors.

Pablo Fendrik seems to be one of those artists and his latest film "El Ardor" owes a tremendous amount to the legendary filmmaker.

Set in the Argentine jungles, the film opens with a title card relating a legend of people arriving from the river to help those in need. A ritual takes place to summon these helpers and it has passed from generation to the next.

Immediately thereafter, Fendrik takes us through the jungle, a place filled with insects and decay. We see a man, Kai (Gael Garcia Bernal), come out of the river and journey through the area until he eventually makes his way to a farm territory where he is apparently awaited. A farmer, his daughter Vania (Alice Braga) and another man await the coming of another entourage, a dangerous one.

Fendrik takes us to this second group of three men, framing them from behind, their backs to the camera, almost immediately establishing a distance with the audience. Even when they happen upon the demise of a female among their group at the hands of a tiger, the image is portrayed from a far, their reactions are rather insensitive.

The two disparate plot strands eventually come together as the hunters invade the farm, shoot down the father and his helper while taking away his daughter. Kai hides away and then goes on his search to rescue the daughter.

The film moves at a deliberate pace with Fendrik and cinematographer Julian Apezteguia holding on images for lengthy durations. Characters often move from background to foreground without any edits, though action sequences exhibit more propulsive energy in their quick cutting.

The film's most fascinating moments come at the climax when the hunters invade the territory once more in search of the heroes. In a reversal of their introduction, the hunters, no longer facing away from the audience, becoming the main source of perspective. The audience follows the "villains" through the space, thus bringing them closer to the viewer.

The film will undoubtedly polarize many people as its early attempt at mythology gets lost and feels more and more like imitation rather than inspiration. The final showdown of the film is such a forced rendition of a Leone showdown between two gunmen that it makes little to no sense in the context of this story. Two characters that have been wildly trying to kill one another in savage ways suddenly have time to stare each other down and ceremoniously look to shoot each other down?

Moreover, while the idea of setting a western in a jungle, where the law and order is non-existent makes sense, genre tropes, such as the aforementioned showdown, do not work with the savagery of the jungle environment. This is a world the film establishes as chaotic, with a lumbering tiger ready to strike at any moment without any rationalization. The initial murders are not presented with any preparation, instead being executed with utter violence. A latter sequence, in which Kai attacks the hunters, also shows a vengefulness that is sloppy and effective in its execution. Fendrik is attempting to subvert the genre by showing the natives as the heroes instead of monsters (a trope that is often lambasted in old time Westerns), but in having his hero suddenly transform into a "civilized" being is, in this context, indulgent.

The characters themselves are unfortunately rather devoid of personality, maintaining the same inexpressive expressions throughout. They effectively create a sense of mystery and lethargy around this world, but there is never truly any movement away from this initial stasis. Vania and Kai have a brief love affair that ultimately goes nowhere and thus gives the viewer no insight into the characters' true emotions; Fendrik could have left out the sex scene and the dynamics of the relationship would not have changed at all in subsequent scenes.

"El Ardor" is undoubtedly well-intentioned as homage to Leone. However, it often gets bogged down in its references that it ultimately falters in its transformation into an individual piece of work. The imagery is beautiful and the final action sequence shows a great deal of novelty; the rest of the film, however, leaves behind a great deal of unrealized potential.