Rains Over Babel

Rains Over Babel had the audience at the Miami Film Festival in the palm of its hand from literally the opening shot, an absurdly elaborate, Terry Gilliam-esque setpiece populated by two semi-mythical, queer-coded beings. In the first ten minutes, we have fierce queens on the prowl, buildings crumbling with Biblical amounts of flooding, a gamble with Death, a bottle smashed over someone's head - and a talking salamander. If that sounds unfocused to you, I promise you're wrong: it's laser-focused. This is a film that knows exactly what it's doing, and never slows down.

It boggles my mind that this is a FIRST FEATURE. So assured. So fierce. So funny. Literally every single performance is fine-tuned for the character and the camera. Queer joy, trans joy, and general bad-assness abounds.

In a Q&A, the director confirmed that the final shot is a direct homage to Wong Kar-Wai's Fallen Angels. I'm in heaven.

While watching this my friends and I brought up: Gregg Araki's production design and sort of punk vibes, Tetsuya Nomura's character design, Tim Burton lighting, Bruce LaBruce without the s*x, a fusion of biblical narratives and mythological tales, Dante's Inferno and Purgatorio, Noir inspired Visual Novels and PS1 era games, live action anime adaptations and choreography, like five different clubs in South Florida, and The Wachowskis brand of casual sincerity and queerness and goofiness. Drag queen Jesus Christ! Transsexual Mary Magdalene! Adam and Steve sort of! Hell as a sex club! A talking lizard! Perhaps a bit confused in the way it weaves its dozens of threads together, but perhaps that messiness and ambition and playfulness is exactly what I want (nay! Need!) from queer cinema these days. I will watch anything Gala del Sol makes from here on out.

Rains Over Babel is one of the most visually original and emotionally charged films I've seen in a while. The world-building is incredibly rich - vibrant, strange, and layered with meaning. Every frame feels intentional, full of symbolism and style.

What stood out most to me was the costume design. The looks weren't just stunning - they told stories on their own. The film's whole aesthetic feels fresh, rebellious, and deeply rooted in character and culture. Gala del Sol clearly has a powerful creative vision, and after hearing her speak at the screening, I was even more impressed by the depth behind her choices.

The drag show at Sundance gave the whole experience a sense of community and celebration. It wasn't just a screening - it was an event. I especially appreciated the unapologetic embrace of queer love and trans joy throughout the story.

Some parts of the film did feel a bit chaotic or overwhelming - but honestly, that was also part of its charm. It doesn't hold your hand, and that's what makes it feel so alive.

The performances were magnetic. Raw, real, and full of energy. I didn't connect with every single moment, but the emotional impact stayed with me.

Weird, beautiful, and unlike anything else - Rains Over Babel is a film I'll definitely be recommending, especially to friends who love cinema that takes risks and has something to say.

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

This movie is weird. To mash up with queer themes, homophobia issues, Colombian lifestyle, culture, religion, drag, pup lovers, and a talking lizard all together? And it somehow works very well.

To sum it up, it's basically Dante's Inferno with a touch of Tim Burton and Gregg Araki blended together. Therefore it is filled with wacky characters, colorful atmospheres, weird directions, and storytelling. But it sure was memorable and endearing. Director Gala del Sol clearly understands the absurd nature of it's narrative and themes, placing both serious and comedic tones throughout and stationed with fun performances, weird humor, and very colorful sexy moments that brings loads of entertainment.

It doesn't shy away from having some serious themes and purposes as well. I really love the magical and punk-like atmosphere it carries because it rocks. For sure, it isn't going to work for everyone but I love how out there this movie gets.

At a loss for words on how to describe this movie. The world building was incredible and every single detail was so intentional and really pulled everything together. The costume designer absolutely killed it.

Gala del Sol is such a visionary and i feel so lucky to have been able chat with her afterwords and to witness this incredible project. What an absolute TREAT to have the drag performance at the premier. I love queer love and trans joy!

Going to make all of my friends watch this when it's on streaming. Also i think im attracted to 90% of the cast in this movie.

"Without original innocence, there would be no original sin."