Bastards y Diablos

The film opens with the delicate voiceover of Gabriel Roja, speaking from death to his two sons, explaining that their mothers came from separate American families. We see Ed and Dion as children in nostalgic, grainy home movies, then meet them again as young men, trading awkward, guarded conversation on the shoulder of a busy road behind an industrial airport. Dion Rojas, the elder by minutes, moves with a worldly calm that barely masks his insecurities, lights a cigarette, and drifts into stilted small talk with Ed Rojas, a frat-boy type who still carries a boyish spark. A single, undeniable fact threads through their reunion: their father is dead—the cause listed as cirrhosis—and the will he left with relatives in Colombia bids them to come home for his funeral.

They arrive at their relatives’ house with a mix of humor and discomfort, trying to bury their real feelings beneath jokes and half-formed memories. Each carries some measure of resentment about the father’s limited affection, yet they pledge to honor his final wishes. The brothers resolve to stick together in an attic room and to reassemble or, in some cases, meet for the first time their many cousins. Among these relatives is a troubled young man, Jairo, who struggles with bipolar disorder and resists treatment, and a young woman toward whom Ed feels a lingering attraction—evidence that the two have not fully understood the lives they missed as boys.

During the memorial and the days that follow, the brothers gain access to Gabriel’s will in writing, along with snapshots and detailed notes. The documents reveal a larger plan: their father wanted them to embark on a country-road trip, visiting old friends, relatives, and the places that marked his life, so they could learn about the man who had long been largely absent. Gabriel also asks that his ashes be scattered in places that held him emotionally, turning the journey into a personal pilgrimage.

The odyssey unfolds by bus, moving from city to city—Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Cartagena, and Santa Marta—each stop offering new conversations with relatives, such as Aunt Ana, that shed light on the man they barely knew. Interwoven are vivid flashbacks to a younger Gabriel, portrayed by Young Gabriel, who drinks freely and pursues women, painting a portrait of a man whose self-indulgence often eclipsed responsibility.

As the brothers trace their father’s footsteps, they wrestle with the patterns he left behind and the way those patterns shaped them. The road trip becomes less about piecing together a full, clear portrait and more about confronting the truth of Gabriel’s life—the broken, imperfect man who influenced Ed and Dion in ways they are only beginning to understand. The journey stirs both laughter and tension as they confront their own reckless impulses, mirroring the chaos of the father they thought they knew, and prompting questions about whether they can break free from the past.

Conversations with relatives, including Aunt Ana, illuminate Gabriel’s failures as a parent and as a brother. The brothers discover that their father’s life was a mosaic of longing, ambition, and self-sabotage, which ultimately undermined the family they were left to build. The revelation—that Gabriel’s choices divided the family and shaped their estrangements—lands with a quiet, sobering weight, even as the trip preserves moments of warmth and connection.

Ultimately, Ed and Dion emerge from the experience with a newly formed bond that feels both fragile and enduring. They acknowledge their love for one another as brothers and face the future with a tempered sense of hope, choosing to move forward together rather than apart. The film closes on a restrained, reflective note: the journey did not neatly resolve every question, but it did uncover a shared humanity and a commitment to support each other, no matter what comes next.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:46