Netflix’s ‘The Man Who Loved UFOs’ explores how flying saucer hoaxes go viral (review)

“The Man Who Loved UFOs” is a satirical foreign film that just landed on Netflix and hailing from Argentina that takes a nostalgic approach to the subject of flying saucers and the hysteria, fear, and misinformation these sightings spawn. It might not be on your immediate radar, but it demands a viewing for its semi-comedic examination of the nature of hype, media fabrications, and the need to believe.

Directed by Argentinian filmmaker Diego Lerman and starring Leonardo Sbaraglia and Sergio Prina, this inspired production centers around the true tale of eccentric TV journalist José de Zer, who in 1986 ventured to a remote village where strange lights and a hillside burn mark were reported. When he discovers all is not as it seems, he invents an elaborate UFO hoax to create the best-known audiovisual recording on the existence of extraterrestrials in the history of Argentinian television, in turn boosting his own level of fame along with the TV station’s ratings.

In the wake of its world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival in September, this interesting indie sci-fi film has found a home on Netflix where it debuted on Oct. 18. The English dub is sub-par so we’d recommend watching it with the default Spanish accompanied by English subtitles.

When de Zer is approached by a pair of mining company owners with a business proposal to drum up interest in their town by using purported paranormal sightings as a means to attract tourists and raise real estate values, he and his cameraman Chango pack their bags and travel to the site of the UFO phenomenon near the small mountain village of La Candelaria in the province of Córdoba,

Once in the rustic town, de Zer and Chango take a horseback ride up to investigate a mysterious circular mark burned into the grassy foothills of the nearby mountain, purported to be the landing zone of an alien craft. The site is surrounded by local villagers and police and a grizzled man who claims his grandson witnessed an alien encounter that turned his hair white.

Lerman (“Refugee,” “A Sort of Family”) co-wrote the script with Adrián Biniez and their narrative takes real-life events and blurs the line between fiction, dreams, and reality with equal measure.

“Well, this is a film that I wanted to do for many years,” Lerman told The Hollywood Reporter. “I used to spend vacation time in Cordoba where the story takes place, so I remember stories, and I always wanted to write something about it. I remembered the character of Jose, so I started researching and that made me think that there was an interesting film to do about him and the origin of fake news, for example.

“It is also a film about beliefs, the mystery of what can be or not be, the sense of life or the mystery of death. So underlying, in a more serious way, is a film about that: belief, what you can call religion, or whatever you want, whatever you choose.”

Once back at the TV studio with the initial footage, de Zer’s boss is apprehensive about this sort of sketchy tabloid entertainment material, but the aging reporter convinces him that there’s journalistic gold in broadcasting a fantastical story as counterprogramming to all the usual economic and political turmoil.

When the hype machine kicks into high gear and this UFO story goes global, de Zer and Chango must keep cultivating more sensational footage and evidence by recruiting reluctant residents and urging them to recite pre-rehearsed statements, unearthing phony rock paintings, planting dead beetles, and gathering squealing goats for effect. As pressure mounts to continue the charade after ratings soar, de Zer suffers exhaustion, visions, depression, and a definite touch of madness.

Portraying the obsessed investigative journalist de Zer, Sbaraglia turns in an exceptional performance in this compelling and sometimes uneven film that delves into the most famous case of paranormal journalism in the history of Argentinian television. It was a true media circus that attracted considerable attention by the public at the time, though few can recall its impact in those innocent pre-internet days. The movie does get a bit lost in its own drama, but never loses its charm.

Are we alone? Perhaps, but not with this provocative foreign film as a temporary companion. “The Man Who Loved UFOs” is currently screening exclusively on Netflix.