A new movie out of Mexico is going viral for its frank depictions of sex between two men—as well as its hope to represent the country at the next Academy Awards.
After making its debut in 2025 at the Venice Film Festival, director David Pablos’ movie “On the Road,” or “En el camino,” began streaming earlier this month on HBO Max Latinoamérica. While the movie has yet to debut on the U.S. version of the streamer, it’s already making waves on social media.
The movie revolves around a young male drifter, Veneno, who sleeps with truck drivers at roadside stops, or cachimbas. He eventually crosses paths with a married, father-of-two named Muñeco, who agrees to give Veneno a ride across northern Mexico. As their road trip, their bond gets closer, leading to at least one sexual situation that has already leaked on X.
The scene in question shows Veneno giving oral sex to Muñeco, before Veneno masturbates in front of him to completion. Veneno’s erect penis can be seen in the footage, with Pablos telling Variety that no prosthetics were used in the film.
“The theme of masculinity runs throughout the film from start to finish. There are many moments where there’s a mockery of this hegemonic masculinity, and because of that, I was clear that there were certain scenes, especially those involving sexuality and the relationships between these characters, that couldn’t be shy or restrained,” the director said, explaining the explicit moments.
“It had to be the complete opposite,” he continued. “If it needed to be shown, I had to show how sexuality is expressed in the aesthetic of the cachimbas.”
“The naked male body is portrayed; it would have been very lukewarm of me not to have done that,” he also reportedly said during a press conference during the 23rd Morelia International Film Festival.
In their review of the film, The Hollywood Reporter praised the two actors’ bold performances and the racier scenes.
“Newcomers Preito and Sanchez, both of whom are excellent, bravely display their bodies in several overtly racy bouts of lovemaking,” read the review. “Pablos and DP Ximena Amann capture the sex, as well as the many road stops, seedy bars and service station bathrooms, in harsh neon-lit images that underscore the extreme conditions Veneno and Muñeco live in — conditions that apply to all the other Mexicans they run into on this godforsaken stretch of blacktop.”
As for why he boarded the movie as a producer, Diego Luna told Variety he found the script “very powerful, very moving, very emotional and at the same time revealing of a Mexico we rarely see, lost places that we’re not even aware of, where life happens in all its richness and complexity.”
He added, “I can’t really compare this film to anything I’ve been involved in before.”
The film won the Orizzonti section of the 2025 Venice Film Festival, as well as the festival’s Queer Lion, which is given to the best queer feature film. “On the Road” also picked up 13 nominations—the most of any film this year—for next month’s Ariel Awards. The ceremony is considered Mexico’s equivalent to the Academy Awards.
Per HBO Max Latinoamérica, the movie will also “represent Mexico on the road to the Oscars,” where it hopes to compete for Best International Feature Film.
No word yet on whether it will hit HBO Max in the States as well, but we’ll be looking out for it!
