The comedy-drama The Man Who Loved UFOs follows a journalist and his cameraman as they journey to investigate the supposed events of extraterrestrials sightings in Argentina, South America.
Set in 1986, the story begins as a straightforward alien search, but soon evolves into a media sensation, as the duo turns flimsy evidence – a patch of burnt pasture – into a nationwide frenzy.
The protagonist, a journalist named José de Zer, navigates the blurred line between truth and spectacle, willing to fabricate evidence in his pursuit of public attention. He is played by Leonardo Sbaraglia (Pain and Glory). His cameraman, Chango, is played by Sergio Prina (The Snatch Thief).
The film taps into society’s enduring fascination with unidentified flying objects (UFOs), featuring elements of comedy and drama to explore how quickly truth can spiral out of control when manipulated by the media. The obsession with unknown life, fuelled by conspiracy theories and sensationalist reporting, becomes a driving force that pushes the characters deeper into deception. This focus on UFO culture mirrors the real-world phenomenon where sightings and vague evidence have sparked scepticism and cult-like devotion over the decades.
The Man Who Loved UFOs, directed by Diego Lerma (The Substitute), is streaming on Netflix from today (18 October 2024). The movie is available in its original Spanish audio, with an English dub and multiple subtitle options. Its Spanish title is El hombre que amaba los platos voladores.