Rotterdam 2026 Review: MI AMOR

The International Film Festival Rotterdam is host to many beginning directors, but that doesn't mean there are no regular returning guests. Writer, director and actor Guillaume Nicloux has visited the festival several times, and this year he brought a treat with him: the world première of his new thriller Mi Amor, starring Pom Klementieff and Benoît Magimel.

Klementieff plays Roxy, a DJ visiting the Canary Islands to play a gig at a nightclub. With her is her friend Chloé, and the two are having a much needed break from recent emotional turmoil in their lives. But after Roxy's performance, Chloé is nowhere to be seen and the next day she does not return to the hotel. When Roxy goes to the police they do not take any action: in the Canary Islands, tourists tend to reappear after a few days, especially single ones.

Annoyed and convinced something is terribly wrong, Roxy decides to start her own investigation, helped by Vincent, an old nightclub owner who has a crush on her. Together, the two uncover some decidedly dodgy goings-on on the island, but will they find out what happened to Chloé?

Mi Amor's story is not the most intricate, and that is not where the focus is. Instead, director Guillaume Nicloux shows the increasing dread Roxy experiences, the longer her friend is missing, and a lot of time is gone before any real action is taken. Nicloux clings claustrophobically close to Roxy, and Pom Klementieff (in her first French film since her recent career in Hollywood) is very good in the lead role, showing her character's inner turmoil and distress. A thriller this is, a thrill-ride this is not.

And Nicloux toys with the music and visuals as well. With Roxy being a DJ, the industrial techno she plays (by Irène Drésel and Sizo Del Givry) forms a cold soundscape for the entire film. The Canary Islands are a bunch of volcanoes off of the West coast of Africa, and their appearance is often otherworldly. Nicloux emphasizes this with some camera trickery, allowing the cameras to capture a color range well into the infrared, transforming the palm trees into pinks, browns and reds, while keeping the sea, sky and peoples' skin colors intact. Roxy is tough and determined, but the environment she moves in is an alien one.

The heart of the film is formed by the awkward relationship between Pom Klementieff and Benoît Magimel, the great veteran actor who plays Vincent. Both deliver great work which is a good thing, or the film would have been too cold, too distant. As it is, Mi Amor is more of an interesting drama with thriller elements. It plays a bit in the same sandbox as Sirât does, though Mi Amor is more conventional in its script. Don't go in expecting bombs or car chases, and you'll be pleased. Mi Amor is a decent European thriller with some very satisfying main performances.