Hombre al Agua is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing Latin American films heading into the 2026 festival season — and the surprise involvement of Ricky Martin has suddenly put it firmly on the radar.
The Mexican film is the third feature directed by Gael García Bernal, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Argentine playwright and novelist Mariano Pensotti. Bernal stars as Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard whose life changes dramatically after he rescues Abel, a wealthy Mexican businessman with political ambitions, from drowning. Abel rewards him by bringing him to Mexico, where Camilo becomes his right-hand man, marries Abel’s daughter Juana and appears to enter an extraordinary new life. But the apparent dream quickly becomes something much darker: Camilo discovers that Abel’s world is built around manipulation and control, forcing him to fight to reclaim his own destiny. (La Biennale di Venezia)
The film is being described as a comedy-drama with psychological, surreal and dreamlike elements, exploring manipulation, social masks, identity, class and the ways people construct versions of themselves for others. (Paloma & Nacho)
And then there is Ricky Martin.
Martin’s involvement was deliberately kept secret until the first trailer was released on August 24, 2026. He plays Roby, an actor hired to portray Camilo in a biographical film being pushed by Camilo’s wife. In a particularly meta twist, Martin is therefore playing an actor who is playing a character whose life is itself being turned into a movie. (Quién)
According to reports, Martin joined the project shortly before filming began in Mérida, Yucatán, and filmed his part in just one day. He is also credited as an executive producer, making his involvement considerably more significant than a conventional cameo. (Quién)
The ensemble also includes Manuel García-Rulfo, Débora Nascimento, Esmeralda Pimentel, Natalia Oreiro, Jorge Salinas, Anna Díaz and Jerry Velázquez, alongside Bernal and Martin. (IMDb)
The film has a major festival launch ahead. Hombre al Agua will have its world premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Spotlight section in September 2026, followed by its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Venice lists its running time as 116 minutes. (La Biennale di Venezia)
Produced by Bernal and Diego Luna’s La Corriente del Golfo, alongside Cárcava Cine and Redrum, the film is arguably notable not just for its unusual story but for the meeting of two huge Latin American stars: acclaimed actor-director Gael García Bernal and global pop icon Ricky Martin.
And given that Martin’s role was hidden until the trailer, there may still be considerably more to discover when the film finally premieres.