Netflix agrees to give 'Bardo' a rare run in American cinemas

‘Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,’ which received its world premiere on Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, is a three-hour epic following the memories and fears of a Mexican journalist reflecting on his journey through life

In a break from its normal business model, U.S. streaming giant Netflix has agreed to show the latest film of Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu in U.S. and Mexican cinemas before moving it online.

"Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths", which received its world premier on Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, is a three-hour epic following the memories and fears of a Mexican journalist reflecting on his journey through life.

Funny, surreal and visually stunning, it is Iñárritu's first movie since his 2015 drama "The Revenant", which won him an Oscar for best director. It is also his first feature for Netflix.

"I am so grateful to Netflix, because they didn't just give me complete support and freedom, but they also they allowed me to release this film for seven weeks in Mexico in many cinemas and in the United States," Iñárritu told reporters.

"This is something unprecedented which I really appreciated," he added, saying he felt his Spanish-language film would benefit from being seen on a big screen.

Netflix said "Bardo" will play in cinemas in Mexico starting from Oct. 27, as well as in select U.S. theatres from Nov. 4, before launching on the streaming site on Dec. 16.

However, Iñárritu said he had no intention of going "against the prevailing tide" of online film launches, saying that as a film student he had seen many movie masterpieces on video.