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Martin (Hache)
Movie

Martin (Hache)

1997 • Unknown

Woke Score
4
out of 10

Plot

After having a nearly fatal drug overdose, 19-year-old Argentine Martin is sent to Madrid, where his film director father lives with his new, younger lover, Alicia, and his bisexual actor friend, Dante.

Overall Series Review

Martín (Hache) is a 1997 Spanish-Argentine film that centers on a deeply dysfunctional surrogate family in Madrid, formed by an emotionally distant father, his aimless son, his drug-addicted younger lover, and his gay actor friend. The narrative is a character study dissecting personal alienation, addiction, depression, and the failures of paternal responsibility. The film focuses on the complex, flawed, and existential struggles of its main characters, which drives the story more than any overarching social or political lecture. While it embraces a non-normative family structure and resists moralizing, it does not engage in the core tenets of modern 'woke' ideology like intersectional hierarchy or civilizational self-hatred. The character flaws, including the father’s incompetence and the friend’s drug use, are presented as personal frailties rather than systemic critiques of gender or traditional morality.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The plot focuses on personal and generational alienation, addiction, and emotional disconnect. Characters are white Argentinian and Spanish, and the narrative does not rely on race, immutable characteristics, or intersectional hierarchy to create conflict or vilify any group.

Oikophobia3/10

The movie contains 'acute social and political comment' and deals with 'alienation from one’s country' as Argentine expatriates live in Spain. This is a critique of contemporary social issues and personal dissatisfaction within the culture, not a demonization of Western civilization or ancestors.

Feminism5/10

Alicia, the younger lover, is portrayed as a cocaine-addicted, long-suffering character, which prevents her from being a 'Girl Boss' or 'Mary Sue.' The father is depicted as irresponsible and emotionally removed, demonstrating a negative portrayal of masculinity and the emasculation of the male lead’s parental role. The central family unit is entirely broken, with the mother sending the son away, reflecting an anti-natal and anti-family structure as the backdrop to the crisis.

LGBTQ+6/10

The character Dante is a central figure and is explicitly identified as a homosexual actor who is a confidant to the other characters. This openly places an alternative sexuality at the heart of the main character group and normalizes a non-nuclear family structure. This presence is a key facet of the film’s modern, bohemian character dynamics.

Anti-Theism3/10

The film deals with existential themes like suicide, drug overdose, and the search for meaning, and it is described as resisting the 'temptation to moralise.' The absence of traditional religion suggests a background of moral relativism and a spiritual vacuum, but there is no overt hostility toward or vilification of Christian figures or institutions.