Due respect but Hollywood Elsewhere will take it as a personal affront — a slur, an insult — if Alejandro G. Inarritu‘s Bardo doesn’t play Telluride ’22.

Many of us have been banking on this Spanish-language Mexican dramedy to play Venice and Telluride for several months now, and I really don’t want to hear about any possible plans to premiere the Netflix release later in the year…seriously, man…c’mon, please don’t.

Too many alleged hotties from big-gun directors are already slated for late ’22 openings — Damien Chazelle‘s Babylon, David O. Russell‘s Amsterdam, Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon, Sam Mendes‘ Empire of Light, David Fincher‘s The Killer and Steven Spielberg‘s The Fablemans. Adding Bardo to this list would be excessive.

Come Labor Day columnists and film mavens like myself need to see good, nutritious, X-factor films — theatrical experiences that excite, disturb and challenge — to keep our spirits up and make our semi-miserable lives feel whole and perhaps even vibrant. This is why Inarritu ducking out of Telluride simply won’t do. We’re talking feelings of bitterness, depression and most of all abandonment.

Official Bardo synopsis: “A nostalgic comedy set against an epic personal journey. It chronicles the story of a renowned Mexican journalist and documentary filmmaker, who returns home and works through an existential crisis as he grapples with his identity, familial relationships, the folly of his memories as well as the past of his country. He seeks answers in his past to reconcile who he is in the present.”

Daniel Giménez Cacho plays the journalist-filmmaker (basically a stand-in for Inarritu himself); Griselda Siciliani costars.

Bardo finished principal photography, remember, last September — 10 effing months ago. It was announced last April that Netflix had acquired the for theatrical and streaming. Shot by Darius Khondji in 65mm, the film’s actual title is Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths).

Words with the potential to strike fear into the hearts of Telluride regulars: “Bardo is a cinematic experience that has inspired us to create a release strategy designed for the film to penetrate culture in the biggest and widest way. We will give film lovers everywhere the opportunity to experience the film through a global theatrical release and the film’s worldwide release on Netflix.” — Netflix honcho Scott Stuber.