'Maquina' 2026 Review: The Feel-Bad Road Trip Movie Of The Year

Maquina is definitely the feel-bad road trip movie of the year, and I mean that in a complimentary way. I am sure there are a bunch of feel-bad road trip movies, but the ones that I have watched have usually fallen into the comedy genre. I am talking about Karwaan, Zombieland, Due Date, Mr. Bean’s Holiday, and Chef. I think the ones that kinda go into “sad” territories are Nomadland, Locke, and My Own Private Idaho. But yeah, the vibes never really dip so bad that I start having an existential crisis about the human condition and whatnot. And I suppose combining that subgenre with the theme of alcoholism and drug addiction did the trick. Just to be clear, I have watched movies about addiction like Half Nelson, Trainspotting, and Basketball Diaries. However, the knowledge that those narratives were fictional, or based on true stories, probably kept me from spiralling out and plunging into the proverbial abyss. The fact that Maquina is a documentary and I am seeing real people go through a truly gut-wrenching time made me deeply uncomfortable, which is, for the record, the point (or a point) of the film. So, allow me to talk about it.

Joaquim Adria Pujol’s Maquina follows Xavi, Marcel, and the director himself as they embark on a journey across the American West in their Winnebago so that Xavi and Marcel can partake in a psychedelic-assisted addiction treatment in Colorado. Of course, it’s not a straightforward trip because Xavi and Marcel have to not only fight their inner demons during this whole process, but they also have to come to terms with how both of them have influenced each other’s addictions. Every time you think that they have finally brought down all the walls that exist between them, and they are about to truly hug each other, another mystery-wall appears out of nowhere, thereby forcing them to restart their recovery from scratch. And while it seems like Joaquim has the easiest job, because he only has to record the whole thing, you can feel all the underlying cracks in his psyche becoming apparent as he watches his brother and father at their most vulnerable state. In doing so, the movie asks a lot of questions about addiction and therapy, and how both of those things affect the people who love you. However, the answers that it provides may not be as conclusive as you want them to be.

You know what? Joaquim’s dilemma throughout Maquina actually reminded me of Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans. There’s this moment in the film where Sammy is listening to his mom and dad announce their divorce, and while he’s processing what he’s hearing, for a brief second, he thinks about how he’s gonna shoot such a scene if he does a movie on this topic. And as you, the viewer, take in that information about how Sammy sees the world, you remember that Sammy is actually Spielberg and that moment shows the maestro himself views the world. It’s not a brag; he is a bit embarrassed with himself and at the same time, he’s accepting that it is what it is. He knows his worldview is different, he knows that it sets him apart from the rest of the lot, and the depressing undertone of this habit is his cross to bear. Every time Joaquim interacts with Xavi or Marcel, that’s what it feels like. It’s like a mixture of voyeurism, exploitative storytelling, and the rawest form of intimacy. This can sound like a critique (largely because this kind of filmmaking has absolutely been ruined by influencers who center their content around their family), but it’s not. I think it’s incredibly brave that Joaquim found the courage to shoot this film and then release it to the world.

I think it’s extremely difficult to use your loved ones as a cautionary tale for all the strangers who are watching Maquina. I have heard about disputes between artists and the people they were indirectly referring to in their movie, book, or show in a not-so-positive light. So, I can’t even begin to imagine the kinds of conversations that Joaquim had with Xavi and Marcel before shooting a single scene of this documentary. I feel that it’s relatively easier to look inwards and make an autobiographical tale to send an important message to the audience; Aaron Strand did it with Withdrawal. But yeah, convincing the subjects of your film, while also convincing yourself to shoot those subjects in an authentic fashion, must’ve been an uphill battle. And there’s no doubt about the fact that everything that Joaquim wants to say is conveyed through the film pretty clearly. If someone from your friends’ circle or family group is thinking about getting into drugs or alcohol, or have been consuming drugs or alcohol for a while, go ahead and show them this movie. I don’t know if it’s gonna fully motivate them to get off that bandwagon but it’s certainly gonna incite some level of introspection about what they are doing with their lives.

Maquina’s display of scenic locales isn’t just for show. It’s purposefully juxtaposed with the depressing journey that these guys are on in order to tell them (and us) that there’s so much beauty in this world that we should discover and that we shouldn’t waste the limited time we have on this planet on alcohol and drugs. Folks will say that going on a trip to the next state or the neighboring country isn’t affordable for everyone. I know this might sound corny but if you can’t afford to vacation somewhere, how the hell are you affording all those drugs and alcohol? Those things aren’t cheap. Sure, daily life is really hard and you need to dissociate from it. But instead of virtually dissociating from it, you can literally do the same by going to a place where the greenery and fresh air will rejuvenate your will to keep fighting. Life isn’t going to get easier by doing so, but those vacations are certainly gonna make you more durable. And, at the cost of sounding repetitive, this world is so vast that even though data centers and factories are popping up everywhere, there are still a lot of mountains, forests, and oceans that we should witness with our own eyes. By doing so, maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to redirect the energy that we spend on getting that bottle of beer or that pouch of drugs on something far more productive: saving the planet and making it habitable for the next generations (who have been betrayed and left to fend for themselves because of our vices). If all that sounds like a recommendation, please, do go ahead and watch Maquina and share your thoughts with us.