WATCH: Adult film star Lalo Santos plays himself in this revealing sex work story

Even adult film stars get sad.

Despite all the ****ing and ****ing and ***** in the ****, a job is still a job, and the new Spanish-language film Pornomelancholia (incredible title, we might add) dives into the loneliness behind one of the most lusted after careers in the world.

Real-life adult entertainer Lalo Santos stars as a lightly fictionalized version of himself, sharing his own experiences in the industry for a unique feature that blurs the line between fact and fiction.

At the outset, Santos is a factory worker in Oaxaca daydreaming about an escape from his dull day-to-day. On a whim, he decides to answer and ad casting men for an erotic gay film. Before he knows it, he’s sliding off his briefs in front of a camera.

Santos’ signature dark mustache soon gets him cast as sexy Emiliano Zapata in a very haughty, X-rated retelling of the Mexican Revolution. But life on set is not all it’s cracked up to be, and the film’s pretentious director isn’t making things any easier.

Meanwhile, Santos tries to take matters into his own hands and begins sharing amateur videos on Twitter, where he amasses quite a following.

However, no amount of fans, films, or fame seems to help Santos cope with the crushing sense of emptiness within him. You know what they say: The grass is always greener.

From Argentian filmmaker Manuel Abramovich, Pornomelancholia is both an intimate character study and an incisive look at the sex work industry in the modern social media-driven age of the internet.

Sure, it’s plenty sexy, but the movie also packs an emotional punch, and Santos gives his all (literally) in a vulnerable and moving performance that proves he’s got some real acting chops.

Pornomelancholia has been playing the international film festival circuit since last fall, and will make its next stop at Frameline in San Francisco on June 19—more info here.

Stay tuned for future screenings and streaming dates. In the meantime, check out the excellent trailer (featuring an infectious electronic beat) for Pornomelancholia below: