To Kill a Man (2014)

Directed by: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
Country: Chile / France

Movie Review: The third feature from Chilean director Alejandro Fernandez Almendras, “To Kill a Man”, is a relentless tale of revenge that raises moral questions. Jorge (Daniel Candia), an honest employer at the forest research center of Santa Julia, lives happily with his wife, son, and daughter. Their quietness will be shaken after Kalule (Daniel Antivilo), the depraved leader of a street gang of rascals that populate the neighborhood, starts to provoke him, stealing his diabetes measurement device. Later, he shots Jorge’s son when he was trying to claim the device back. To avoid being sentenced to many years in prison, Kalule shoots himself in the belly, saying in court he acted in self-defense. One year and a half later, Kalule gets out of prison determined to turn Jorge’s life into hell. Frightened, Jorge and his wife decide to go to the police and report the various incidents, but the inability of the authorities to deal with the situation, drive the family crazy. The patience of the good Christian man reaches its limits when his daughter is caught and touched indecently by Kalule, in her way home from school. From then on, Jorge is forced to do justice by his hands. Will he be able to cope with his conscience afterwards? Psychologically disturbing, “To Kill a Man” is another art-house thriller that becomes an admirable alternative to the North-American industry of the genre. A simple, yet absorbing plot, practical direction, capable performances, and thorough image compositions, were in the basis of its favorable outcomes.

The Dance of Reality (2013)

Directed by: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Country: Chile / France

Movie Review: “The Dance of Reality” marks the so much awaited return of distinguished Chilean-French filmmaker, screenwriter and producer, Alejandro Jodorwosky, after a layoff of more than two decades. This autobiographical film showcases his turbulent childhood in Chile, where the traumatic episodes, most of them involving his Jewish-Ukranian parents, follow one another. The last part of the film left aside the young Alejandrito, happily living in his hometown Tocopilla with his melodious mother, to focus on Jaime Jodorowsky, a father whose arduous path in life transformed him from a tyrant atheist-communist to a God-devotee and zealous family man. All the elements that made the filmmaker famous in the past - surrealist scenes, bizarre characters, intelligent symbology, an imaginative yet aggressive way of exposing the facts, lyricism and poetry, politics and religion - are present to give its precious contribution to the artistic outcomes. The ingenious narrative was never unstable and in its own way, the film shocks us as much as seduces us, just like “The Holy Mountain”, “Santa Sangre” or “El Topo” did, yet without achieving the same impact as those ones. Alejandro’s son, Brontis, was fantastic in the skin of his own grandfather, whereas the score, cinematography, and remaining production values were first-rate. There’s no age to be creative and that’s why we want more from Mr. Jodorowsky!

Gloria (2013)

Directed by: Sebastián Lelio
Country: Chile / Spain

Movie Review: Set in Santiago, this film compellingly depicts a complicated phase in the life of Gloria (Paulina Garcia), a 58-year-old Chilean woman and her problematical relationship with Rudolfo (Sergio Hernandez), an ex-naval officer she got to know in one of the local night clubs she often attends. Both divorced, they face life and deal with their children in a very distinct manner. While Gloria is more detached without stop being sensitive, Rudolfo has in his daughters a big obstacle in life, and gets constantly tied up in family affairs. What could have been a beautiful love story between two mature adults ends up in a sequence of challenges that will compromise their relationship. The film was carried out in a very natural and cozy way, making us watch its episodes with curiosity and fondness. Gloria’s life is portrayed in such a way that leaves no doubts about her habits or personality. And all the merit goes to the performances of Paulina Garcia (best actress at Berlin) and Sergio Hernandez, who put every feeling and behavior in the right place. The sex scenes were raw and nudity was embraced naturally and without complexes. Some scenes are hilarious, like when Gloria furiously discharges a paint-ball gun at Rudolfo; yet some others are touching, exemplified when Gloria suddenly gets the notion of her age while seeing a skeleton puppet show in the street. Sensible and insightful, "Gloria" was awarded at Berlin and San Sebastian Film Festivals.

Thursday Till Sunday (2012)

Directed by: Dominga Sotomayor Castillo
Country: Chile / Netherlands

Movie Review: Chilean Dominga Sotomayor Castillo’s directorial debut, despite its good intentions, was not a film for me to remember. Set in Santiago, the story follows a family road trip, seen by the perspective of Lucia (Santi Ahumada), the eldest child of a couple who struggles to stay together. Lucia, being sensitive and smart, certainly will remember this small vacation period, since she gives subtle signs of preoccupation about her family’s future. The performances were naturally convincing but this film seems more an exercise on dispersed life details than an effective story with beginning, middle, and end. Within the first hour of its 96 minutes, nothing really relevant happens and I got a bit lost in the apathy and vagueness of the most frivolous occurrences. After that period, we start to glimpse in a clearer way the director’s intentions but my patience had already gone away, making me wish the end of this little tale. The cinematography by Barbara Alvarez never impressed me with its highlighted whites in daylight and almost imperceptible moves in the dark of the night. The script, also written by the filmmaker, was too basic for the screen and presented with a sleepy and inconsequent sequences of images. It was a pity, since I really enjoyed the performances and the subject matter had potentiality to become much more appealing to the viewer. Notwithstanding, the film collected prizes in several Festivals, including Buenos Aires, Rotterdam, and Valdivia.

Crystal Fairy (2013)

Directed by: Sebastián Silva
Country: Chile

Movie Review: After the failure “Magic Magic”, it was with enormous satisfaction that I saw Chilean helmer Sebastián Silva returning to his best with “Crystal Fairy”, a cool trip into the world of drugs, friendship, and compassion. The film was co-produced by the cult-director Pablo Larraín, author of authentic gems such as “Tony Manero”, “Post Mortem”, and “No”, and its approach comes much closer from the looseness of “Magic Magic” rather than the rigor of “The Maid”. The story, set in Chile, begins with the weird Jamie (Michael Cera) doing drugs in a party where he strikes up a conversation with Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffman), a hippie girl under the effect of acid. Without any real intention, Jamie gives his phone number and tells her about his plans to go on a trip to the North with his friends on the next day. Without losing time, Crystal Fairy joined the group towards the adventure but her presence seems to mean trouble. Very funny situations were created when Crystal made herself too comfortable in front of the boys, talking about energy, meditation, and chakras, or when they go desperately looking for San Pedro, a cactus known for its hallucinogenic properties. Near the end, the tempers get hot, paranoia arises due to drugs, and many sad truths are revealed. With a confident moving camera, Silva, who won the directing award at Sundance, mixes humor, drama, and adventure, in a believable portrait about a wandering, lost soul. Cera and Hoffman were simply irreproachable in their roles.

Night Across The Street (2012)

Directed by: Raoul Ruiz
Country: Chile / France

Movie Review: Raoul Ruiz was able to finish “Night Across The Street” before he dies at the age of 70, making it a meaningful goodbye in a great career. Certainly it was not a coincidence that Ruiz had returned to its origins, Chile, to make this reflective and ironic film about time, life, and death. By mixing real and surreal aspects, he encloses everything that he considers life, through the story of Celso (Sergio Hernandéz), his main character. Celso is one step closer to retirement and seems disoriented with that fact, keeping the mind constantly occupied with visits to his childhood. In these frequent absences from reality, he contacts with the writer Jean Giono, the musician Beethoven, or the pirate John Long Silver, three great storytellers, according to him. These fictional scenes are intertwined with other that we assume to be real. It was almost if Ruiz had an urge to share all his collected knowledge throughout the years; history, politics, cinema, dreams, technology, landscape change, spiritualism, love, and even a crime subplot in a doomed house; everything was a good pretext to tell us about life. But the occasional sound of an alarm clock is still there to take him away from his cinematic dreams and remind him that lifetime has reaching an end. Beautifully shot using faint lights and a profound sense of nostalgia, this surrealist film wouldn’t make Buñuel or Fellini ashamed of its haunting inaccessibility.

Magic Magic (2013)

Directed by: Sebastián Silva
Country: Chile / USA

Review: “Magic Magic” is a psychological thriller directed by Chilean Sebastián Silva, better known for the odd comedy “The Maid” dated from 2009. This time the dark tones didn´t work for me, and everything in “Magic Magic” seemed a bit contrived. Alicia (Juno Temple) is the girl who gets our attention with her constant insomnias, hallucinations, and deliriums. Joining her cousin Sarah and her friends for a vacation’s trip to a Chilean remote place, Alicia starts to show signs of serious disturbances and seems to be detached from reality. Everything gets worse after one of the boys try to hypnotize her, leading to several happenings that will confirm Alicia’s urgent need of help. A very slow starting, where nothing really happens for almost 45 minutes, seemed to have thrown my expectations away. The tension created, never attained its limits, and the scenes seemed too restrained and inconsequent to scare. In a mix of Spanish and English, the film slowly approaches to its terrible ending, a sort of ritual where some villagers will try to purify Alicia’s soul, while the despair takes care of everyone present in the room. Temple’s great performance convinced me of her character’s madness but didn’t absolve Silva from an obtuse plot that didn’t even know what to do with its ending. “Magic Magic” is a totally expendable thriller that lacks nerve.

Violeta Went To Heaven (2011)

Directed by: Andrés Wood
Country: Chile / Argentina / Brazil

Review: “Violeta Went to Heaven” is a penetrating biopic about Chilean songwriter, folklorist, and visual artist, Violeta Parra. Some events and important songs may have been left off, but the film gives a solid idea of Violeta’s work, personality, beliefs, and struggles. The cadence is captivating and the structure goes back and forth in time, focusing her unhappy childhood, the first steps on music and the interest in old songs from her culture, the successful years of recognition and acceptance, the passionate and unstable relationship with the Swiss musician Gilbert Favre, and finally her decline years when her artistic tent (also used for political activism) became increasingly without audience. Violeta ended up poor and lonely, but always faithful to her beliefs. The story was reconstructed in an intelligible way, showing the impulsive personality, resolute temper, and creative genius of this iconic woman, who always preferred the poor to rich, and the sincerity to cynicism. The plaintive yet powerful songs had a big influence in the way I felt the movie, especially “El Gavilan”, which motivated uncommon sensations along the poignant final moments. Some softening was detected somewhere in the middle, but this film deserves to be seen for what it represents and for Francisca Gavilán’s incredible performance.

No (2012)

Directed by: Pablo Larraín
Country: Chile / France / USA

Review: Pablo Larraín deserves a place of merit among contemporary filmmakers. “Tony Manero” and “Post Mortem” confirm that. “No” represents a turning point on his career, since the movies mentioned above had obsession as theme, while this one is purely political. It covers the 1988’s advertising campaigns in Chile, in a time that the country was preparing to decide about the continuity of dictator Pinochet as president. Gael Garcia Bernal is the protagonist, playing a visionary advertiser that led the campaign of No against fear, not without some of it due to the threats received. Its start was not so strong, but the film evolved resolutely towards the overpowering final moments. “No” was able to depict the atmosphere lived in Chile at that time: the machinations, the intimidations, the suspicions, the thoughts, and the relentless anxiety or fear. A strange, dazzling light was used within a simple direction, in a respectable film where the ideas reign in detriment of technical details.

Bonsai (2011)

Directed by: Cristian Jiménez
Country: Chile

Plot: A young writer recounts an earlier romance in hopes of attracting his new love interest.

Review: “Bonsai” is a simple story that tells us much about life, work, and love, everything wrapped with pertinent philosophical touches. Its objectivity, without any sentimentality or whimper, proved to be its main strength. The curious structure constantly shifts in time between the present and 8 years before and its sluggish pace may be compared with the reading of the seven volumes of Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” (novel referenced in the plot) - if you have the patience, you’ll find something worthwhile to absorb and reflect about. Just try it!

Relevant awards: Best film - FIPRESCI (Havana); grand Jury Prize (Miami).

Post Mortem (2010)

Realizado por: Pablo Larraín
País: Chile

Regresso do chileno Larrain, num filme bem mais ousado que o anterior “Tony Manero” e incidindo uma vez mais no seu tema favorito: a obsessão. Um enigmático funcionário de uma morgue tem uma fixação por uma decadente dançarina anoréctica, cuja família é apoiante do comunismo. Este homem vai fazer tudo para a conseguir salvar das “garras” do novo regime, responsável pelo assassinato de Salvador Allende em 73. Chegando ao ponto de propor casamento, vai deparar-se com alguns dissabores, resolvidos prontamente de maneira fria e calculada.Um estranho filme negro, que cativa.

Tony Manero (2008)

Realizado por: Pablo Larraín
País: Chile

Retrato de Raul, um sociopata obcecado com a personagem de Tony Manero, o dançarino do filme "Saturday Night Fever", protagonizado nos anos 70 por John Travolta. Com o objectivo de transformar-se no seu herói favorito, Raul será capaz de mentir, enganar e até matar qualquer um que se oponha às suas ideias fixas. Com boas doses de humor negro, saiu galardoado dos Festivais de Havana, Istambul, Roterdão e Varsóvia.

The Maid (2009)

Realizado por: Sebastian Silva

País: Chile

Com diversos prémios ganhos em festivais de cinema de renome, este filme retrata uma obsessiva empregada doméstica e as suas tensas relações com os membros da família para quem trabalha.

Com um argumento interessante e até original, perde no entanto força no último terço do filme.