SHORT YET VERY, VERY SWEET : LA VIDA UTIL

We are still in the realm of festival films but you may be amused to find out that I kinda watched this one by mistake. The first day the tickets for the festival go on sale is always hectic, and four hours into the frenzy when I finally reached the little stands at which the tickets were being sold both I and the saleslady were so frazzled that one of us mistook the time of the séance I wanted and I ended up with a ticket for this film instead. I didn’t notice the mistake until later; it was actually supposed to be a ticket for Vive L’amour (and as you can see I later acquired a ticket for that too). Well, there was the ticket, I had the time, I had no idea what the film was about but I thought “what the heck”. The film is just over an hour long so just the right length just on the heels of Vive L’amour (I know, I do take this film thing a bit far sometimes), and despite my slightly fried brain at that moment, I thoroughly enjoyed the film…. Here’s what it’s about.
Jorge leads a quiet and useful life. For 25 years now he has worked in the Uruguay Film archives, and he loves it. Messing around with films, doing the dubbing, organizing the screenings, and presenting the archive’s radio program all have been parts of his life for 25 long years. And the archive seems not only to be an archive of films but also an archive of people as well, most of his colleagues have been working there for similar lengths of time, everyone and in fact the archive itself is part of the fixtures of life. And they like it that way. Their patrons however, think slightly otherwise. And most importantly, they think that although it may be a fixture, it’s turning into a rather expensive fixture. So when the big companies decide to stop helping the archive (in the monetary sense), the archive has no other choice but to close down… This rocks everyone’s world and not in the good sense either… Jorge, who has never done anything else and who in fact still lives with his parents, must now set about discovering the real world. Luckily however, he has the motivation to do so in the shape of Paola, a teacher and “friend”…
This film encompasses for me one of the main reasons I am so enchanted with South America. I have never been there but the artwork I have seen always contains a reminder of “the bright side”. Leaving the past behind and going out into a world you do not know can be a terrifying thing, and films I have written about in previous updates such as Norwegian Wood and Attenberg speak precisely of this side. A Useful Life doesn’t ignore the fact that this is a difficult and sad moment. On his way out of work for the last time, Jorge has tears in his eyes – much to the surprise of other passengers on the bus. He doesn’t give in however. In fact he charges forward (you will understand which scene I mean if you watch it, please take note of the soundtrack, one of the nicest little touches I have witnessed for a long time!) to take life head on. He may not be entirely ready or equipped to cope as yet, but he is going to do his utter best, woe betide anyone who stops him. I find it refreshing to see films with such positive messages. You may have hardships and find the world to be, well, far from what you consider ideal (and Jorge makes these feelings of his perfectly clear to us!) but the best thing to do is carry on and do your best to turn the whole thing around. This one got a special mention in the San Sebastian film festival and in fact was Uruguay’s Oscar® nominee. I can see why, a real little gem.

EL SECRETO EN SUS OJOS

Yeah, yeah don’t get sarcastic boys and girls I’m aware that it’s almost time for the Oscars for 2011. But I still have films to cross off the list you see (one of the more famous ones being The Hurt Locker. I have it in my archive I just have a “thing” about it rather like Shutter Island. My cinephile friends assure me they’re not of the same caliber though so I’m not hurrying…) . Now this one (Oscar winner for Best Foreign Picture) I missed out of pure lack of opportunity. Then I had a copy but only one specific machine would open it and then I either didn’t have the machine or the time (or the copy at times) cut a long story short, my free couple of hours, the dvd and the machine all crossed paths this very morning. And so you find me excitedly pounding my keyboard – Oh yes, a BRILLIANT film.
Then again, I already told you, I have a soft spot for Latin American cinema… Well, this is the story of Benjamin Esposito, now retired from the Prosecutors’ office in Argentina. As many people do when they retire, he too is thinking about the past, his memoirs and decides to write a book. A book about that one case that haunted him; the murder of a young woman who never found justice and her husband who loved her to distraction and was devastated by her death… He decides to look into it again, for that affair upset so much in his life, and although it is sometimes better just to let sleeping dogs lie, there are other times where they simply MUST be woken up…
Now, don’t you utter a great yawn and tell me “it’s just another whodunit”. Ok, it is a “whodunit”. But not “another” one – it’s a Latin American one. First of all, when we say “murder mystery” these days, such a lot of violence blood and gore seems to come into it by definition. Not the case here – with a couple of exceptions but hey, there has to BE a murder to investigate first, no? So it’s a good old-fashioned whodunit – and it’s just around 2 hours long so none of the CSI style rush-jobs (no offence meant I LOVE CSI but their plots don’t make good movies). Secondly, the characters are WONDERFULLY portrayed (I’m ashamed at this moment I don’t know more about the actors…). The characters are so very human, their stories are stories that may actually have happened to us, they react in ways you or I may well have reacted under those circumstances… This is precisely what I love about the whole South American “take” on life in films. I always find South American films so much “warmer” because they seem to describe life with much greater accuracy. Not just circumstantially but also – and for me more importantly – on an emotional level. A lot of the characters are not stylized, they have flaws and qualities and “off days” – the story seems to “happen” naturally as opposed to being guided along by an invisible hand… The secret in her eyes is a prime example of all this… Enjoy…

HISTORIAS MINIMAS / MINIMAL STORIES - WHERE THE SMALL THINGS TAKE CENTER STAGE

Historias Minimas is the first in the “Argentinian Stories” trilogy by Argentinean director Carlos Sorin. Bombon El Perro is the second, andI have enjoyed both thoroughly. I am looking forward to getting to watch the third…
As I watched the film, I remembered once again the reason I love South American Cinema so much. Sorin’s film, like so many films of the genre, is full of the stories and the life of the continent. I know, I should be giving you a synopsis around now but in fact I am not sure where to begin, because the film, like life itself, doesn’t have a concrete theme… An old man takes off on his own to a distant town on a search for his lost dog, but is this really the only reason for his travels? A traveling salesman is preparing a birthday surprise for the child of a pretty widow he has met on his travels… A poor peasant woman is selected to participate in a TV show where she may win a trip to Brazil or a food processor – but she neither has much food or electricity in her house! All these completely unconnected stories come together and drift apart again, along with many other little things to make a perfect mirror of life, full of laughter, irony and tragedies both small and large…
Historias Minimas is indeed minimal. It reminds us that life, for many reasons – mainly economical – in South America is tougher than others. The “trappings” other people (Hollywood for instance) posses may not be at hand. Therefore, the things that matter, life itself, comes into perspective. The little things in life that are actually so important but get overlooked get center stage for a change… Minimal Stories is a down to earth and “real” film. And it was VERY refreshing in many ways, even though I am not a big fan of minimal cinema. Definately watch it, and maybe get introduced to the Latin American style while you’re at it. If you haven’t been introduced yet you honestly don’ t know what you’re missing and Carlos Sorin is a brilliant way to start…