Facets Cinémathèque - Saturday 1pm and Sunday, 1pm and 3pm
Distance. Space. Solitude. With a minimum
of dialog and obvious flair, Alonso explores these themes as both form
and content. When we drop in on our protagonist, Farrel (Juan Fernández),
he is aboard a shipping vessel. Although he interacts with his shipmates
and is not obtuse, conversations consist of few words and no sharing.
One gets the impression that he prefers spending his down time alone,
smoking cigarettes on the deck and starring at the endless ocean. When
he says that he is going on shore leave there is little emotion in his
voice, as if time and location are irrelevant to him. But time and location
are of utmost importance to Alonso and his film. As Farrel journeys
from an unnamed port city to his parent's home in a run-down logging
camp the camera keeps its distance, allowing the viewer to take in the
snow-covered mountains of Argentina's landscape. Though the landscape
is gorgeous, our character is not. The long takes show Farrel as he
packs his meager belongings, watches TV while he waits for a ride, and
walks the final distance to his home. Our attention is spent on perfunctory
actions, not moments of triumph or change. He does not show emotion,
and one feels pity for him, but not sorrow. We know he lacks connections
to this place--or to any other--and has long since stopped caring.
And ultimately so do we stop caring about him, as the film shifts to
follow Farrel's discarded daughter for the final fifteen minutes. Every
shot of LIVERPOOL is mundane yet precise, restrained and enunciated.
An economy of detail and drama are Alonso's tools here, and their power
is mighty. (2008, 84 min, 35mm) JH - Cine-File.info
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