{"id":593,"date":"2011-04-01T09:21:05","date_gmt":"2011-04-01T16:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=593"},"modified":"2011-04-01T09:21:06","modified_gmt":"2011-04-01T16:21:06","slug":"film-review-undertow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/film-review-undertow\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

\"Undertow-English-Poster\"<\/a>One of the main reasons movies exist is that they allow us to perfect the moments in life that are messier and less satisfying than we wish they were.\u00a0 In the movies the main character always has the snappy comeback line at the ready.\u00a0 She knows just what to say at her mother\u2019s death bed.\u00a0 She keeps it together in a stressful situation and solves the crisis with finesse.<\/p>\n

In real life we stumble through our lives.\u00a0 While solving a tricky problem with style and wit would be great, most of us are just grateful to make it through another day in one piece.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Undertow<\/em><\/strong>, a beautiful 2009 film from Peruvian writer\/director Javier Fuentes-Le\u00f3n, drops us right into the middle of a very messy situation:\u00a0 Miguel (Cristian Mercado) has a devoted wife Mariela (Tatiana Astengo) who\u2019s about to give birth to their first child.\u00a0 Miguel, a fisherman, loves his wife.\u00a0 The only problem?\u00a0 He also loves his secret boyfriend Santiago (Manolo Cardona).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The movie begins with everyone in the town participating in an traditional funeral ritual during which a recently-deceased villager\u2019s body is offered up to the sea.\u00a0 The ceremony feels very ancient and pagan, and is intended to ensure that the departed soul can rest peacefully.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, the tiny fishing community Miguel lives in is insular, traditional, and highly<\/em> Catholic.\u00a0\"undertow<\/a><\/p>\n

Santiago is an itinerant painter who keeps to himself<\/a> and causes ripples in the rumor mill.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, the situation changes drastically.\u00a0 Miguel is surprised one afternoon to find Santiago in his house . . . but it\u2019s not really Santiago!\u00a0 It\u2019s his ghost.\u00a0 It seems he was caught in an Undertow<\/em><\/strong> and drowned.<\/p>\n

Perhaps surprisingly, it seems to Miguel that his problem has been solved.\u00a0 No one but him can even see Santiago, and even though he\u2019s a ghost, he\u2019s touchable.\u00a0 So Miguel can continue his affair with a secret boyfriend who is now really<\/em> secret.<\/p>\n

Undertow<\/em><\/strong> is very much in the tradition of Latin American Magical Realism, and as such, there are no special effects.\u00a0 To us, Santiago just looks like Santiago.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing ethereal or discorporate about him.\u00a0 He simply is invisible to anyone but Miguel.<\/p>\n

The great aspect of Magical Realism is that is breaks the literal rules of real life in order to get to a deeper truth.\u00a0 There\u2019s a matter-of-factness to the way the film deals with this unreal situation which is refreshing.<\/p>\n

\"Undertow1H\"<\/a>Back to Miguel and his sexy ghost boyfriend.\u00a0 Of course such a happy state of affairs cannot continue forever.\u00a0 Paintings Santiago made of Miguel are discovered and the whole town finds out about the affair.<\/p>\n

At about this point in the movie I was really worried.\u00a0 It seems like Miguel is going to try to patch things up with his wife and try to forget about Santiago.\u00a0 As I sat there I was about to give up on the movie.<\/p>\n

But then, I am happy to report, the movie completely surprised me.\u00a0 I won\u2019t tell you what exactly happens, but it\u2019s a surprisingly moving act of redemption and forgiveness.\u00a0 I highly recommend you let yourself get swept away by Undertow<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Average Rating: 4.8<\/span> out of 5<\/span> based on 288<\/span> user reviews.<\/span><\/div><\/p>

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