Saturday, April 21, 2007

What I'm Watching #77


athousandcloudsofpeace,jpg
Originally uploaded by Randuwa.
"Mil Nubes de Paz cercan el Cielo (a thousand clouds of peace)" by director Julián Hernández will simply take your breath away. It is one of the most elegantly conceived movies I have ever seen. Señor Henández' sense of "Cinema as Art" takes cinema to a new level.

Filmed in black and white, and with such a tender ear for sound, the film is not simply a story revealed by actors, but an experience in which every noise, every camera angel, every piece of clothing, indeed, every light, every shadow is rife with meaning both metaphorical and profound.

The synopsis on the back of the DVD case might or might not peek your curiousity: (Gerardo, a gay teenager, roams the streets of Mexico City in search of someone able to reveal the secret, hidden between the lines of a goodbye letter from his ex-lover. In his journey through barren alleys and roadways, he is haunted by images: each masculine body he sees reminds him of his lover.) But the movie will so transport you to a place of such raw humanity, that when rereading the blurb after seeing it, you'll think, 'Really? That's all it was about?'

The lead actor, Juan Carlos Ortuño, as Gerardo was amazing in a role that required tremendous subtly. The supporting actors who waft in and out the story were likewise wonderful, I was especially touched the performance of Perla de la Rosa as Anna, Gerardo's mother.

Also, I'm going name a few of the others responsible off camera for the beauty of this film: Diego Arizmendi, Director of Photography; Carolina Jiménez, Art Director; and Enrique L. Rendón, Sound Director. Kudus to all.

My final thought, the film left me in tears, only I couldn't figure out if I was crying because I was happy or sad.

No comments: