What I'm Watching #243

"Rabioso Sol, Rabioso Cielo" (2009) along with his previous films "A Thousand Clouds Of Peace" (2004), and "Broken Sky" (2006) is the final installment in Mexican writer and film director Julian Hernandez' trilogy of allegorical explorations of human (and mostly gay) sexuality. Each of the previous films have been fascinating contrivances full of stark and haunting imagery, but neither have been as ambitious as "Rabioso Sol, Rabioso Cielo".

In this film, like the others, Hernandez enslaves both light and shadow in his quest to offer the viewer a completely fresh and uncanny look at the pedestrian world around them. There is nothing rushed, there is nothing wasted, time itself and the passage of it through the expressions and actions of the characters is so palpable that it almost becomes a character unto itself. Along with light, earth and water play pivotal rolls in an extended dream sequence in which the main characters assume a mythological status in their exploration of love, sex, and devotion. When the film was over, my first thought was the line of the Baker's Wife from Sondheim's musical "Into The Woods" after her encounter with the sincere Prince -- "What...was that!?"

The final moment of the film is perfect. You think, "Where the hell is all of this going?" And then suddenly you arrive and it's sweet, and tender--and just a little cheeky, too.

When you submit yourself to a Julian Hernandez film, you are opening yourself up not simply to a movie, but to an experience that transcends the world as you know it, and demands up of you keen, patient and unwavering dedication to what is unfolding before you. For your trouble, he'll also give you some of the most intriguing and attractive young actors on the planet. From the first time we meet the character Ryo, played by relative new comer, Guillermo Villegas, he enters your soul with an innocence and childlike impishness that leaves you longing to see more of him. I can honestly say, I don't think he said a single word in the just over three hours of the film (another trade mark of Hernandez' movies; words are sparsely used and like a dream often waft in off of peripheral conversations, thoughts, lyrics of a song), but you will not mistake what Ryo is "saying" through his expressions, his probing eyes, his pensive lips and joyous smile.

This was Villegas' 2nd film in 2009, the first was the critically acclaimed "Sin Nombre". It tells the story of Latin American immigrants' perilous and desperate travels north on the death trains. He played a small supporting role, Orlando.

Another member of the triune of male characters is Tari (played by Javier Olivan). Tari is a boxer, who's inner conflicts draw him to anonymous sexual encounters that are both rough and degrading. He longs for a pure relationship; to be loved unconditionally and to be the chivalrous lover--the knights templar who's life is devoted to his beloved. And the object of his affection is therefore Ryo. As a character, I found myself seeing Jesus of Nazareth in Tari. His longing to embrace the divine, his willingness to sacrifice himself for his beloved. Yet, ultimately, he assumes the role of Judas, destroyed by rejection, he becomes the destroyer of the very thing that he cherishes most of all. His is the most nuanced and empathetic of performances. Acting for a scant 3 years in film, his previous performance was a leading role in Hernandez' 2008 short film "Vago Rumor de Mares en Zozobra."

And finally, we come to Keiri, played by Jorge Becerra (and pictured here in a scene from the film). Keiri is the movie's Everyman character. Essentially good, sexually repressed; filled with natural desires and yet without a partner and uncertain how to rectify the situation. From their first encounter, Ryo sees the good in Keiri and sets in motion the course of events that will ultimately test the limits of all loves and bring them together against epic odds.

I will tell you this, so no one accuses me of being misleading. This is not an easy film. However, it rewards those abundantly who seek to plumb the layers of it's ambitious meaning. As to Julian Hernandez, he has shown himself to be a filmmaker with few peers and no rivals. He's why the word, genius, was coined.