"Despues del mar" an Argentine feature was shown recently on a cable channel. The film, directed by Adriano Caetano was a rare find. It is a lyrical poem about two souls who meet by chance under strange circumstances coming from different worlds. Shot in a remote part of Argentina's South, like the landscape that serves as the background for the picture could be, for all practical purposes the surface of an unknown planet.
We are taken to a remote spot in the Patagonia where a man is getting a lift on a truck. He makes it difficult for the passengers riding the truck as he is taking a battered old piano that takes a lot of space. The driver decides to make a stop in a roadside general store. There is a woman in sitting at a table who turns out to be a prostitute. The driver and his two friends want to have sex with her. She sets her price with one condition, only one man at a time for the trio.
The piano man, coming in the store cannot begin to believe what he is seeing. The three men do not like him getting involved in their business so they attack him and leave him and his piano to fend for himself. The prostitute, who is on the move out of the place, takes a liking to the poor man, asking hims to follow her, something that seals their fate. What follows is a wild ride through the inhospitable land hoping to get to a friendly place that will accept them. In the process, the man and the prostitute become lovers.
The film is spellbinding, although it has hardly any action. Yet, one feels riveted to the screen following the fate of these lost souls into what appears to be a safe haven. The woman, having been shot by accident, has little time to live, but their bonding is forever. "Despues del mar" was evidently a theatrical piece. The adaptation is credited to Victoria Carreras, who plays the prostitute, with Daniel Kuzniecka and Roberto Gispert.
Ms. Carreras is wonderful. She gives a touching performance as the woman who has experienced it all. Now alone and in a forsaken place she must hold on to whatever she can as a last minute salvation. Facundo Ramirez impresses also, not only as an actor, but he is the composer of the music score that was probably influenced by Rachmaninoff. The cinematography by Julian Apeztegia enhances the surreal landscape of the Patagonia region where the film was shot.
We are taken to a remote spot in the Patagonia where a man is getting a lift on a truck. He makes it difficult for the passengers riding the truck as he is taking a battered old piano that takes a lot of space. The driver decides to make a stop in a roadside general store. There is a woman in sitting at a table who turns out to be a prostitute. The driver and his two friends want to have sex with her. She sets her price with one condition, only one man at a time for the trio.
The piano man, coming in the store cannot begin to believe what he is seeing. The three men do not like him getting involved in their business so they attack him and leave him and his piano to fend for himself. The prostitute, who is on the move out of the place, takes a liking to the poor man, asking hims to follow her, something that seals their fate. What follows is a wild ride through the inhospitable land hoping to get to a friendly place that will accept them. In the process, the man and the prostitute become lovers.
The film is spellbinding, although it has hardly any action. Yet, one feels riveted to the screen following the fate of these lost souls into what appears to be a safe haven. The woman, having been shot by accident, has little time to live, but their bonding is forever. "Despues del mar" was evidently a theatrical piece. The adaptation is credited to Victoria Carreras, who plays the prostitute, with Daniel Kuzniecka and Roberto Gispert.
Ms. Carreras is wonderful. She gives a touching performance as the woman who has experienced it all. Now alone and in a forsaken place she must hold on to whatever she can as a last minute salvation. Facundo Ramirez impresses also, not only as an actor, but he is the composer of the music score that was probably influenced by Rachmaninoff. The cinematography by Julian Apeztegia enhances the surreal landscape of the Patagonia region where the film was shot.
