By Roger Costa
EVERYTHING ELSE
She sits at the desk calling out people who have been waiting for hours in line for an authentication or to renew all sorts of documents. She repeatedly denies everyone’s requests, as she finds minor evidences through their papers. A figure who personifies the absurd of Latin American bureaucracy, she’s a complex, mysteriously wounded woman, who lives alone with her cat while dealing with her fears, especially an event related to water, the ocean or swimming. Representing a hatred government authority, the office is the only place and moment where she demonstrates empowerment, as she persists on her melancholy everywhere else. An atmospheric puzzled drama, visually amusing with abstract and observational long shots, and direct commentary on Mexico’s social and economic issues, emerging writer-director Natalia Almada’s stylish aesthetic and structure-narrative control, make of her an accomplished new filmmaker. Oscar nominee actress Adriana Barraza is superb as the protagonist Dona Flor, delivering haunting expressions, deeply firm and saddened looks, brilliantly devastating. (Cinema Tropical. 5/4. Cinema Village.)
THE GUARDIANS
Set during 1915 when men were sent to war, and many wouldn’t make back home, women were left all on their own, as they struggled and sacrificed for their family businesses and interests, embracing the ambitious and conflicting senses of dominion. Cannes winner director Xavier Beauvois captures this crucial moment with accuracy, examining both strength and fragility of the central women, a family divided by the arrival of a maid whose soldier son had fallen in love with. Nathalie Baye gives a tour-de-force performance as the matriarch, carrying the anguish of having the sons in battle while fearlessly standing up for the family’s personal and property interests. Cinematographer Caroline Champetier composes beautifully enhanced images of natural landscapes, creating epic-style scenarios for the inescapable grieving and delicate love story coming across the tragic events. (Music Box Films. 5/4. Quad Cinema.)
ANGELS WEAR WHITE
A young Hotel receptionist witnesses a traumatizing event and uses it as a weapon to accomplish her personal ambitions. A 12 year-old girl, who had been involved in a national scandal of children abuse is misjudged by her family and finds console with a female detective. Director Vivian Qu’s sophomore feature is a masterly crafted, investigative drama, tracing the interconnected lives of these women as a timely display of feminine force seeking control: there are also precise observations on an older receptionist looking for love, and the moral doubts haunting the victim’s mother. The intriguing narrative presents evidences but leaves it for the audience to judge, creating an affecting chemistry with the marvelous ensemble cast. Heartbreaking, incredibly tense and alarming, this highly awarded indie is pure, fresh, authentic cinema. (KimStim.5/4. Metrograph.)
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