- dir. JAVIER FUENTES-LEÓN
- Year. 2009
- country. Peru
- run-time. 97 mins
- rating. 15
£6.00 (£4.50 conc.)
Doors 19:30 - Film 20:00
Our Latin American Cinema #QueerLatino season continues with:
UNDERTOW
"With the poetic-sounding Spanish title Contracorriente, this accomplished feature debut by a Peruvian writer-director is a gay variation on the Demi Moore movie Ghost, with a strong dash of Blithe Spirit and Latin American magic realism. In this case there's a secret love affair in a picturesque but impoverished fishing community between the attractive, wealthy painter-photographer Santiago and the good-looking fisherman Miguel, whose wife, Mariela, is pregnant. Local women gossip about Santiago, while the macho men spurn him as an effeminate outsider. When he's drowned, his spirit returns to haunt Miguel, the only person in town who can see him. He won't go away until in traditional local fashion his life's journey is completed by a form of exorcism that involves Miguel acknowledging their love and burying him at sea. It's a touching, warm-hearted fable about honesty and tolerance with an authentic lyrical quality." Philip French, The Guardian.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
“Stunningly photographed by Mauricio Vidal, ‘Undertow’ is about a ghost caught between his lover’s private shame and a town’s public traditions”
“This film’s accomplishments are many, but not the least is its ability to take a human story and frame it as a parable, without losing a bit of credibility or irresistible heart.”
“Reminiscent of such heavenly Hollywood fantasies as “Here Comes Mr. Jordan,” Peru’s “Undertow” suggests a more passionate, lyrical tale of a soul in search of a body”