No mires para abajo

Eliseo Subiela has that rare quality of seeing magic in reality, of portraying it in his movies with freshness and philosophical depth. His characters, despite being normal, are in a special kind of reality, and their interaction with our world is always eccentric and quirky. Subiela is true to himself in the premise of the movie, as it departs from a quote from a poem by Andre Breton that intrinsically links live, love and death and considers physical love as a redemptive element in life.

The movie revolves about the sexual awakening of Eloy, a sweet and absent-minded teenager, apprentice of electrician and courier boy to the nearby cemetery, who starts sleepwalking after the death of his father and ends in the arms of a sassy and older neighbor, Elvira, who will teach him how to satisfy a woman and himself.

If you want to make a movie about tantric sex and sexual initiation you need two basic elements. Firstly, a couple of sensual actors who have chemistry on camera and are able to transmit eroticism to the spectator, so that we can believe that they are having sex and enjoying it. Secondly, to create the right atmosphere and mood so the sex scenes look natural and passionate. All of that was missing from the movie, despite sex being the main subject of the movie. The scenes look unnatural, forced, like a rehearsal. They are shot with constriction, without passion and with some visual bigotry, despite the intention of the movie being quite the opposite. It felt like those modern Kamasutra books with photos of nude couples posing in the different sexual positions - Boring and not erotic. It would have been better, perhaps, showing less, and leaving more to the imagination, which always gives great results.

The most memorable moments of the movie are, however, those few in which the movie distracts itself from sex and portrays reality in Eloy's eyes and part of the family's story. The happy eeriness of Eloy's trips to the cemetery on his bike to deliver tablets are wonderfully photographed and shot, the natural interaction between the deceased and those alive are those more closely connected to Breton's initial poem and Subiela's style. Here we see the always charming Subiela in action, focusing on what he does best.

Regarding the acting, I found Leandro Stivelman good and believable in his portray of the sweet and dreamy Eloy, and also Hugo Arana in his short role as Eloy's deceased father. I did not find Antonella Costa believable at all in her portray of Elvira, neither in the sex scenes or in the talking ones. Perhaps because the script does not give much information about her, and the one that gives does not help the viewer to understand her. On the other hand, she does not have the sensuality or acting maturity necessaries to affront a role like this. The rest of the actors are OK in their respective roles.

Glimpses of the best Subiela are wasted by a rather mediocre and un-erotic movie with a very weak script

The fact that a beautiful film like No mires para abajo receives a rating as low as this can only mean that most people simply cannot look past the explicit depiction of sex and nudity on film. It's a shame, because aside from being quite erotic, it's actually a beautiful and sensitive film, a piece of magical realism in the finest tradition of South American authors like Márquez and Borges, and it deals with the organic and spiritual links between life, death and sexuality with no attempt to create controversy or to arouse in the usual sense, but rather to create an atmosphere of magical, dreamy bliss.

To be fair, No mires para abajo gives only a glimpse into the dreamworld it describes; the film is very short, very small in scope, and it probably wouldn't have worked had it been longer - it's an image, rather than a complete story. The two main characters are intriguing, lovable and mysterious, but neither one is a full and complex character. But for what it is, it works beautifully. It's not a story with a beginning, a middle and an end; there's no arc, or character development, or conflict. It's just a beautiful short glimpse into a more beautiful side of our reality, and if you can look past the sex and nudity and enjoy it for what it is, it's highly recommended. It won't be to everybody's taste, to be sure, but it should never be dismissed as softcore porn.

This film has a low rating by the users here. Lower than some really bad films that are more popular. It is a very magical coming of age film which deals with sexual knowledge and its relationship to the mysteries of life and the balancing of the spirit. It is told with sensitivity and some humor. It is quite erotic but short of being explicit. I think many young men in particular would benefit from seeing a film where a woman is so respected, where the woman is the teacher and the wise one. Men should see this film and imagine they should be so lucky. It is not perfect, but it is quite charming and makes very important statements about the higher consciousness of sexuality and affection....in particular for young people.

It comes as a surprise to find that Subiela, leading exponent of Magic Realism in the movies, is still at it after decades and the exposition, with the cemetery's dead taking afternoon sun and his dad showing up with nuts and bolts, looks like it's going to be vintage.

However the piece settles down into lengthy make-out sessions between the two good looking leads - which is OK for five minutes but tedious thereafter.

Good film craft but no substance.

There's nothing much else to say about this one to bring a coverage up to the minimum requirement.

This movie was very interesting. The love of the father for his son, the love of the son for his father. The music in the movie is very good. I love the scene where the nana dances as the same time as Elvira dances for Eloy. A beautiful movie. Even tough it is suppose to have been made from a tao manual, I feel it turned out to be very philosophical. I enjoyed it immensely. It was erotic and I am sure it depicts a lot of the journey for tantric student. The actors are beautiful. The decor are enchanting. The music is appropriate. The dead father finally "living" his life is a glimor of hope for the afterlife. The best line ever: In life you will always be saying goodbye – don't let that stop you from loving.".