A la medianoche y media

In this Venezuelan-Colombian-Peruvian co-production, the last ship out, the last hope to survive an upcoming tidal wave that will sweep away the country, sails out before half past midnight. The film's action takes place up to this time, and involves three very different people, with very different perspectives on life. The film is therefore very philosophical, and full of symbolism which will be lost on many (myself included). I frankly found it boring, pretentious and terribly unaccessible.

I just finished viewing A la medianoche y media (At Midnight and a Half) at the Hispano/American film festvial here in Calgary. This was one of the best films that I saw at the festival this weekend.

The story centers around three main characters, who along with a handful of other people, stay behind in a small coastal town in Venezuela being threatened by a ginormous tidal wave. Everyone else has left and the highways are jammed.

Salvador del Solar is intense as Sebastián, the late 20 something, cynical loner. He decides not follow everyone else out of town. He turns around, and heads back into town where he finds a little girl (Constanza Morales). She was somehow left behind her family. Sebastián lets the girl stay with him. Throughout the film, the little girl thinks she can avert the disaster by winning points in a game she invents. She uses the town as a big game board. The third main character is Ana (María Fernanda Ferro). Ana is a sensual, mysterious woman. She walks around the streets of the town photographing people and places, and has a wooden model of the town in her apartment. Sebastián sees Ana from a distance and becomes distracted by her. He follows her around, always keeping his distance, never having any direct contact with her.

Is there some sort of history between Ana and Sebastián? Is this all a fantasy or a dream? It is left it up to the viewer to decide.

The film features some great Latin percussion as well a fine pop tune, Hace Calor by the Argentinian band Los Rodriguez that plays throughout the movie in Sebastián's car.

Marité Ugas and Mariana Rondón were in attendance and answered questions following the screening. They shared with us an interesting bit of trivia. The main highway used in the traffic jam scene was a year later washed out by a huge tidal wave and subsequent mud slide.

Rating: 7.5/10.

This is the kind of film that gives a bad name to artistic movies.

The technical aspects of the movies are really cool, but you can't never understand what the movie is all about, I mean, besides of the fact that a big wave is coming to destroy the town (kind of prophecy of the mud slides that in 1999 destroyed La Guaira, the town where the movie was filmed).

The film makers have tried to build a film that is artistic, but in the thin line that divides genius directors from simply stupid movie makers, I believe that they're on the wrong side.