La tarea

A guy is invited into the house of a woman. She films the flirtations between them for her 'study'. He gets mad once he finds out, leaves, then returns, suddenly excited. What's this all about? It can't get more Spartan than this. Who the hell makes a film with only two actors and a camera that stays at a fixed location throughout the film? Mexican director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo is who. There probably is a film with only one camera and one actor, but I haven't seen it, and anyway, I think this is already pretty inventive.

In the space of one-and-a-half hours Hermosillo shows us what possibilities a fixed camera provides for a movie script. Sometimes a foot or a rag appears in the picture. The camera itself participates as a subject in discussions. Moreover, this film quietly discusses where intimate boundaries seem to end in this day and age. Is this still pleasant to look at or should this kind of intimacy not remain private for the characters themselves? We can ask ourselves the same question, as we see all kinds of intimate videos on the web.

I enjoyed this film en didn't found it boring at all, which could be the case, with this experimental approach.

"La Tarea: The Homework or How Pornography Saved a Split Family from Boredom and Improved their Finances"

Is pornography but a lewd display for the voyeur artless whose only anticipation is from extreme close-ups of tension swollen money shots? What started as a bizarre nauseating camera angle was soon obscured by the phenomena; sensory adaptation - that states we are less sensitive to repeated presentation of certain stimuli. In this case the practically seamless single camera angle exploring contemporary societal norms on sex, pornography and the role men and women play, during the time of this film, was eaten up enthusiastically with minimal shock and anticipatory awe.

I don't know if director Jaimi Humberto Hemosillo's intention, with the odd and constant camera angle, was inferred to symbolize mans ability to constantly evolve and accustom itself; but "La Tarea" personified the subjectivity of pornography and the voyeur in that the line between what is decent and acceptable gets blurred through personal experience and societal sensory adaptation. And the idea of what is art could be construed as anything thought provoking as a result of critical thinking.

To switch from an unaware participant, to the fumbling amateur actor, we see man on the offense and defense of his/her perceived role in society. Be it someone respectable, held in their own high esteem; or the insecure charlatan unsure of his /her role. As we saw by Alonso's astonishment and possible simulated anger at the fear of being found out of his subconscious thoughts and desires. Because of voyeurism there is, of course, the accomplice fueling the flames of an exploration into wonders already discovered yet waiting for acceptance

This is an actor´s film, and Hermosillo did his work by directing them in the right path. The camera and photo are just a way of keeping it real most of the time, so the true feelings and force of the film comes from the actor´s performances.

Maybe only the Mexican Wittiness can produce this film. A woman needs to do her homework, a natural and original film. What she does? She makes an appointment with an ex-boyfriend and seduces him while the hidden camera is recording everything. It seems to work but, suddenly he discovers the camera and the story has a dramatic change and an unpredictable end. María Rojo is not a beautiful woman, neither she has a good body, but she has a great "sex-appeal" that can make you see her as a desirable woman and understand José Alonso's behavior.

LA TAREA is filmed in real time in a single room and features a total cast of two actors . This is not an epic film by any means . In fact I wouldn`t have actually remembered its broadcast on Channel 4 if it hadn`t been for the fact that the two characters Marcelo and Virginia indulge in a sex session , but what a sex session it is ! It`s not the type of graphic sex you`d see in a hard core porn film but I don`t believe for a moment the actor and actress are NOT really having sex . Maybe that`s the point of the film , the way the scene is shot is rather subtle and it`s left to the audience to make up their own minds , but I don`t think anyone is that good an actor during a love scene