Dir. Gust Van den Berghe
Official Selection Feature Mexico
The Richter Scale says: Many people believe in God. Some of those believers will say everyone should believe. The belief, and often certainty of something above the skies is so powerful, that when someone sees a ladder descending from the sky to a humble village near an active volcano in Mexico, it leads people to believe that God has come to save them. Furthermore, whenn a stranger with healing powers that seem otherworldly comes, the village is convinced this stranger is an angel that has come to save them. What if the stranger was an angel, just not the angel that comes to save people? Everyone knows there was a wise and beautiful angel who fell to Hell due to his pride and turned into Satan himself. What if this angel who came to the village is none other than Lucifer making a pit stop on his way to Hell?
Belgian director Gust Van den Berghe came to Mexico to shoot this film that focuses specifically on this family who become the victims of our fallen angel’s mischief. Lupita (María Acosta) and her granddaughter María (Norma Pablo) have been taking care of Emanuel (Jerónimo Soto Bravo) who hasn’t been able to get out of bed following an accident. When they meet this stranger (Gabino Rodríguez, the only one in the cast who’s a professional actor) and bring him home, he makes Emanuel get out of bed and walk. Lupita and Maria are convinced it’s a miracle and organize a party to celebrate, not knowing that Satan himself is attending the party and what this angel has done to poor Maria before leaving the next day.
The first thing we see is Planet Earth and hear the voice of a child that turns into the voice of a man, narrating. As soon as we enter the story, we keep seeing it through the aspect ratio of a circle in the middle of the screen, as if we were seeing it through a telescope. Is this the way God sees us from above, judging silently and deciding what each one of us gets, before abandoning us? The film never says so, it simply uses this never-before-seen concept for a motion picture (which will test some viewers¿ patience, but becomes a rewarding experience). The villagers’ inexperience is often hard to stomach, since the way they speak feels slow and devoid of emotion, but when looked at as a window into these villagers’ lives, it becomes fascinating.
This film will screen today at 4:00 pm at the Juárez Theater.
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