Desde Allá (From Afar)

There seems to be a disconnect recently between the opinions of high-brow film critics and those of informed film goers. A fact that is quite apparent in the film that we'll be discussing today.

If you go to the imdb page of Desde Allá (From Afar), you will notice that 12 out of 16 Metacritic reviews are good or even better than good. On the other hand, 4 out of 5 user reviews are condemning. This disparity intrigued me, as well as the awards that this movie has gathered in various film festivals, most importantly the Golden Lion in Venice. Add to that the gay theme, and the film became a must-watch for me.

Before I talk about the film, let me just point out a couple of factors that, in my opinion, are the main causes for the difference of opinion between high-brow film critics and non-professional film lovers. Most critics have two things that they hate in a film: exposition and emotional manipulation. They are quite relentless in pointing out their existence in a film and adjust their grade accordingly. The audience, on the other hand, don't mind exposition, because they want to understand what's going on in the film. Also, they don't mind a little emotional manipulation - the most successful films tug at the heartstrings as well as stimulating the brain. What the film-goers do mind, is clumsy exposition and mercenary manipulation. In this argument, I side with the viewers.

Back to the film: if I were to express my views on it in just one sentence, I would say that this could've been a very good film, if it weren't for three missing scenes. Let me elaborate.

There will be spoilers in my presentation, so any one of you who doesn't want to be spoiled, better stop reading now. I usually avoid including spoilers, but in this case, I find that they will be useful to those who want to see the film: it offers so little in terms of explanation, so any information that you have beforehand may help you to better unlock its mystery.

The story is as follows: Armando (Alfredo Castro), a middle-aged owner of a Caracas, Venezuela, dental prosthesis business, is estranged from his father, who he observes occasionally from a distance. This is where our first missing scene comes in: Armando hates his father, but we have no idea why. We only see the father from afar, more of a blurry figure than a character. The director is very intent on us not knowing anything, and this is apparent in a scene where he has Armando follow his father into a nearly empty elevator… and say nothing for the duration of the ride; the lengthy shot makes a point of keeping Dad, who also remains silent, just out of frame, so that we don’t even know how (or if) he reacts to his son’s presence. Given the subsequent lack of follow-up, this is neither ambiguous nor provocative; it’s just evasive.

Armando also seeks young men of the streets and pays them to be used to provide him with masturbatory objects. He doesn't touch them, nor does he allow to be touched: it's all done from afar. One of such young men is Élder (Luis Silva), a thug in a street gang. Their first meeting goes very badly: the youth bashes Armando unconscious and steals his wallet and an ornament. Inexpicably, Armando seeks him out again and since Élder needs cash for a deposit on a car, he agrees to go with him this time, all the while trying to break in to the man's safe.

After Élder himself is badly beaten by his girlfriend's brothers, Armando nurses him back to health. Here we have the second missing scene, because the violent, homophobic youth quite suddenly starts making passionate advances at Armando at a cousin's wedding party, with Armando pushing him away. The scene is seen by a member of Élder's family, however, so he is now an outcast from his own social circle. This emotional journey is not adequately portrayed, which means that when these scenes play out, we're just mechanically observing them, not being emotionally invested in their situation. We needed more scenes to show this gradual bonding, but the director is determined to give us as little information as possible, which culminates in the final scene, a truly "what just happened?" moment. We definitely needed a scene to clarify the ending.

It's not that I always want to understand everything that is happening: four of my favorite fims, Mulholland Dr. by David Lynch, Weekend by Jean-Luc Godard, Blow-Up by Michelangelo Antonioni and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie by Luis Bunuel, all have many points that are not sufficiently explained. However, these films' style and purpose are excellently served by having dreamlike plotlines and these four grand masters of cinema serve them in just the right way. From Afar, on the other hand, is a naturalistic film, as well as a (two) character study. These plot omissions do matter.

It's not that the film lacks good points: the two leads are very good. Castro holds the screen with his charisma, despite having been given only wounded stoicism to play in this case. Silva is even more impressive. He's like a wounded animal, his sensuality balanced by the sense of violence and danger that he projects.

Lorenzo Vigas, the film's director, is so eager to show that he can communicate ideas visually that he goes overboard. Shallow focus dominates the first 10 to 15 minutes in particular, with almost every shot featuring one sharp foreground object surrounded by a sea of blurry half shapes. What Vigas intends this approach to signify is unclear, though it does at least reflect the movie’s title. Other choices - like an early dinner scene in which Armando and Elder, though seated at the same table, are separated by a support beam that nearly bisects the frame - are so obvious that they’re almost condescending. All in all, From Afar plays like a typical first feature, with ambition outstripping execution by a hefty margin.

A similar subject was approached very much better in a film that I reviewed a while ago, Eastern Boys by Robin Campillo. Also in a great film that takes place in Colombia, Our Lady of the Assassins (La Virgen de los Sicarios) by Barbet Schroeder. Other great gay-themed films from Latin America include Peru's Undertow (Contracorriente) by Javier Fuentes-León, Cuba's The Last Match (La Partida) by Antonio Hens, Argentina's Burnt Money (Plata Quemada) by Marcelo Piñeyro, as well as XXY by Lucía Puenzo, and Hawaii by Marco Berger, Mexico's Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too) by Alfonso Cuarón, and Burn the Bridges (Quemar las Naves) by Francisco Franco Alba, Chile's Another Story of Love (Otra Película de Amor) by Edwin Oyarce, and Brazil's The Way He Looks (Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho) by Daniel Ribeiro. There are a lot of great gay-themed from Latin America during the last 20 years. I wish From Afar was one of them.

Grade: 6/10

Here's the trailer: