Forum screening - review - LOS ÁNGELES by Damian John Harper
Much like last year’s Heli by Amat Escalante, Latin America’s simple lifestyle is dragged down by a passive cultural acceptance of crime. But while Heli dealt abruptly with the corruption and drastic imperfection of authorities, Damien John Harper for his film Los Ángeles uses a more human narrative and more character driven storyline to make his point about the social situation of the poverty ridden villages. These are places in Southern Mexico, where the inhabitants themselves are forced to look after themselves but also where it is the gangs that make their presence felt by imposing their malevolent ways on the people. Their power is so big that they are able to control the wellbeing the hoard of immigrants that leave their villages in order to financially support their own families by emigrating to the States.
Queue Mateo, an ordinary young man with a forsaken destiny. He is, in fact, the chosen one in his family to move to Mexico and look after his family from abroad. Yet, it is surreally expected of him to join a gang in order to be looked after and protected by the when he gets there. This is despite the fact that they force him to do terrible things in order to have the honour of becoming a member of this gang of thugs. But the darkest aspect of the storyline is the fact that he himself is not doing all this due to a lack of moral values or even as a demonstration of frustration and unhappiness. He is joining a gang of criminals out of necessity, and because it is the thing to do upon undertaking such a huge journey and be accepted in a land where you will be alone and helpless without some “protection”.
This is a haunting normality. All throughout the film, we are exposed to Mateo’s own struggles with his conscience as we see his life essentially split into two. One is the one where he is forced to steal Churches and fight to kill. The other one is the life of warm humanity punctuated by his relationship with his family and his innocent crush on a local girl – all things that have nothing to do with gang life. However, right from the get go, we know that it is too late for him to back track. The first instances of the film, in fact, reveal his first of three big steps in becoming a member of the gang – one that forces him in being subjected to a vicious beating.
But Harper does not stop there, and takes time to examine the lives of other inhabitants of the village that have been touched by the immigration experience – particularly the family of his godfather who has returned from the States and finds that his daughter has been impregnated and fallen for the leader of the local gang. Furthermore, his wife is trying to hide the truth about the disappearance of his son, who has also emigrated and from whom she hasn’t heard a single piece of news in three months.
These examinations not only paint a more engaging and complete imagery of the setting in which the story take place but also takes a look at the theme of emigration in a new and very human way. The film is, at the end of the day, driven by humanity to the point where we as viewers can’t help but be connected to Los Ángeles dramatically despite the fact that we are abruptly infiltrated into the setting by the filmmaker and are forced to adapt to it fast. This aspect of the film is also portrayed rewardingly by Harper’s choice to film Los Ángeles in a realistic and documentarian style with handheld cameras but also a photography fond of close ups that reveals the emotions, passivity and vulnerability of each of the individual characters.
Nevertheless, this film is also fuelled by a thrilling tension and darkness with its scattered images of violence. There is always a feeling of the fact that tragedy is always waiting around the corner. There is always something that tells us that something terrible is about to happen and that any situation can escalate to the point of disaster. But what is more haunting is the fact that the inhabitants of the village may be poor financially, and yet there is so much warmth shared by them to make one believe that they just might be able to live happily were they not influenced by this human need to always want more and more out of life. While this may seem like a rather simplistic message, it is totally understandable in this village of southern Mexico where families are separated and pain goes hand in hand with pleasure in a way so futile and careless.
While it is true that Los Ángeles deals with familiar themes and issues, it is also true that the balance of tension and melodrama is quite remarkable. Furthermore, this is a film that exposes us to a side of a delicate theme like emigration, a subject that we are finding out more and more about through the power of cinema itself, in a genuine, heartfelt and honest way. The intriguing aspect of the film is that at heart, this is a drama about the dangers of wishing for anything but the enchantment of a simple life rather than a cry for help. That is why at heart, Los Ángeles, is also a film full of hope, the same hope on the people themselves and that rests within the tight knit nature of the communities of Southern Mexico.
RELATED ARTICLES
MORE REVIEWS FROM THE 64TH BERLINALE
64th Berlinale - review - MACONDO by Sudabeh Mortezai
