Genre mashups may be in vogue — check out "Zombieland" (2009), a fantastic horror−comedy, or Quentin Tarantino's entire filmography — but it's not often the pairing of two disparate storytelling approaches yields anything more than an interesting experiment.
But with its melding of same−sex romance, a ghost story and a more conventional family drama, director Javier Fuentes−León's strange narrative proves itself a rare exception. Not only does "Undertow" work, and work well, but the end result becomes far more interesting than the individual bones of its narrative skeleton.
The film centers around a simple fisherman, Miguel (Cristian Mercado), from a small Peruvian coastal town. He's happily married with a child on the way and well−loved by nearly everyone within the close−knit, traditionally Catholic community. He also happens to be carrying on a passionate, highly sexual affair with Santiago (Manolo Cardona), a local male artist and photographer.
Mercado's take on the admittedly juicy role is raw, heartfelt and affecting. He performs leagues away from the overacting that could've easily been phoned in. At times, however, he strays past subtlety into full−on ambiguity, with Miguel's psychological innards rendered a touch too opaquely.
And, occasionally, it's quite difficult to fully comprehend what he sees in his wife Mariela — the two seem merely close companions and partners in domestic ennui, bound to each other more by common obligation than love. Still, these are missteps made with the best of intentions, and Fuentes−León can hardly be criticized for trusting his audience enough to offer up such refreshingly honest material.
Below the surface, in hints and fragmentary pieces, is a wholly compelling illustration of a man at odds with himself and his sexuality, suffocated by repressed desire and sealed off by an impregnable casing of denial. Here, Fuentes−León has captured a reality lost on most Western film−going audiences: that being out isn't always a surmountable challenge — it's often a near−impossibility. Thankfully, the all−too−easy checkpoints of spiritual hand−wringing, pleas to God or tearful confessions are circumvented in favor of a stark and truthful portrait — one that is quickly shattered by Santiago's unexpected disappearance.
As the picture takes this sharp turn into the otherworldly and allegorical, the bond between Miguel and Santiago, who has transformed into something of a ghost and is invisible to the world at large, takes on an unusual, intriguing light. The film moves away from the expected and into the profoundly original.
By melding Santiago's afterlife into an almost blissful public honeymoon, in which Miguel and his lover can stand openly amidst those who would have condemned them in life, Fuentes−León speaks with profound simplicity on the challenge of concealing one's inner self from the world at large. Their unabashed, authentic romance in these moments shames the typically superficial portrayals of love and companionship in popular cinema.
And for a film sharing so much in common with the American independent effort "The Kids Are All Right" (2010), the mirrored stories bear markedly different thematic fruit. They are, in many ways, opposite sides of the same coin — though divided by gulfs of culture and ideology, both films include affairs of an unexpected sexual orientation, leading to a common storytelling fingerprint. Considering that "The Kids Are All Right" currently stands nominated for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the upcoming Academy Awards, it's more than a little surprising that "Undertow" didn't make the cut for Best Foreign Film.
Yes, "Kids" director Lisa Cholodenko's work made for an intelligent, interesting film, but its claims at originality were purely smoke and mirrors. To her credit, the ability to feature a gay couple onscreen without spotlighting their sexual orientation as its singular focus was commendable. Yet the film can essentially be distilled to a standard morality tale — affairs cripple any family, straight or gay — while Fuentes−León shrugs off simplistic morals for more ambitious fare.
That ambition, and the complexity beneath it, embodies an artistic spirit that needs nurturing from the Hollywood establishment. It's therefore a shame to see the academy so determined to pass over films that break ideologically new ground in favor of those that merely apply a surface sheen of hip progressivism.
The academy's decision to bypass "Undertow" for an Oscar bid is, at best, misguided, and, at worst, a failure of judgment that will prevent a slew of great films from ever being viewed by a large audience. Cristian Mercado's nuanced performance as the haunted Miguel deserves to be seen, right along with the narrative's fascinating challenge to both romance and the supernatural. Unfortunately, it seems more likely that "Undertow" will simply be lost in the catacombs of under−distributed foreign films.
