Undertow [Contracorriente] **** (2009, Cristian Mercado, Manolo Cardona, Tatiana Astengo) – Classic Movie Review 12,857

Undertow [Contracorriente] is an extremely beautiful and moving 2009 Peruvian romantic drama film in which a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover with his village’s rigid traditions.

Undertow [Contracorriente] is an extremely beautiful and moving 2009 Peruvian romantic drama film in which a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover with his village’s rigid traditions. It is written, produced and directed by Javier Fuentes-León in his directorial debut, and stars Cristian Mercado as Miguel, Manolo Cardona as Santiago and Tatiana Astengo as Mariela.

Cristian Mercado plays Miguel, a young fisherman in Cabo Blanco, a seaside village in northern Peru with religious traditions regarding death. He is married to Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), who is pregnant with their first son, while he has a secret affair with visiting handsome male painter/ photographer Santiago (Manolo Cardona). But Santiago drowns at sea accidentally, and his ghost keeps returning to talk to Miguel, and asks him to find his body and bury it at sea according to their village’s rituals.

This lovely film tells a desperately sad, haunting ghost story, reminiscent of All of Us Strangers, with a great deal of intelligence and thought packed into the screenplay. The three main actors are super in their unforgettable characters, and there is a large ensemble of support players fully fleshing out their roles too. The film is simple and subtle at the same time, faultless. Miguel and Santiago are two hunks of manly men just made for each other, but Miguel and Mariela are made for each other just a little bit but not so much. Miguel is sincere and kind, while Mariela is way out of her depth. Santiago is only alive when he is with Miguel.

Rigid and religious traditions are going to get into the way of everybody’s happy, fulfilled lives, and that’s the point of course. This film states that important theme in a poetic way that goes for the heart – and the tearducts.

It is shot where it takes place in Cabo Blanco, Peru. It is a gorgeously picturesque setting, and a lot is made of it, it’s quite a character in the film, but even so ultimately that’s not the point, it’s a support character. It never hurts to have a picturesque setting, though, and Mauricio Vidal’s cinematography is attractive, so also is Selma Mutal’s score.

Undertow was underrated at awards time. It won the World Cinema Audience Award in the Dramatic category at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in the US. Other Audience Awards include Cartagena, Montreal, Miami, Chicago, Utrecht, Lima, and Galway, as well as Jury Awards in Madrid, San Francisco, Seattle, Toulouse, and Philadelphia. It was nominated as Best Latin American Film at the 2011 Goya Awards in Spain and selected as the Peruvian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.

Financing came from Germany, France and Peru.

Undertow [Contracorriente], is directed, written and produced by Javier Fuentes-León, runs 100 minutes, is shot by Mauricio Vidal, is scored by Selma Mutal.

It is in Spanish.

Release date: 23 September 2009.

Javier Fuentes-León wrote the first scene way back in 1996, intending a supernatural revenge thriller about a fisherman’s love affair with a prostitute, but changed the story after coming out of the closet to explore more personal and he thought more interesting themes and material.

He subsequently made The Vanished Elephant (2014) and The Best Families (2020).

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,857

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