Vicente (Gabino Rodriguez) cares for his grandmother. The scene is one of slowly and closely-observed gentleness, only interrupted by the leaking roof of their shack. The old lady appears ill and grateful for his attention.

On the road, Vicente's uncles are coming to try to take his grandmother's land - they think she's dying. Meanwhile a very long hand-held tracking-shot follows Vicente carrying a mattress up a track. The camerawork is as shaky as the track is rough, and stalks him as he walks. The countryside is dry, rural Mexico, with its own charm and beauty. Mesmerising camera-work observes Vicente with a wheelbarrow, moving slowly uphill with a herd of cows. He's portrayed as a man who gets on with what needs to be done.

His relatives are already measuring the land. He comments over a meal that they have come to her funeral but she doesn't even look sick. Vicente tells his grandmother: 'Miguel and Jorge want to sell your land. To them you are already dead.'

Vicente continues his work - bringing in the shopping. He then asks the mayor's advice about the land. Told to go to the capital and sort it out at the ministry, he phones his mother who lives there. She hasn't seen him for years.

The camera stalks him. His mother works as a maid - the owner of the house lets him stay. Up this point, the narrative has unfolded slowly and simplistically. Now he is in the city, things change. He is given an extremely complex route to reach the ministry. The camera follows him on the subway, through the streets, at the transport interchange.

Much of the footage feels as if it was shot in real time. It observes ordinary people as they pass by in a market. The contrast between the country and the city is told by light and darkness, soft vegetation and hard pavements, silence and noise, slowness and speed.

Told at the ministry to consult the official's brother, who is a lawyer, Vicente discovers it will cost 5,000 pesos to bring a case. His mother's employer suggests that if she will have a baby for them they will pay her 10,000 pesos. She agrees to have sex with 'Mr Bill'. This proposed indecent encounter is powerfully suggested with a closed door and blinds. Vicente's mother in the shower afterwards is painful to watch.

When Vicente returns home, he finds things have changed for the better.

A mixture of very still, very long takes and long hand-held tracking-shots intimately examines Vicente's life. Apart from grandma, he hardly relates to the other people. The camera observes in a vivid but non-intrusive way. It is a slice of ordinary life extraordinarily heightened by the contrast between the beauty of the love that Vicente shows for his grandma and the money-grabbing harshness of the city.

CAST (imdb): www.imdb.com/title/tt1127873/

COMPANY: (imdb): www.imdb.com/title/tt1127873/

COMPANY WEBSITE: www.enchingafilms.com

END

(c) Peter Andrews 2008

reviewed Monday 1 December 08 / The Electra, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com