Llueve (it's raining)

Alex Mendez Giner, Venezuela

Experimental, 2007, 14'

In the montains, a man is running, wounded, and ends his escape uncounscious in front of a house... The three inhabitants, two men and a woman seems occupied by very strange, maybe illegal business, but we're not able to tell exactly of what kind. They take care of the wounded man. Words are rares, and the situation is not clear. Is the woman with one of the two, or with both ? What is this key, held by one of the two, that seems to be the symbol of his power ?

Under a continuous rain, in a beautiful landscape of isolated mountain, what is really happening in front of our eyes ? The rain contributes to create a feeling of wildness and isolation of the people. To be honnest, the scenery is really beautiful, framed perfectly, and the interiors have an impressive softness of lights and clairobscurs...

But what kind of job requires them to get out, and dig in the mud ? A lot of question, and this film does not intend to answer. This is the description of a cursed place, where actions of each are conditioned, in a succession of men arriving here without past or future. In this very understated film, the rôle of the actors is dominant, and they succeed in creating the reality of a logical world, without giving us the keys to understand it.

Despite of the globaly positive judgements, I have to moderate this. The lack of implication of the audience, the lack of comprehension and enjeu doesn't help to really enter in a film, even if its qualities are real.