With its achingly real story of hidden passions set against a picturesque background, it's easy to see why
Undertow (Contracorriente) can be called "Brokeback Ocean". Filmed alongside the Peruvian seacoast, writer/director
Javier Fuentes-León's romantic tale of tragically lost love recalls
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, as married fisherman Miguel (
Cristian Mercado) is visited by his secret lover, painter Santiago (
Manolo Cardona), from beyond the grave. The bold screenplay, which isn't afraid to show its characters' realistic flaws, culminates in a final scene as heartbreaking as the "Ennis finds the shirts" moment in
Brokeback Mountain.
Undertow, our very first
Foreign Film of the Year, is Peru's official selection for this year's Academy Awards.
Honorable Mentions:
Starring a kick-ass bisexual action heroine named Lisbeth Salander,
The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo
(and its two sequels) was hard to ignore this year. Meanwhile, in a calmer section of Sweden, a homophobic teen outcast disrupts the not-so-perfect life of a gay married couple in the sweetly moving dramedy
Patrik Age 1.5
.
Click here for Chris' review of
Undertow (Contracorriente).
UPDATE:
Undertow is now available
on DVD
and
Blu-ray
from Amazon.com.
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