The film begins with Gonzalo Tamayo attempting to get his baptismal certificate so that he can begin the process of officially breaking with the Catholic Church. Tomayo feels that if he breaks with the church he can get down to living his own life, but that may not be completely possible since he's weaved himself a complicated life that may not be so easy to escape
Looking like a deranged Oscar Isaac Álvaro Ogalla plays Tamayo with stoic glare that would make Buster Keaton proud. His expression doesn't seem to change much he just looks at what is happening around him with a detached sense of reality. The character is based upon Ogalla's own experiences and there are times where you can feel reality creeping into it all.
The film is full of ideas expressed through voice over inner monologs or heady discussions between characters and it helps to illustrate some of the craziness that is lurking with in the Church. Its a film that is so full of ideas that you may want to have dinner planned afterward so you can talk about the film for a bit before jumping into the next thing.
If it was purely an intellectual exercise I would recommend this film highly but the film is full of humor and it's often incredibly bone dry. This is the sort of film where there are times you know there is a joke being told you just are too parched to laugh. It doesn't help that Ogalla's expression never changes, and it gets confusing because I frequently found jokes whizzing by my head without me flinching."Oh yea that was funny" I thought as I pondered where the laughs or smiles were.
On the other hand I know this film worked better for some people who like their humor like they like their martinis, bone dry.
THE APOSTATE played last night and again tonight. For tickets and more information can be found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment