By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Julián Hernández
Starring: Alejandro Rojo | Fernando Arroyo | Miguel Á Hoppe
Original language title: El Cielo Dividido
Country: mexico
Year: 2006
Running time: 140
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783695/
Bruce says: “BROKEN SKY is not a film that seduces its audience with flashy tricks or devices. It is a film that forces the viewer to do all the work, to discover its rhythm and fall in step. For those unable to do so, BROKEN SKY will be a painful experience. The film is too long which is a statement of fact, not a major criticism. There is little dialogue for over two hours. Lyrics to Mexican pop songs about love and an occasional voiceover feed the subtitles.
“The story is simple. Two university students in Mexico City, Jonas and Gerardo, meet at an outdoor cruising area and subsequently fall madly in love. For anyone who has had a passionate teenage affair the trappings are familiar. The physical aspects of love are overwhelming, all-consuming in fact. A lover’s lips, the neck – almost any body part evokes rapture. For these young boys, the anticipation and joy of meeting each other is genuine. Each time they meet, they fervently embrace – on freeway overpasses, in corridors and on busy streets. They play cat and mouse in the stacks at the library. Amid the stack Jonas notices Sergio (Alejandro Rojo). Later we see Sergio spying on the boys as they kiss passionately. Unknown to either boy, Sergio has been following Gerardo around campus like a lovesick puppy.
“First loves such as this rarely last because the focus is on form, physical beauty and the thrill of sexual intimacy. Jonas and Gerardo are no exception to that rule. One night while Gerardo is getting a beer at a disco, Jonas begins to dance with a stranger (Ignacio Pereda). In the few moments before the stranger’s boyfriend drags him off the dance floor and out the door, Jonas becomes enamored. Obsession begins. When Jonas touches Gerardo he is thinking of his sexy dance partner. Soon Jonas cannot bear to have Gerardo touch him. Unfortunately the rejection makes Gerardo more ardent, not less. BROKEN SKY illustrates how the dynamics of a break-up can be more complicated than the relationship ever was, and just as poetic. At this point telling more detail about the storyline is unnecessary and would be counterproductive.
“Parts of the film recall some of the scintillating camerawork at the beginning of TONY TAKATANI. Cinematographer Alejandro Cantu uses the pan shot as successfully as anyone. The endless panning sets the style and creates the rhythm. In scene after scene the camera glides around the room to indicate the passing of time. As the camera turns corners the same character will appear again and again. One might suspect that the incessant panning would create an architectural atmosphere which helps define the actions and emotions of the characters. That never happens. Director Hernández is careful to have the camera capture only fragments of the space the characters occupy, never enough to contribute to the story. One of my favorite scenes In BROKEN SKY is an anomaly. The camera remains still and the lovers move up, down and across the steps of a stadium. Another amazing piece of camerawork involves Geraldo and a tree which he is leaning into for emotional support. The palette of BROKEN SKY is slightly faded giving the film the nostalgic feeling of a home movie. Only one scene uses bright colors.
“It would be outright wrong to suggest BROKEN SKY has no imperfection. The pluses, however, are so strong and plentiful, any complaint registers as more of a nit-pick. As a viewer, I rarely have the opportunity to feel that my efforts, in addition to those of the filmmaker, contribute to the viewing pleasure. I left the theater feeling that I had put in two hours of unexpected, blissful work. 5 cats”