By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Enrique Rivero
Starring: Nancy Orozco | Nolberto Coria | Tesalia Huerta
Country: mexico
Year: 2008
Running time: 86
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183942/
Bruce says: “PARQUE VÍA is a beautiful character study about a servant whose services, due to events circumstantial, are no longer required. We first glimpse Beto as he walks through the empty rooms of the large, modern house that he has been left to maintain and protect. For 30 years he has been employed by a wealthy family. When the family was present his duties expanded to butlering. Now he is entirely on his own. Once a week Lupa (Nancy Orozco), a local dancehall girl stops by for sex. Beto always says ‘Hey, beautiful,’ as she comes into sight. Of the two, she is less businesslike. She wants to experiment having sex in various rooms wearing different lingerie. Beto’s sexual urges are more mechanical. Most nights he lies in bed alone channel surfing through the grim international nightly news.
“The Señora arrives by town car to touch base with Beto. We never learn whether she is a widow or a divorcee. However, there is no questioning her class after witnessing her icy reserve, her tailored dress, her hair twisted into an elegant bun and her suited chauffeur. She announces that people will be coming to see the house on Friday. Beto rakes the lawn, washes the windows, sweeps, and scrubs to make things perfect knowing that his efforts will certainly make him unemployed sooner rather than later. He quietly clenches his fist as he sees the realtor approach with her clients. After they make a tour of the house, Beto pulls the realtor aside. ‘Do you think it will be sold?’ he asks. She replies, ‘I don’t know if it ever will – it’s been on the market so long.’
“Beto is deeply religious. He goes to the cemetery to visit his wife’s grave. ‘Your wife never liked me,’ Lupa tells him. Were Lupa and his wife contemporaries? Was Beto hiring hookers before his wife died? Out of the blue the house is sold. As Beto mops the floor for the last time, he repeats the Lord’s Prayer over and over. The Señora comes to the house one more time. ‘I have a surprise for you.’ Beat inquires, ‘The house is not sold?’ No such luck. The Señora hands him a huge stack of pesos as gratitude for his service. As she goes to leave she collapses in the entranceway. Beto leans down and gently kisses her on the lips, an unthinkable gesture just a few seconds before.
“Enrique Rivero is another talent to watch from a country that has had no shortage of rising stars in the past decade. Rivero does a remarkable job of describing the quotidian. We never know exactly what is going on inside Beto’s head but we sense how he feels about everything. The ending of the film may startle you for a bit, until you reflect on what has transpired on screen for the past hour and twenty minutes. 4.5 cats
“(PARQUE VÍA was screened as part of the New Directors/New Films festival sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MoMA.)“