Fame goes to film director Cuaron’s heart not head
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Fame has not gone to Mexican film
director Alfonso Cuaron’s head but to his heart.
Oscar nominee Cuaron, whose movies include critical hit “Y
Tu Mama Tambien” and box office smash “Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban,” is using his new prestige to support
younger filmmakers by acting as a producer of their movies.
He says its keeps him close to cutting-edge talent making
fresh and relevant movies, and for the filmmakers, putting his
name and his company, Esperanto Films, above a title gives it a
world-class seal of approval which lures fans to theaters.
Cuaron’s latest show of support is for fellow Mexican
director Fernando Eimbcke’s comedy “Duck Season,” which opens
on Friday in U.S. theaters. The film covers one afternoon in
the lives of two Mexican teen-agers spending the day at home.
“I’m reaching an age,” begins the 44-year-old Cuaron, “and
I’ve been following and trying to emulate the old masters for
all my life. And there’s a moment in which you need to push the
energy of a new generation, and the questioning of a new
generation and the times that a new generation is absorbing.”
Cuaron is backing up-and-coming talents like Eimbcke, who
has yet to make a name for himself on the world stage as Cuaron
did. “Duck Season” is 35-year-old Eimbcke’s first
feature-length film. It has won numerous awards including 11
Ariels, Mexico’s top movie honors given by the Academia
Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematograficas. The movie is
planned for release in some 30 countries eventually.
CINEMATIC VISION
What sets “Duck Season” apart is Eimbcke’s vision. In many
movies, the director’s vision becomes secondary to the movie’s
plot, characters and dialogue, but in “Duck Season,” those
elements are married together in service of Eimbcke’s idea of
what the movie should be, Cuaron said.
“The narrative is hostage to the cinematic vision, and when
that happens, poetry springs out,” Cuaron said.
Like most boys at home on a day away from school, Flama and
Moko, both 14, spend time playing video games, but when the
electricity goes off in their apartment, they are forced to
find other ways to occupy their day.
The pair time a pizza delivery, and when it comes 11
seconds beyond the promised 30 minutes, Flama demands a free
meal. A neighbor Rita, 16, comes over to bake a cake, and
sexual tension develops between her and Moko.
It all seems harmless, but what audiences learn is the kids
are largely ignored by their parents, causing them to be
resentful and angry. The pizza delivery man, who stays through
the day, feels as if his life has been a failure.
Much of what is revealed comes not through plot or
dialogue, but in the characters’ actions as when the boys fire
pellets at decorations Flama’s mother has put on shelves.
Eimbcke filmed the movie in black-and-white to give it a
simple and natural look that offsets the complex emotions of
the characters.
‘DUCK SEASON’ AROUND THE WORLD
Cuaron said there are lessons to be learned for all world
cultures — not just Mexico — in the day’s adventures for
Flama, Moko, Rita and the pizza delivery man.
“It’s proof that human behavior is the same no matter the
language, no matter the culture,” he said.
And he is looking even further down the road at younger
filmmakers, saying that people in their late teens and early
20s possess a “fearless” attitude about filmmaking because
computers and technology have evolved to a point where they can
easily make short movies.
“For them, cinema is something that is already in their
blood, and they don’t ask for permission to do things, they
just pick up a little camera and go and do stuff,” he said.
While Cuaron has taken an active role in promoting other
filmmakers, he continues to work on his own projects.
He has co-written and directed a film, “The Children of
Men,” about a former social activist who aids a pregnant woman
whose child may help scientists save mankind.
It is due in theaters in September.
After that, he said, “it’s time for a big siesta.”