Ilusiones ópticas by Cristián Jiménez
Ilusiones ópticas
(Optical Illusions)
Directed by Cristián Jiménez
Chile, 2009
Cornerhouse, 11 March 2011
Still from Illusiones opticas
It resembles a rich stew, does this film.
There’s an affair between a security guard and an executive’s wife, a budding romance between a redundant worker and the HR consultant assigned to aid his transition to a new career and a blind masseur (like the protagonist in Rayner Heppenstall’s Blaze of Noon) who regains his sight but still finds it difficult to make out shapes. His predicament provides a kind of coda for the film.
Oh, and there are one or two thoughts concerning circumcision as a Jewish sacrament, if that’s what it is.
While the film appears sometimes to be a digressive, ramshackle, scattergun affair (by no means a bad thing in my book) there are certain unifying themes around sight and seeing. One is that it is easy to mistake what you see. Another is that it is easier to be brave when you’re blind, or when you close your eyes. Still another is that he who sees much can endure much.
This is an excellent film that itself needs to be seen more than once.
Explore posts in the same categories: Film reviewTags: Chile, Cristián Jiménez, Ilusiones ópticas, Optical Illusions, Viva
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