Movie Review: Padre Nuestro, que estas en Sundance!
01/29/2007 07:55 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
It was 4:30 on Thursday afternoon, and I was feeling so lucky and tired! We were at the Sundance Film Festival, a dream that had finally come true. We were ready to see the seventh film on our list, Padre Nuestro.
Okay, I should have been more excited. After all, the movie was in Spanish, and I wouldn’t even have to read the sub-titles. But I was exhausted. Sure, we were lucky to be there, but did we have to be lucky twelve hours a day? My husband looked at me with understanding eyes and yelled, “Ay, Padre Nuestro! Estamos en Sundance y esto es lo que vinimos hacer!” (Subtitle: We are at Sundance—for God’s sake this is what we came for!) I quickly put away any thoughts of drinking great wine and people watching, nestled into my theater chair, and started to count the minutes. Then the movie began.
Padre Nuestro is an unexpected story about Mexican illegal immigrants, stolen identities, forgotten identities, and the hope of new ones set against the backdrop of the very symbolic land of opportunity, New York City. The ending—oh my—the ending leaves you to choose a conclusion that will reveal much more about you than the characters. The question is this: is the presence or the absence of love what truly gives us our identity?
But I had other questions, too. After the film, I waited for the director—Christopher Zalla— to take the podium for the Q&A, and then I asked him about his use of color. Color, Zalla said, could be used symbolically, and he’d used it to symbolize the very different worlds two of the characters had created for themselves. The ascetic father’s world is austere: from a stark white door to his white dishwasher’s uniform and the white fabric roses which he sews for fifty cents apiece—extra money which he never spends— the father’s world is untouched by color. The other character—a self-indulgent woman who will never fill the vacuum inside of her—inhabits a wildly colored and textured world. Shabby-chic meets a crackhouse. Her bed: warm and cozy, with extra blankets, nestled in the corner of a abandoned building. His: hard, dusty, and unused. He prefers a chair in an apartment he does not care about.
So it was my favorite movie—MY FAVORITE—and I almost missed it. But this is the lucky part. That same night, we had dinner at a great place called WAHSO Asian Grill. As I was standing there, in walks Christopher Zalla. So I scream, I’m the woman who asked you a couple of questions and one was about color!!! We had a great time talking to him about how he could make a Spanish-speaking film with English subtitles that was so soulful, authentic, amazing, stylish, and stunning! We talked about the Latin culture and his affinity for it. The hostess was so caught up in our conversation, that she sat us at a fantastic table, where we could see the HBO party, and Queen Latifah was nice enough to stop and say hi as I flagged her down on her way out. (beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside)
Christopher’s vision, story and characters are unforgettable.
With all the amazing films this year, Angel-A, Black Snake Moan, Broken English, Joshua, Life Support, Waitress and Year of the Dog, this film made its way to the very top!
Gretchen Schauffler
Artist and Founder of Devine Color®
‘Padre Nuestro’ wins top honors at Sundance
Updated Sun. Jan. 28 2007 9:25 AM ET
Associated Press
PARK CITY, Utah—Sundance Film Festival’s grand-jury prize for best U.S. drama went to “Padre Nuestro,” an immigrant saga about a Mexican teen’s heartbreaking search for his father in America.
| Textile Help | ||
Book Review: Atomic Color
Psychedelic Vision
Back to Devine Blog
Sympatico. That’s the word that comes to mind for me. You are a lucky girl!
— Martha Kerr 02/10/2007 02:04 PM #