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Late Review: "Una Noche"

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By George GomezPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Courtesy of imdb.com. No copyright intended. All rights reserved.

Foreign films have it rough.

As you browse Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. the moment you see a film title in a language you can't read or a weird film poster, you (usually) automatically skip it. It has happens to all of us. Never judge a book by its cover right? Whether it is an album cover, a book cover, or a film cover, it is natural for people to discard something you don't recognize right away. This is truly the case for international media. It's the same reason why people fail to give anime a try (but that's a topic for a different day).

Una Noche demands its attention and deserves to be viewed.

*The following contains rather major SPOILERS, read at your caution.*

Directed by Lucy Mulloy, Una Noche tells the story of three central characters: Raul, Elio and Lila. Raul works at a hotel restaurant with Elio, his best friend. After a dramatic exchange between Raul and a U.S. tourist, Raul decides that this must be his only chance to escape poverty-stricken Cuba. He attempts to convince Elio to come with as Lila, Elio's twin sister, tries to figure out what Raul and Elio are planning.

From that point on, the film dives deep into issues and themes that plague Cuba. To get their messages across, Mulloy and her cinematographers Shlomo Godder and Trevor Forest decided to take a different approach in presenting the film. Cinematographers are in charge of the lighting and ultimately determine what kind of camera shots are possible. They are the masterminds that essentially help the director craft how the film will look and be presented to the masses. When the three above mentioned protagonists (Raul, Elio, Lila) are interacting with each other or with other characters, the film takes a traditional approach. It displays the scenes as a normal film. Characters are framed normally in a scene. The camera follows the characters in a relatively normal fashion. But what is interesting are the aside shots Una Noche is prone to take. Or when the camera follows one of the characters through the city. It is in these moments where the film takes a life of its own.

There are countless shots of the beach, locals going about their daily business, youths playing soccer in the middle of the street or by the beach. In this approach, it adds a different level of authenticity and grittiness. The audience is shown the dirt of Havana, the poor tight hallways of the residencies, and the litter throughout the city. Even when the camera drifts back our main characters, sometimes, the scene will appear a bit different. It's almost as if a lens in which we are seeing the film is broken and put back together suddenly. Something is out of place and yet it is impossible to point to what is out of place.

The cinematography of the film does an excellent job of capturing the mindset of the characters. Sometimes, the filmmakers decide to shoot with either Elio or Raul in a wide shot. By doing this, the surrounding environment is in direct relation to the protagonists. For example, Raul will be in an alleyway but he will be barely visible. He is on one side of the frame while the rest of the frame is filled up with walls from the houses. It adds to a claustrophobic feeling, that the world around our characters is suffocating them and they need to get out. Yet at other times, they know the exact moment to close in, to show the strain on our main protagonists' faces.

This is the essential theme of the film. These characters are not just reflections of the people in Cuba. They are raw and real.

After gathering the necessary things in order to flee Cuba, Raul and Elio take their make-shift raft out to the ocean. They plan to sail across the sea to Florida. Lila forces herself into the mix and the boys reluctantly agree. With no actual naval experience, the trio get stranded in the middle of the ocean with no food, no water and no cover from the burning sun.

It is this point Lila begins to menstruate and the blood attracts sharks. The trio panic more than anything, with their raft destroyed and Lila beginning to drown. Elio sacrifices himself to save his little sister. Lila and Raul end up being rescued by British tourists. A wide shot reveals they never left Cuban waters, with the city in the background. In terms of plot, the following events make sense, but not so much thematically. The time the film spends with Lila merely showcases the fragile world Latina(x) women occupy yet is her own biology that costs the life of her brother and their dreams. Though one could argue that the dream was never achievable, so therefore it does not matter, it left a bad taste in my mouth to realize that such a character, constantly harassed and tossed aside led to their downfall.

The character of Lila remains a weird position. Though she is a main character, her development and use can be a bit odd. She is constantly harassed by older men on the street and even by Raul. Though it does accurately depict Latinx culture and its sexualization of a woman as soon as they hit puberty, it can be uncomfortable for viewers. The reason it deserves some poignant attention is because it is the catalyst for the climax of the film. It adds an off tone to the overall feel of the film.

For her character, it's all about how she interacts with the other characters. Her relationship with her brother Elio is what drives the boy's plans haywire (along their haphazardly planning). This is what drives her arc which is a bit sad, considering the point that the beginning of the film opens up with "This is my story, not his."

With Elio, there are hints of a closeted man and how he struggles with accepting himself in a world where men need to dominate. As for Raul, it's the opposite. There are countless scenes where he feels the need to assert himself, his own heterosexuality. He needs to make it known to others which pushes his only friend, Elio away.

As mentioned above, there are constant asides of other characters. Scenes of youths spewing out slurs to gay men, scenes of infidelity, scenes of over-sexualization. All these things highlight the ugliness of a culture. It, at times, breaks the pace of the film. Yet upon another viewing, it can offer a glimpse into the toxicity of the Latinx culture.

Though Lucy Mulloy mishandles the ultimate message of the film and Lila's character, Una Noche does an excellent job of portraying an authentic Cuba. It truly captures the desperate spirit of the youth looking to escape their prison that they call home. It is through the small nuances of the city and the interactions of our main characters with the world where we see the heart of it all.

Rating: 7.8/10

*Please support international films!*

**Una Noche is available to rent anywhere where video on demand can be found.**

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About the Creator

George Gomez

Screenwriter first, Mexican-American second, Trying to change the world with my words third.

www.gutsfilms.com

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