AFI FEST Report: Stories of Disenchantment (Historias del Desencanto) Review

Posted by Mack at 11:18am.

Posted in Film & DVD Reviews , Musical, Animation, Mexico & South America, Random Festival News.

Once again we are fortunate to have Peter Martin with another review from AFI Fest. From Mexico we get his thoughts on STORIES OF DISENCHANTMENT and something about a singing heart and sharp teeth. I kid you not. Read on.

STORIES OF DISENCHANTMENT is either a brilliant surreal fable or a self-indulgent piece of cinematic twaddle.

The plot entwines two innocents with an otherworldly woman. Exploring a warehouse that’s been left unlocked, Ximena (Ximena Ayala) and Diego (Mario Oliver) spy upon Ainda (Fabiana Perzabal) undressing, then freak out when Ainda sprouts wings. Nonetheless they accept an invitation to her art exhibition that night. Naturally they all end up in bed together, and naturally Ximena and Diego are each drawn to Ainda. Though leading two young people down a decadent path of drug abuse and sexual experimentation might be enough for most people with two wings, Ainda must also deal with the ghost of her dead boyfriend.

Forget about the plot, though. What is most likely to attract or repel is the visual style. Director Alejandro Valle animates every frame with a dense layer of graphics, from squiggles to small splashes of color to weird CGI graphics in the corners. That’s on top of a low-budget, washed-out look, and wobbly camera work, crazed angles, and rapid fire editing. For some people that will sound fascinating, but it may not accurately convey the sensation of being assaulted by these images on a big screen for 120 minutes.

A small group of people walked out in the first 10 minutes, but the remaining crowd in the 200-seat theater remained, and most seemed to enjoy it, even applauding at the conclusion. My initial reaction was dismay that I had chosen this film instead of two or three others playing at the same time, followed by jaw-dropping incredulity that the film had been programmed. When someone asked me if I loved or hated it—the questioner loved it, calling it David Lynch meets Salvador Dali—I said I hated it.

But “hate” is not the right emotion to describe my response. True, the film’s length is excessive, with far too much repetition without variation for its running time. Yet the film isn’t boring, because director Valle keeps his graphics pulsating on top of the ostensible narrative, and the two women (and the guy, it should be acknowledged) keep losing their clothes, and musical numbers keep breaking out.

The best of these—the best sequence in the film for me, and one of the most awesome musical numbers I’ve ever seen—features Diego’s heart bursting out of his chest, baring razor sharp teeth, and singing a profane rebuke of Diego’s romantic stupidity.

As a whole, it’s not something that I personally would want to experience again, but it will likely creep into my dreams, and any film with that potential deserves attention.

I haven’t been able to find a trailer, which would undoubtedly give you a better idea of what the film is about. A little more information is available at the festival web site here.

STORIES OF DISENCHANTMENT has also played at the Sao Paulo, Chicago, and Boston Latino film festivals, and
it’s had playdates in San Francisco. The film is from Mexico, so it may appear at Latin showcases. I have no doubt that it will keep popping up in the months to come at locales that welcome more esoteric fare, simply because it’s a rare, unique vision. If you’re a fan of experimental cinema, keep your eyes peeled.

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Reader Comments

Sean Mulvihilll 11/16/2005 @ 12:26pm

I saw this film, “Stories of Disenchantment”, at AFI Fest. I am amiss as to why so many people, from the AFI programmers to the reviewers, keep calling this film “experimental cinema” or “something that simply could not get made in America right now” or something “that doesn’t resemble anything ever seen before on screen.”

I am certainly not suprised that the film has been regarded as unique, but the elements of the film have all been done before in America, only mish-mashed into a new dish, if you will.

The notion of the older woman seducing youths in order to feel vindicated has been portrayed in works as varied as “The Graduate” to “Hansel and Gretel”.

The CGI effect with the singing heart was remniscient of a fish character in “Finding Nemo” crossed with the plant in “Little Shop of Horrors.”

A wise fortune teller with real magical powers is a classic fairy tale device, the musical numbers / musical montage has been done (see “Moulin Rouge”), the handheld camera style, the cross-dressing gay best friend and the bitchy lesbian friend (watch Bravo!), the shape-shifting demon (“Van Helsing”), the car crash as dramatic device has been used in plenty of after-school specials, the ghost of the dead lover, c’mon! ("Ghost"); all of these elements have been used previously to varying degrees of competency. Even the opening sequence with the devil in hell was strangely remniscent of the Satan/Sadam Hussein scenes in the “South Park” movie.

So why do people keep saying they’ve never seen anything like it? Sure, there is quite a bit of full-frontal nudity, “golden showers”, mutilated faces, and home sex videos, but all of these elements are hardly foreign to an American audience that stomached “Seven”,“8mm”, and “Showgirls”. What is the holdup? Why isn’t this film being more highly touted in America? Is it just a case of old-fashioned nationalism? This film was made in Mexico. But the simple fact is that “Stories of Disenchantment” was more interesting that 80% of the films made in America last year. And if you include studio films, it was more interesting that 90%.

What makes this film a phenomenal, singular piece is that fact that it is held together by a suspenseful, cogent fairy tale. As an audience member, we care for Diego and Ximena, as well as Ainda. Will they each find what they are each looking for? And by thirty minutes in, we not only believe in our characters, but in magic as well. The acting is well done, and Mario Oliver bursts onto the scene as a big star. He’s funny, stern, and quixotic in an endearing way. Fabiana Perzabal and Ximena Ayala are obviously skilled as well. With Perzabal’s longing eyes and her undeniable sex appeal, she is mesmerizing onscreen. Ayala shows incredible range: from childish schoolgirl to a nearly street-walking whore.

The weaknesses of the plot are simply items that are just not paid off: the ghost doesn’t haunt quite enough, the wings are never integral enough to the story, the young girl doesn’t become as sex-crazed as she should...but for a second-time director (according to IMDB), Valle is worthy of a third and a fourth. All that’s missing from this kitchen-sink film is a “Summer Stock"-style company dance number.

--Sean Mulvihill
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