Living in a small, isolated cabin deep in the Mexican woods, an elderly man finds his world shattered when local bureaucracy calls into question his ownership of the land. Unable to hold onto his home, the elderly man begins to lose grip of reality around him, falling into a deep state of sorrow. Nicolas Pereda's The Absent is an extremely minimalistic film with almost no dialogue to speak of. While the films tepid pace is bound to turn off some viewers, Pereda has created a powerful examination of the importance of home. The Absent argues that our perception of home is important because of the memories involved, an important part of our existence. Sorrow stricken, the elderly man relives aspects of his life through memory, coming face to face with the inevitable he must leave his home. The first film of Peredas I've seen, I found his use of extremely slow pans intoxicating, effectively establishing the setting of the story while also observing every small nook of the elderly man's small home. He is an atmospheric filmmaker and i loved how the films aesthetic grows darker, mimicking the inxreasing sorrow of its main protagonist. The Absent is not a film for everyone but it's a powerful examination of loss, memory and the importance of the place we call home.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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