Last weekend Aggie and I went to see Jane Eyre and we loved it. For me it inspired a Friday night spent indoors obsessively googling the Bronte sisters. Did you know that Charlotte may have died from contaminated water runoff from the nearby cemetery? Be still my morbid heart. Seriously. Be still.
In any case it was an excellent adaptation and even if it hadn’t been it would be worth watching because its SO BEAUTIFUL. (Also, Fassbender! Be still my Byronic heart.) My searches eventually led to my new favorite lady, Cary Joji Fukunaga, the director. I couldn’t wait to see her other movies but guess what? There’s a Bertha in the attic. Turns out Cary is a 33 (cute) year old dude with only one other feature length film to his credit, Sin Nombre.
Similarities: gorgeous landscapes, amazing contrasts in color, tight closeups, the absence of makeup, main characters weeping beautifully in the pouring rain.
Differences: everything else
It’s two stories, a Mara (aka MS, MS-13, Mara Salvatrucha) gang member initiating his very young protege and a family from Honduras trying to sneak over the US border. The stories converge about 40 minutes in and then its all escalation.
A great surprise, totally worth watching, I’m excited to see what Cary is working on next.
PS: A picture of the main character at sundance in a zip up sweater under a blazer. This fashion choice is SCARIER THAN HIS FACE TATTOOS IN THE MOVIE!
