Sunday, March 20, 2011

Who the Hell is Juliet?

documentary(?) Cuba

Aggressively transgressive film about a wildly exuberant 16 year old girl intertwined with the life story of a faintly lookalike Mexican model. All zoom-pans, talking to the camera, rapid-fire cutting, idiotic stories, attempts at humor, sexual content, scenes of Havana, Mexican pyramids, NYC, etc. It looked like the filmmaker was as immature as Juliet or, perhaps, was trying to capture her spirit with film tricks.

I normally dislike these techniques but this girl was so compelling in her emotional nakedness that I couldn't turn it off. Her mother burned herself to death after father abandoned them to go to the US...this kid was raised by a toothless grandma and was streetwise but vulnerable in the extreme...and so likable I was riveted and hated to see the last of her when the credits began rolling.

The girl reminded me of Angelo in R. Duvall's film...but more so.

An unforgettable character.

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