Rio Turbio

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Note of intent

In my film Eva doesn’t sleep, I had a team of great actors, but the formality of the mis-en-scene did not allow them to reach their maximum potential. For this reason, I called them together again and offered to make a new film where all the conditions are created so as to allow the total immersion of the actors in their characters, in the scenery, in the situation. Everything is concentrated in two sets and very few characters. And above all, this time, ‘trusting in trust’, in this relationship of immense mutual trust that we have generated, and that is indispensable for committing ourselves body and soul.

Synopsis

It all takes place by the side of a river, far from civilization. Walter catches trout for food. Yesi earns her living by washing clothes for the neighbours. Their romance is sudden, frank in all its innocent savageness. They steal building material from the neighbours and build a tiny shack opposite Grerio’s where they had met. Gradually, abject poverty transforms this idyll into an oppressive routine. And the summer brings along other temptations. Greta, a backpacker with a punk look, pitches her tent on the other side of the river. Blond, attractive and liberated, she unsettles Walter and Yesi by her mere presence. Walter feels attracted to her and Yesi is jealous. Greta sees in Yesi the prototype of the subservient woman and becomes obsessed with liberating her come what may. Misunderstandings, violence and sensuality lead to unexpected manifestations of love.

Visual concept

A mis-en-scene at the service of the actors. Two cameras, hand held. Format 4:3 which allows filming with two cameras very close to the glances without any overlapping. Natural light only, taking full advantage of the shallow angle of the light at dawn and dusk, owing to the unique configuration of light which the steep mountains trigger in the Bolsón area. There is almost no dialogue. Only what is spontaneous and incidental, no conversation. Glances, gestures, the music of nature. However, this is not a contemplative film. We are right in the action.