Undertow (Contracorriente)

Year: 2009
Country: PERU
Run Time: 100 minutes

Does love survive after death? Anchored in the Latin American tradition of magic realism, UNDERTOW dives into this question in an unusually moving way. Miguel and Mariela live in a candy-colored fishing village in northern Peru and happily anticipate the birth of a son. One day an outsider appears on the margins of the village. It's Santiago, a handsome painter who lives in a house by the sea. The villagers are suspicious; he doesn't attend church. Under the pretense of mending his fishing nets, Miguel sneaks off repeatedly to make passionate love with Santiago. But there's a curse on their happiness: Santiago is caught in a current and swept out to sea. He returns to appear before Miguel, who initially tries to shoo him away. But nobody except Miguel can see the ghost of Santiago. Finally they can love freely, visible only to each other. Yet Miguel knows if he doesn't surrender Santiago's body to the sea, he's doomed to wander forever. UNDERTOW is a beautiful film about sacrifice-and having the courage to face who we are. (In Spanish with subtitles) –B.B.

• Tweet