Film: Abel Year of production: 2010 UK release date: 25th April 2011 Distributor: Network Certificate: 15 Running time: 82 mins Director: Diego Luna Starring: Geraldine Alejandra, Karina Gidi, Christopher Ruiz-Esparza, Gerardo Ruiz-Esparza, Jose Maria Yazpik Genre: Comedy/Drama Format: DVD Country of production: Mexico Language: Spanish
When a family loses its father figure, can it survive alone or should it seek another, no matter how destructive the consequences may be? Abel focuses on a nine-year-old boy who assumes the role left open by his unfaithful dad.
The film opens with Abel returning from a two-year stay at a hospital, during which time he has been entirely mute.
His mother Cecilia takes him home and we see a fractured family: she has to sell their belongings just to survive from week to week; Abel’s younger brother Paul ignores him and misbehaves; while his teenaged sister Selene is becoming increasingly frustrated with the amount of work she has to do to support her mother.
The family dynamic changes abruptly one day when Abel begins behaving like his missing father. The hospital warns his mother not to confront him for fear he should become mute again, and he quickly assumes a position of authority.
Although he has filled a vital role, and his siblings are, for the most part, glad of what he is doing, his unusual behaviour brings an ever-present tension. His actions are not normal, but Cecilia is afraid of what will happen if she tries to stop him. The situation is further inflamed when Abel’s father returns out of the blue…
Family dynamics are central to the film, which lightly poses the question of whether it matters who the head of the family is. The answer may be made readily apparent, but there are moments where Abel’s behaviour is of great help to his siblings.
This is a highly original debut by Diego Luna that holds your attention from the opening shot to the last. As a director, Diego shows a gentle touch that allows his actors’ performances to come out fully. The premise of his debut stretches reality, but we can accept it because of the naturalistic way it is portrayed, in both its comedic and dramatic moments.
Abel, played by Christopher Ruiz-Esparza, is the central performance - and the most striking one. As the disturbed mute we see at the beginning, unable to connect with anyone, and the strict but fair father he becomes, his natural acting talent makes us believe in the character, even if we may never fully understand what is happening in his head.
But every character was perfectly realised, without a single weak link in the cast. We are able to empathise with everyone’s situation, even if we cannot sympathise with everyone. Each character has a likeable element to them, including Abel’s errant father Anselmo, played by Jose Maria Yazpik. Despite his questionable morality, and sometimes spiteful actions, he shows concern over Abel’s abnormal behaviour, and is convinced that it must not be allowed to continue.
Karina Gidi deserves particular praise for her portrayal of Cecilia, the single parent near breaking point who only wants the best for her children but is unsure how to provide it. The strain she is under is always apparent, even in the film’s many lighter moments.
The unexpected seam of comedy throughout the movie is well-counterbalanced with the inherent drama. Funny scenes such as Abel interrogating Selene’s boyfriend are flavoured with the sense that it is difficult to know where this story will end, and how the situation will be resolved, or even if it can be resolved.
The well-written script flows naturally and not a single scene is wasted. Abel’s final fate is always in doubt, although the more astute cinema goer will pick up on a certain conversation that foretells the climax of the film, if not how it will play out.
A highly promising debut, Abel brings realism to an unlikely situation, and places the family unit under close scrutiny. There are moments when we are left uncertain whether Abel is mentally disturbed or if he is filling an absent role out of necessity. RWI
Film: Abel Release date: 7th January 2011 Certificate: 15 Running time: 82 mins Director: Diego Luna Starring: Geraldine Alejandra, Karina Gidi, Christopher Ruíz-Esparza, Gerardo Ruíz-Esparza, José María Yazpik Genre: Comedy/Drama Studio: Network Format: Cinema Country: Mexico
Acclaimed Mexican actor Diego Luna makes his feature debut as a director with Abel, a family drama about the love of a mother for her son, which touches on subjects ranging from the pain of dealing with mental illness, to the effect the lack of a father can have on a family. Produced by his own film company, Canana films, Abel represents a labour of love for Diego Luna from start to finish. Abel (Christopher Ruíz-Esparza) is just 9 years old when, having spent two years in an institution following the departure of his father, he is brought back home to be reintegrated into his family. His mother Cecelia (Karina Gidi) instructs Abel’s siblings Selene (Geraldine Alejandra) and Paúl (Gerardo Ruíz Esparza, real life brother of Christopher) not to challenge Abel or do anything which might upset him. This becomes something of a challenge when Abel starts to believe that he is the childrens’ father, and Cecelia’s husband.
Disturbed by some of his behaviour, yet delighted that her son has begun to communicate with his family again, Cecelia encourages the children to play along with the fantasy. Things become complicated when Abel’s father Anselmo (José María Yazpik) returns to the home, and is less willing than others to take his place in the new familial hierarchy…
The premise of Abel offers many comic possibilities, each one of which is lapped up with child-like enthusiasm by Diego Luna. Scenes in which Abel waits calmly in the living room to size up Selene’s boyfriend, or examines Anselmo’s new car, insisting that he should take it for a spin, are the stuff of sketch comedy - comic and surreal in equal measure, and exposing the characters’ mixed reactions to the tragic humour of the situation perfectly. However, Luna is also aware that viewing the concept from the purely comedic perspective of a child behaving like an adult would be worthy of a ten minute sketch at the most, and he is equally adept at highlighting the stress that the situation causes and the fragility of Abel’s situation.
The possibility of Abel being institutionalised for a second time looms over Cecelia as she struggles with the morality of holding onto her son when he is living a delusion. Much of the emotion of this moral dilemma is drawn out by Karina Gidi’s performance, as she communicates the deep, unconditional love that Cecelia has for Abel, as well as the suffering that the situation causes her.
A lot of pressure was put on Christopher Ruíz-Esparza to play the central character in such an intensely emotional film, especially considering he is a non-professional actor. Diego Luna cast him from open auditions from the children in the area in which the film was shot, feeling that it was important to cast someone who had no acting experience. The results are remarkable as Ruíz-Esparzo not only provides the majority of the film’s comedy - the scenes in which he behaves like an adult are priceless - but provides a character who perfectly encapsulates all of the themes at the heart of the film - seeming vulnerable enough to be so deserving of his mother’s love, but deranged and violent enough that it is difficult to argue against him needing closer medical attention, for his own safety and others. The casting of his brother Gerardo was an unexpected stroke of luck, as the bond between them translates onto the screen and provides some touching, and very funny moments.
For a film with such a bizarre premise, Abel is shot in a very realistic way; most of the dramatic scenes take place in mid to wide shots with limited camera movement. This proves to be a good decision on Luna’s part, as it keeps what is happening on camera very intense and realistic, avoiding alienating the audience by having it seem ridiculous. It is important to Luna that the impact of his story is not lost amongst the more fantastical comic elements, and framing it through a realist perspective stops this from happening. In scenes with less dialogue, however, Luna is allowed to be more experimental, and softly focused close ups of plants, water and bugs provide moments of contemplation, and forefront a theme that runs throughout the film - the wonder of the childhood imagination.
The film would have benefitted from a more developed exploration of Abel’s father, as it was his absence that initially caused Abel’s regression. We are never offered an analysis of his motivations for leaving his family, and, as a result, he is fairly one dimensional. However, as Abel is, at its heart, a celebration of a mother’s love for her son this can be forgiven. Through incredible performances, writing and directing, Diego Luna’s film is a touching, beautiful and heartfelt exploration of a truly unique character.
Comic and affecting in equal measure; Abel is a remarkable achievement for a first time director. The pain of a lost childhood is explored in heart rendering detail, yet there is enough love in the powerful performances of Luna’s cast to ensure that, despite the depths of suffering to which we are taken, Abel remains an uplifting film. PK
If promoting your first feature as a director is a stressful task then Diego Luna does not show it. The laid-back, confident star of Y Tu Mama Tambien and Milk is in Edinburgh to attend a screening of Abel, his first fictional film as a director, having made documentary J.C Chavez in 2007. Of course, promotional touring of this kind is nothing new to him, but approaching it as a director is a different ball game. “It’s a lot more personal, I mean it’s your baby you know? There’s no-one to blame but you so it does feel different,” he says. Different it may be, but Diego Luna is clearly relishing the responsibility: “There’s also a lot of joy in promoting this film because I love the film, I feel proud of what we did and it’s easier in many ways than with many other projects I’ve promoted because it’s part of your contract, it’s what I would like to do the most you know? I want everyone to watch the film.” Abel tells the story of a young boy with serious problems. After two years in an institution he returns home and starts to believe that he is the man of the house, as his father has also been gone for a long-time. Not wanting to cause a regression in his state of mind, his mother encourages Abel’s sister, Selene, and brother, Paúl, to play along with the fantasy, and a strange new family dynamic is created. Blurring the boundary between childhood and adulthood is something which obviously comes quite naturally to Luna, particularly since becoming a father himself. “On holiday me and my wife were playing with my kid and many people thought it was brothers and sisters playing together, you’re like, ‘Who’s the grown up here?’”
While there may be a childishness to Diego Luna both in his youthful good looks and his fun loving attitude, there is also more of him in the character of Abel than there would initially seem. Following the death of his mother when he was just 2 years old, Luna was raised by his father, an acclaimed theatre and movie set designer. This meant that Luna was raised in a world predominantly occupied by adults, so while Abel is far from being autobiographical he does admit: “I’m a little bit like Abel. I decided that I was an adult before I was, so in a way there is a lack of a childhood there, but at the same time there’s always gonna be an immature part of me that didn’t go through the processes you should. That’s why I do film - film is a world that lives in a fantasy, and that’s definitely a very childish thing.”
Fantasy plays a huge part in Abel, but what is equally striking about the film is the degree of realism with which such a bizarre subject matter is put forward, both in terms of the performances of the cast and in the way that Luna has shot the film. Striking this balance between the fantastical elements and the real human emotion which drives the film is something that Luna was acutely aware of when making it. “I do feel that when you’re watching a film, and you don’t think that what you’re watching is possible, there’s a part of you that gets so far away from the characters that you cannot get affected anymore,” he says. “And I like film when it affects you, when it touches you, when it hits you sentimentally.”
Like his title character, Diego Luna displays a maturity as a director that is beyond his years, particularly when asked about a subject that affects many directors who begin their careers as actors; writing himself into a film. While he opted not to do so for Abel, Luna does not rule out the possibility altogether. “Probably a small part, yeah why not?” he begins. “But being the lead of your own film? No way! A lead needs a director and a director needs a lead. It can’t be the same person; you need someone else’s eyes to watch you.”
Luna clearly has a keen sense of what it means to be a director, but looking back over his acting career this is hardly surprising. Working in both Mexico and the United States, Luna has acted under the likes of Alfonso Cuarón, Gus Van Sant and Stephen Spielberg, and says that each of them has had an influence on him as a director. “Every time I worked as an actor, something happened to me that marked me, and because I never went to school, every director I’ve worked with has become my teacher, mentor, whatever you want to call it.” He goes on to add: “I’m influenced by many of them, not just in my directing but in life, in the way I see cinema, and many others are an influence on what not to do!”
A glittering career as an actor and a promising debut as a director may seem like a lot for a man who only recently turned 31, but clearly this is not enough for Diego Luna - he also runs his own film company. Canana Films was started in 2006 by Luna, Gael García Bernal and their friend, producer Pablo Cruz. What made two young and up and coming actors decide to go down the route of starting their own production company? “Gael and I started this, we said, ‘OK we’re getting so much attention, let’s shift this to the actors who should be should be shooting films in Mexico,’” he reveals. “You get a lot of attention as an actor, a lot of the time for the wrong reasons, so it’s nice to shift that attention to things you think deserve the attention. When you grab a microphone, it’s in your hands what to say.”
Both Luna and Bernal then clearly have no problem with using their success as actors to promote their company, and Luna does not underestimate the importance of having a recognisable name in the crowded Mexican film industry.“In the country I live in there’s a lot of freedom, a lot of free space, the problem is it’s a lot of freedom just for a few,” he says. “That’s the reality in the country, but we are those few, so either we do something or we are wasting our time. We started our company six years ago and today we’ve done more than ten films, we have a film festival, we’ve done a TV series, we own our projects, and it’s such a nice feeling.”
Luna clearly feels a great deal of pride when discussing Canana Films, and as the rapport between himself and Pablo Cruz demonstrates, it is a very close community, which is exactly what Luna had always wanted to create. “As an actor you spend a lot of time jumping into families that already exist,” he begins, “by jumping from one to the other you feel the lack of your own family, that’s why we started building Canana. It’s just a feeling that you always have somewhere to go back that you belong to, that is yours.”
With Canana being a company so close to his own heart, is there a possibility that Luna would ever direct a film in Hollywood if the chance presented itself? “Yeah, why not?” he responds. “As a director, definitely. Having a family doesn’t mean you cannot go and have other friends around the world. I definitely see myself working in many places.”
For now Diego Luna will continue to promote Abel around the world, and seek to gain the kind of exposure that his film and his company richly deserve. But what does the future hold for him? A Spanish-language comedy with Will Ferrell is on its way later this year as are several more films from Canana. So, will we be seeing more of Diego Luna the actor, or the director in the years to come? His response is typically charming: “You’re not going to get rid of the actor, but you’ll see more of me as a director.” PK
Directed by Diego Luna and executive produced by Gael Garcia Bernal and John Malkovich.
Christopher Ruiz-Esparza (a mere 9 years of age at the time of filming) stars as Abel, a young boy whose confounding behaviour and refusal to speak has landed him in a mental health facility. His single mother is convinced that a reunion between Abel and his younger brother and older sister would be the answer to repairing his condition, so she arranges for Abel’s doctor to release the boy for a single week.
Abel starts speaking the day after returning home but the joy of the mother quickly turns into confusion as the child starts speaking and behaving as a fully-grown adult - her missing partner. Not wishing to worsen his condition, the mother and the siblings go along with Abel’s unorthodox, strange behaviour. But then his father decides to show up…
Disturbing, surreal and darkly funny, Abel deals with an important issue in Mexico – parental absenteeism - increasingly common as many Mexican men abandon their families to find work in the United States.
Film: Abel Release date: 7th January 2011 Certificate: 15 Running time: 82 mins Director: Diego Luna Starring: Geraldine Alejandra, Karina Gidi, Christopher Ruíz-Esparza, Gerardo Ruíz-Esparza, José María Yazpik Genre: Comedy/Drama Studio: Network Format: Cinema Country: Mexico
Film: Y Tu Mama Tambien Release date: 22nd October 2007 Certificate: 18 Running time: 101 mins Director: Alfonso Cuarón Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Maribel Verdú, Marta Aura, Diana Bracho Genre: Comedy/Drama Studio: Icon Format: DVD Country: Mexico
Director Alfonso Cuarón made a welcome return to the cinema of his native tongue with his first Mexican film in a decade. Having tried his hand at big budget American productions, Cuarón went back to his roots with Y Tu Mama Tambien, a lucrative decision with the film grossing seven times its original budget worldwide.
Opening with a very personal goodbye, the audience is offered a voyeuristic view of Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) going at it with their girlfriends more aggressively than a Duracell bunny on speed before taking the girls to the airport, promising to be faithful whilst they are in Italy.
Realising how much they depend on their girlfriends to keep them entertained, their boredom is temporarily remedied by games of who can make themselves come the fastest. Little do they know that a boring family wedding will provide them with a chance meeting which will keep them amused for the rest of the summer.
Cheekily flirting with a beautiful older lady, Luisa (Maribel Verdú), the boys think they are on to a good think until they discover that the mystery Spanish lady is in fact the wife of Tenoch’s cousin Jano. At this point, the double act seem even more determined to impress Luisa, and begin creating an imaginary beach, la Boca del Cielo (Heaven’s Mouth), in an attempt to seduce her into taking a road trip with them. An apprehensive Luisa politely declines until she receives a drunken phone call from Jano while he is away on business, tearfully admitting to having cheated on her.
The three of them set off through rural Mexico, Luisa blissfully unaware that these boys have no idea where they are going. As if Tenoch and Julio need anything more than the presence of Luisa to keep their spirits high as they aimlessly drive around, the boys boast about their sexual experiences and conquests, pausing to high five each other. Bemused by their comparatively modest exploits, Luisa begins her subtle seduction telling them about her relationship with Jano and her first love. The reality of bedding Luisa is more sexual humiliation than fantasy, shattering the grand delusions they hold about their sexual abilities, and ultimately turning them against each other.
They continue their road trip in absolute silence only talking to throw an underhanded remark at the other until they stumble upon a beach - both surprised, they can’t believe their luck. When they meet a group of locals, they discover that Heaven’s Mouth really does exist, and Luisa remains none the wiser about the lies they told to get her there. When it’s time to leave the beach behind, Luisa announces that she wants to stay, leaving the boys to travel back alone with a now awkward and frosty friendship…
Interestingly, the film is set two years in the past, in 1999, showcasing the realities of living in Mexico both economically and politically. Most notably this era is recognised as being the time when Mexico’s longest political reign was brought to an end when the Institutional Revolutionary Party lost the election to the National Action Party after 71 years. Throughout the film, issues of economy and politics are subtly raised, but always presented as background information rather than having a direct impact on the plot. Tenoch’s father is a political official, important enough to have the president of Mexico as a guest at his daughter’s wedding, and although Julio gets on well with Tenoch’s family, they are political polar opposites. It is revealed at the end of the film that some of the things which the audience have seen during the film have been affected as a result of the change in political power, coincidently it is also noted that Tenoch and Julio are no longer friends. Cuarón has created a powerful backdrop for his film and the imagery of poor, rural Mexico serves to enforce the reality of the boys’ lives.
At the heart of it, Y Tu Mama Tambien is essentially a coming of age story, detailing the, literally, emotional journey of best friends Julio and Tenoch. The film opens with a shot which illustrates both the grounding and the destruction of the boys’ friendship - sex. Cuarón is fearless in his choice of opening shot, which places the audience voyeuristically sneaking into Tenoch’s bedroom as he is having sex with his girlfriend, with a sweaty recklessness which sets the tone for the entire movie. Cuarón certainly took a risk when he made the decision to show such unabashed scenes of sex, although his choice was no doubt influenced by the fact that he had such an attractive cast to work with. All immaturities to one side, Cuarón has pin pointed the attitude most young people have towards sex, the disposability of it, and the way that emotions are ignored until it is you who becomes hurt. Tenoch and Julio are the ultimate horny teenage boys, bragging about their sexual exploits and trying to outdo one another, but their friendship is put to the test as a result. Neither one shows any signs of growing up or taking responsibility, and they are doubly put to shame when Luisa tells them that their manifesto is as meaningless as the sex they have.
Genuinely moving and humorous, but, at times, cringe worthy, Y Tu Mama Tambien reaches beyond its expected audience of young hipsters with a relevance which spans a multitude of ages. Cuarón has managed to present pressing issues in a way which retains a light hearted and enjoyable viewing experience whilst making you think. JHA
