Latin Wave festival crashes into Museum of Fine Arts
Fest showcases worlds not often explored by Hollywood
The 13th edition of the Latin Wave Film Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston may not be as sprawling as some of its counterparts in other cities — the Chicago Latino Film Festival runs two weeks, for instance — but the four-day, eight-film event, beginning Thursday, provides a bite-size taste of the world of Latino film. Coming on the heels of last month’s four-day Houston Latino Film Festival, it offers another chance to get a glimpse into worlds often far from the Hollywood mainstream.
Here are four films at Latin Wave that are worth checking out.
“Killing Jesús”
Laura Mora Ortega’s “Killing Jesús” has a remarkable back story. The Colombian director’s
father was murdered by a hit man and a similar killing kick starts the plot of Ortega’s naturalistic drama about a daughter who sets out to avenge her dad’s murder, but finds things turn out to be more complicated than planned. Fortunately, the film, despite some shakiness as all the actors are nonprofessionals, is rather remarkable as well. Natasha Jaramillo, who’s on screen the entire time, delivers a powerful performance while acting as the viewer’s guide through Ortega’s almost cinema verite trip through Medellin’s gritty streets. Similarly, Giovanny Rodriguez strikes the right balance between youthful bravado and true menace as Jesús. While perhaps predictable, “Killing Jesús” is still effective. Ortega has been invited to attend.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
7 p.m. Thursday and 3 p.m. Sunday. ★★★★
“Sergio & Sergei”
One of the little-known stories to come out of humanity’s attempt to reach the stars is something that happened in 1991 involving Russia’s Mir space station. As the Soviet Union collapsed, cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev kept up to date on the news thanks to hamradio enthusiasts who communicated with him. In the highly entertaining and absorbing “Sergio & Sergei,” he strikes up a radio relationship with a Cuban professor of Marxist philosophy named Sergio, forming a friendship that transcends languages, cultures and the distance of space. That Krikalev didn’t know if he would be abandoned in orbit because his government was collapsing while Sergio’s lean life became even more threadbare as Cuba was no longer receiving Soviet aid lends the situation a sense of urgency. Ron Perlman co-stars as an anti-communist American that Sergio also has befriended via radio while the Cuban government veers from trying to shut Sergio down to attempting to lure him to work for them. Cuban filmmaker Ernesto Daranas captures the absurdism of the situation in this beautifully shot comedic drama featuring strong performances from Tomás Cao as Sergio and Héctor Noas as Sergei.
In Spanish and English with English subtitles.
9 p.m. Saturday ★★★½
“Bad Lucky Goat”
The Afro-Colombian communities along Colombia’s Caribbean coast aren’t often in the spotlight. Like many of Latin America’s black populations, they’re generally invisible, especially to residents of the U.S. But they take center stage in the low-budget and exceedingly likable, Creolelanguage “Bad Lucky Goat,” the first film from Colombian director Samir Oliveros. It focuses on warring young siblings who, after accidentally running over an errant goat and incurring what they think is bad karma, they must bond and hatch a plan to get back in the universe’s good graces — and scrape together enough cash to get the truck fixed before their parents find out. Starring a young cast of performers who’ve not acted before, “BLG” sometimes feels amateurish, but that adds to its lo-fi appeal. There are moments of lush tropical beauty and percussive musical interludes that perhaps go on too long but, even if they don’t push the narrative forward, they’re so pleasant, you don’t really care. Oliveros will be in attendance.
In Creole with English subtitles.
7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday ★★★
“The Night Guard” (El Vigilante)
Mexico City security guard Salvador just wants to work a few hours on his night shift keeping watch at a construction site and then leave to be with his wife. On most nights, when nothing of note happens, that wouldn’t be a problem. But not on a night when something unusual has been found in a van mysteriously parked outside of the gates, his fellow guard seems to be lying about what happened and the police know there’s something fishy going on. Set mostly in the dark of night, “The Night Guard” isn’t the colorful Mexico City of The Zócalo and Frida Kahlo but the noir-ish Mexico City of dimly lit streets and shadowy corners. While not a major work, this debut from director Diego Ros shows off a filmmaker worth watching.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
9 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Sunday ★★★