SONG WITHOUT A NAME
★★★★
OUT 22 FEBRUARY (DIGITAL) / CERT 12A / 97 MINS
DIRECTOR Melina León
CAST Pamela Mendoza, Tommy Párraga
Song Without A Name, Peru’s entry for this year’s Oscars, is a belter. In 1980s Peru, new mum Geo (Pamela Mendoza) sees her baby stolen from a maternity clinic set up as a front for a child-trafficking racket. Getting little help from official channels, Geo turns to young journalist Pedro (Tommy Párraga) to track down her newborn. Writer/director Melina León’s debut delivers on the promise of the set-up — a gripping investigation — but layers on different textures, from documentary realism to nightmarish visions set against a backdrop of traditional Peruvian village culture. It’s shot in mesmeric monochrome Academy ratio, which lends the film a stunning dreamlike quality, a stark contrast to Mendoza, who makes Geo’s pain all so real.