I have to began to rearrange the times I watch films for review, figuring late at night is the best time to watch horror films rather than first thing in the morning. I don't yet know how that will impact on my memory, typically I would write a review immediately after viewing a movie, but not being a night owl means I literally 'sleep on it' before writing the review as soon as I wake up. Mariana Bostos' Raquel 1:1 bills itself as a thriller, but I would argue it isn't even that, which isn't to say it didn't deserve a spot on this horror themed blog.
Raquel (Valentina Herszage) is a teenage girl who has recently moved to a small town alongside her father, Hermes (EmÃlo de Mello), and who has recently became heavily interested in religion. She shows interest in joining the local church group, and it is after she has travelled to a nearby lake in the jungle with a few of the members that she has an epiphany. Having heard strange noises coming from a nearby cave, she investigates and returns to town a changed woman. She becomes convinced that she has been instructed by God to do a revision of the Bible, specifically to change the many outdated sexist passages to be found there. Some of the other church members decide to break away and join her in recreating the Bible, but many others see what she is doing as blasphemy, and soon Raquel finds herself and her father becoming increasingly ostracised from the community.
What I enjoyed most about Raquel 1:1 was the trippy vibe that permeated the ninety minute run time. The wonderful soundtrack melds with the visuals to give a feeling of other worldliness to the story playing out. It helps that Raquel herself, while definitely the protagonist, doesn't really speak that much over the course of the movie. In many scenes she is content to sit or stand there in silence, with strange half smiles on her face. Her personal horror comes not only from being made into an outcast, but also the obvious signs of her having PTSD, related to an incident with her mother and her step-father which only plays out as dialogue during scenes when Raquel falls into a trance-like state. These feed into key scenes in the movie, such as an incident at a church disco, and also into the finale, which may or may not be all in the protagonists head. I liked that there wasn't a definite resolution provided, instead I think it was up to the viewer to decide what had actually occurred. Personally I chose the most 'out there' explanation and am happy with deciding that is what happened, but you could just as easily see elements of the movie as taking place more in Raquel's damaged mind.
The press release called the film a 'religious thriller' and religion does play a large part here. The local church group are almost zealots, and their attempts to 'cure' Raquel of her journey down the incorrect path leads to much of the friction. I am not hugely into religion personally, but with the many sexist passages specifically referenced with bible passages, it seems they do exist in that actual book. A subplot involving Raquel's new friend Laura (Eduarda Samara) and her experience with a seemingly devout Christian also looks at the mismatch between female and male roles in society, especially in relation to Brazil, in which the film is set. All of this may not sound like a horror or a thriller in the slightest, but it is the way the film is shot and framed which bring horror elements. Raquel's first journey to the mysterious cave for instance is filmed as pure horror, while the film maintains a slightly unsettling feel to it, thanks again to that fantastic soundtrack.
This review may be an early demonstration that sleeping in-between watching and reviewing a film might not be the best idea. I admit to parts of this being fuzzy upon my waking memory. I at least remembered enough to know that I loved the vibe with this one. The version I watched was occasionally hard to follow due to the English subtitles often appearing before characters actually spoke their lines (the language being Portuguese), but I still found myself invested in the story, and wanting the protagonist to succeed. Raquel 1:1 had its world premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and went on to play at other film festivals. It came to digital platforms on February 14th via Breaking Glass Pictures.
SCORE:
No comments:
Post a Comment