TL;DR – A film that sines in those moments that display the contrasts in our lives.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Today we continue our dive into Latin cinema, this time moving away from Mexico
and across the Atlantic to Mexico. Unfortunately, I have even less experience here,
besides last year’s seminal Roma.
Well, today we start to rectify today by exploring a look at colliding worlds
at a time of great change.
So to set the scene, in Mexico, not that long ago, Lucía (Adriana Paz) lives in
the rural countryside with her husband Rigo (Jorge A. Jimenez) and her son Braulio
(Luciano Martínez). Lucía wants to move to Mexico City and take over a commercial
property that her sister Sara (Claudia Santiago) found, but her husband will hear
nothing of it. Lucía feels trapped where she is, and there is nothing she can
do, well there is one thing, and that is escaping into her own mind, a world of
intrigue and mystery.
In
many ways, this is a film about contrasts and where you see that the most are
between the real and make-believe. The film uses almost the opposite of the norm,
with the real world in all its beauty and colour while when they jump into the
fantasies it is all black and white. While it is the reverse of the norm, it
works in the context of the time for the film, Lucía and Braulio’s escape comes
from the movies they see on the television and hear on the radio. So for them,
the fantastical is in black and white and the mundane is colour. It is such a
stark contrast and it is one of the ways they bring you into this world.
It is more than just about feeling lonely that drives them to dream of a better
like, it a more structural issue. Mexico is in a state of flux, rapidly moving
forward, so for some, they want to move with the times, and for others, they
want to stay where they are. What makes it even worse is when that divide comes
from within a family. Lucía wants to leave her world behind, and Rigo wants to
stay with what’s comfortable. It makes all those moments that much more
difficult because it is like life promised Lucía the world and then reneged on
it.
Contrast
is everywhere in the film, and not just in the colour palate. For example, even
though both Lucía and Braulio dream of the same rouge lawman Bernardo (David
Medel), in that vein of the western Man with No Name. For Lucía the man is a substitute
for everything missing in her marriage and for Braulio he is the font of excitement
that is missing in his life. In every part of the film that contrast is on
show, from the clothes, to the hairstyles, even the more intimate scenes. The
contrast can be even found in the production with what is a beautifully
produced and framed film but the content is often dark and relentless because
reality rarely matches up with fantasy.
In the end, do we recommend No One Will
Ever Know? Yes, yes we do. It is an odd film at times, dark at others, and
then almost playful at times. It is a film that emphasises the discourse of
contrast in nearly every conceivable way. It is not an easy film to watch at
times, but it was an interesting one.
By Brian MacNamara: You can follow
Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV,
he’ll be talking about International Relations,
or the Solar System.
Have you watched No One Will Ever Know?, let us know what you thought in the
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our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy
day.
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and
production companies of No One Will Ever Know
Directed by – Jesús Torres Torres
Written by – Jesús Torres Torres
Music by – Arturo Villela
Cinematography by – Alejandro Cantú
Edited by – Óscar Figueroa
Production/Distribution Companies – Cine Invencible Cine, Corazón Films & Netflix
Starring – Adriana Paz, Jorge A. Jimenez, David Medel, Arcelia
Ramírez, Manuel Ojeda, Ofelia Medina, Silvia Pasquel, Luciano Martínez, Joanna
Larequi, Claudia Santiago & Paul Choza
Rating – Around an Australia: MA15+;
