Año uña
DIR/WRI/PROD/DOP: Jónas Cuarón • ED: Jonás Cuarón, Eireann Harper • CAST: Eireann Harper, Diego Cataño, Emilia García

From the outset it is clear that this is a film that deals with personal anxiety. The entire film is a collection of real still images taken by the director Jónas Cuarón while visiting his native Mexico with his American girlfriend. The photographs are complimented by ordinary background sounds but it is predominantly the internal thoughts of the characters that provide the narration.

Although the story is fictional it is inspired by the visit that Eireann, Cuarón’s girlfriend, paid when she went to meet his family in Mexico. It candidly captures the awkwardness she felt when struggling with the language and understanding the culture. Through the story Eireann is transformed into Molly, a New York sociology student who takes a semester in a Mexican university against the wishes of her lackluster parents. She is wracked with middle-class guilt and constantly feels apologetic for standing out as an American and speaking English to her American friend.

The character Diego (Cuarón’s real brother, Diego) is in the midst of puberty and has little on his mind other than the touch, taste and smell of his similarly-aged cousin Emilia. These affections are later redirected onto Molly, who on her return to Mexico rents a room from Diego’s mother. Diego takes his anxieties out on his mother, but his mother has anxieties of her own to contend with.

The wisdom in this film is given to the older characters, the grandfathers and grandmothers. They embody the film’s theme: the passage of time and the impermanence of things. What they say becomes an undercurrent for the actions and words of the younger characters. The emotions of the characters are tested through both celebration and mourning and we see how feelings can be projected onto others as a way of expelling our own desires. This seems to be a personal journey for Cuarón but is enjoyable because the universal sentiment it engages could be reflected in many people’s lives.
The use of only still photography could have made for a disjointed film but it is cleverly broken into seasons that cover a year in the film. As they are real images it gives an honest depiction of reality and for Cuarón’s first feature it is a well-composed film that shows an innovation that can only give hope for future projects.

Beatrice Ní Bhroin
(Read biog here)

Rated 15A (see IFCO website for details)
Año uña is released on 5th December 2008
Año uña – Official website