Huracán
hboAlonso Santos (Cassius Corrigan) is introduced to the audience as a normal convict getting out on parole who is trying to find his next chapter. Between working and having to meet with therapists, Alonso finds a passion for MMA fighting, but it is quickly revealed that there is more troubling the young man. Alonso suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, which alienates him from the world around him, often putting him in tough situations and causing Alonso to struggle to find his way in life. With the film also being directed and written by Cassius Corrigan, Huracán is a film with a clear passion behind it that satisfies with a strong directorial voice and engaging perspective.
From the first frame of the film, the immediate thing to stick out within is its unique aspect ratio. Not only is the framing surprisingly short while being elongated to the sides, but the corners are curved. Many films take advantage of changing their aspect ratios to be unique as a gimmick to help the film stand out, but it is clear that there is a level of craft and purpose to this choice within Huracán. The size of the frame is both uniquely claustrophobic and grand, depending on the shot composition within any given scene. Blocking out the majority of the subject vertically allows scenes to carry a focused intensity to them, yet the size of the frame horizontally allows vast shots of the city and intimidatingly large visuals – such as the inside of the ring – to stand out as almost uncomfortably large. When mixed with the impressive camera work from cinematographer Mike McGowan, it becomes undeniably clear that this is a movie that is conscious of every element of production with every technical choice having an inspiration and thought put into it.
This thoughtfulness translates to the performances and screenplay within the film. The narrative within Huracán is, at the same time, haunting and inspiring. It is a film that is open to showing pain and struggle but also makes a focus of showing a character rising above it. The direction from Cassius Corrigan, both as an actor and a screenwriter, is clear: the film wants to capture an honesty that is normally avoided. It is a film that is unafraid to get dirty, showing the trials and tribulations that characters go through and making it clear that there is a lack of innocence in actions while also putting it in juxtaposition with an innocence in heart. It is easy to root for nearly every character within the film, even if it is impossible to agree with every choice they make.
One of the only areas where it does feel that the screenplay could have used some work is in its use of Multiple Personality Disorder. Whenever a film is portraying a condition, whether physical or mental, it starts to walk a fine line between representation and exploitation. Where for the majority of the film, Huracán does feel respectful and honest in how it views the disorder in question; there are some moments where it begins to be glorified in an uncomfortable matter, though, especially when it is viewed as a problem causing Alonso to lose parts of himself. The ending leaves something to be desired. Where it would be untrue to say that the feature doesn't carry a punch, it always feels as if Huracán is on the verge of taking the next step and finding some larger emotional breakthrough, only to fail to actually make that step. Where this doesn't necessarily hurt the contents, it does prevent the film from being called an out-right masterpiece or be considered on the same level as a film such as The Five Rules of Success – which feels incredibly similar to this film, only to a higher level.
Regardless, Huracán is far from a bad film, especially from a filmmaking perspective does greatly impress. The craft displayed is not only impressive but exciting; Cassius Corrigan shows great potential in every role he fills, becoming an exciting up-and-comer to keep an eye out for who easily could create a masterpiece at any time. For those itching for an intense new feature to watch, Huracán is without a doubt worth seeking out and will go down as yet another exciting directorial feature debut to come from the year so far.
