BERLINALE 2020 - Isabella (Encounters)
70th BERLINALE FILM FESTIVALTechnically speaking, there is almost nothing wrong with Matîas Piñeiro's Isabella. Everything from the cinematography by Fernando Lockett to the acting of Maria Villar and Augustina Muñoz feels extremely talented and vibrant. There is nothing wrong with the writing as well because Piñeiro makes sure that the dialogues are real and appropriate enough to make character conversations and reactions feel realistic. There is nothing even wrong with the over-arching plot, which is simple yet beautiful enough to make the viewer feel at home with their own emotions of failure and longings. Even the minimalistic use of music by Santi Grandone and Gabriela Saidon feels the right thing to do, given the context of a scene.
Then, why is it that at the end of the day the film feels dull and empty?
Well, the core element that determines the quality of a film like Isabella is how artistically cohesive the director can present it to the audience. The problem here is not of a cohesive narrative or a cohesive structure but is of how rewarded the viewer feels when they start looking deeply into its presentation style. This decision determines whether the film is meditative and introspective or sluggish and pointless.
This is the first of the two failures that make Piñeiro's film unbearable. What happens in the film (the plot) and what is shown in the film (the shots) are in — both metaphorically and narratively — odds with each other that either's existence with the other feels meaningless. The intention behind the shots drifting or distancing away from the characters mid-scene or disrupting said scene with some crazy neon visuals or a shot of a supposed "metaphorical" rock is hard to determine since there is no reason for them to be there. The drift exists for nothing but capturing some beautiful background but if the viewers want to watch some beautiful nature shots, they would rather see the two seasons of Planet Earth because that show actually sticks to its given goal. The goal of Isabella is to provide the audience with a slice of life experience because it is a slice of life movie. That is the first-hand goal that Piñeiro should have pursued and it had all the elements — two great actors, a talented cinematographer, and his own great dialogue writing — to do so, but it doesn’t.
One might think that a decent narrative could be effective enough to get the audience through the film, but it is always the style of presentation that brings the quality of said narrative to the forefront. A story about surviving a bear attack could be boring and a story of a coffee spilling incident could be emotionally engaging given the right storyteller. It is the same case with this film. The first viewing is boring because the filmmakers themselves are distracted by such ineffective surroundings that it becomes hard to get into the meat of the story as the viewer themselves wants to see one thing and the filmmakers shows them another. The second or an analytical first viewing is frustrating because here is where the audience comes to the realization that there was no hidden meaning behind those distractions, and they existed for purely stylistic purposes to hide a simplistic narrative.
The second and the gravest mistake of this film is the artificial lengthening of the dialogues and the film. Now there is nothing wrong with the dialogues themselves, they are very realistic but many of them are not very purposeful. The main intention of the dialogue in filmmaking is to reveal or propel something, which could be anything from the personality and emotions of its characters to the aspects of the world and the story. Both are not absent from this feature but feel so, due to the abundant filler present in the dialogue that makes it hard to determine what is important and what is not. This in effect also extends the film's length beyond its breaking point effectively killing the last shred of engagement that one could wish to have with this film.
It is with a sad note to conclude that the otherwise talented filmmakers still have a lot to learn on how to present a cohesive effort that does justice to both the viewers and story while still retaining elements of personal expression that helps the viewer at the very least, stay awake till its conclusion.