Cannes

Gigante

(Uruguay - Germany - Argentina - The Netherlands)

Thirtysomething Jara (Horacio Camandulle) goes to work with the same dull-footed gait as the rest of the nightshift employees; his job consists of watching his co-workers on video monitors, though nothing much happens except for occasional minor shoplifting. Then he notices Julia (Leonor Svarcas), a floor cleaner, and he starts taking an interest.

At first it’s just via the shop’s security cameras, but soon Jara tails her on off-hours through Montevideo. It’s immediately apparent the guy is pretty harmless: just another shy metalhead with a maturity level only slightly higher than his preteen nephew Matias (Federico Garcia). Watching Julia enjoy a horror pic at the cinema cements his attraction, and as rumors circulate of layoffs at work, Jara’s surveillance takes on ever more protective, though still unspoken, tones.

There’s nothing Hitchcockian, nor even Kieslowskian, about Jara’s obsession, and Biniez doesn’t hint at anything remotely disturbing — perhaps that’s one of the reasons why the proceedings feel more lifeless than engrossing. Starting as a lopsided love story, with Julia the object of observation, Biniez holds steady to watching Jara watch Julia, never granting the woman a life apart — and even denying her character speech until the final scene.

Camandulle has a lumbering, almost juvenile physical presence that fits with Jara’s delayed social development, though even when he finally loses control, the actor never quite seems to let go of a certain reserve; Svarcas has a lovely smile (commented on in the film) but unfortunately isn’t allowed to project much else.

The pic is not without a sense of visual style, and the helmer’s careful framing and feel for contrasting colors hold some interest, though the whole would work much better as a medium-length short. Crucially, Biniez hasn’t figured out how to use the distancing device of surveillance cameras and still maintain appeal: a gag involving Julia knocking down a toilet paper display, seen only from the video monitor, is robbed of comic potential since auds feel completely removed from the action.

Camera (color, digital-to-35mm), Arauco Hernandez; editor, Fernando Epstein; production designer, Alejandro Castiglioni; costume designer, Emilia Carlevaro; sound (Dolby Digital), Daniel Yafalian; associate producers, Stefano Segre, Ronald Meltzer; line producer, Agustina Chiarino; casting, Noelia Burle. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (competing), February 8, 2009. Running time: 88 MIN.