The Paternal Line

(LA LINEA PATERNA) ((MEXICAN -- DOCU))

Produced by Producciones Tragaiuz, Cineteca Nacional, Fonca (Conaculta), Imcine, MacArthur/Rockefeller Foundation. Executive producer, Jorge Reygadas. Directed by Jose Buil, Marisa Sistach. Screenplay, Buil.

Restored home movies form the basis of this extremely personal documentary, in which Mexican director Jose Buil looks back at his family history through the amateur films his grandfather shot through the years, from 1925 to the mid-'40s, with a Pathe Baby camera. The fest circuit is the best bet for this highly specialized item.

Amateur movies shot by the Spanish-born Dr. Jose Buil Belenguer allow Buil, along with his co-director wife, Marisa Sistach, to trace his family line, examine the history of the small town of Papantia, recapture the youthful images of his father and various uncles and aunts, and review some of the domestic rites of a typical Mexican household. But the directors are unable to structure the material into a coherent whole. Docu jumps from one subject to another without developing a sense of unity or historical context.

Worst drawback is an overly wistful narration that strives for poignancy along the lines of such commonplaces as "the magic of cinema" and "We were such a happy family." Stuck in this rosy frame of mind, filmmakers are reluctant to delve into why the family fell apart and are content to conclude that Grandpa's moviemaking instincts continued through the bloodline as a natural heritage of the Buil stock.

Pic's repetitious nature doesn't help. By the time the whole assembly of uncles and aunts are paraded before the camera, one gets the same tiresome feeling as when watching home movies of unknown relatives.

Camera (B&W, 9.5 mm) , Jose Buil Belenguer, (B&W, 35 mm) Servando Gaja; editor, Buil; music, Oscar Freynoso, Francese Alcacer, Ricardo Yanez, Alfonso Morales; sound design, Carlos Aguilar; narration, Ricardo Yanez. Reviewed at Churubusco Studios, Mexico City, Aug. 16, 1995. (In Venice Film Festival -- Window on Images.) Running time: 85 MIN.

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