Tribeca 2007

Year of the Nail

Ano Uno (Mexico)

By ROBERT KOEHLER

An Esperanto Filmoj presentation. Produced by Jonas Cuaron, Eireann Harper, Frida Torresblanco. Executive producers, Alfonso Cuaron. Directed, written by Jonas Cuaron.
 
With: Diego Catano, Eireann Harper, Salvador Elizondo, Michele Alban, Cristina Orozco, Mariana Elizondo, Pia Elizondo, Emilia Garcia, Mateo Garcia, Jeronimo Garcia, Katie Hegarty.
(Spanish, English dialogue)
 

The serious artistic drive to meld fine photography with cinema is married to a charming tale of young almost-love in Jonas Cuaron's sweet and memorable debut, "Year of the Nail." The Cuaron filmmaking empire -- including brothers Alfonso and Carlos -- has expanded with Jonas, Alfonso's son, whose still black-and-white photos eventually morphed into current pic, easily the freshest Mexican preem at this year's Guadalajara fest. Distribs and fests looking for new voices should come a courting.

Pic reps a year's worth of photos Cuaron took of spontaneous events and day-to-day activities. Fictional narrative of 14-year-old lad Diego (Diego Catano, Cuaron's half-brother) and visiting American college gal Molly (Eireann Harper, Cuaron's g.f.) gradually emerged out of organizing the photos into sequences, with all but one of the original photo subjects (Cuaron's grandfather, Salvador Elizondo, who died during shooting) recording the soundtrack's voice-over dialogue.

The result, except for the dialogue, recalls Chris Marker's technique in his classic sci-fi short, "La Jetee," which was also composed purely of photos. Two films couldn't be less alike in every way, however, with "Year of the Nail" a thoughtful, tender but quite hip look at two young people with too much separating them for a match to ever be possible.

Just before her exchange studies term in Mexico City ends, Molly puzzles over all the cultural gaps between Mexicans and Americans, and ponders why, for all of her efforts, the only good friend she made during the term is loudmouth Yank Katie (Katie Hegarty).

At the same time, Diego is a horny teen whose inner monologue is a constant spew of neuroses and insecurities, much of it centered on the hots he feels for his pretty cousin Emilia. (Catano's hilarious vocal performance is smashing, and key to the film's keen comedic temperament.)

Tale is structured according to the seasons, so by fall, Molly has long gotten over her (offscreen) French b.f. Michel and has had a May-September romance with one of her college profs. Lying to her folks that she's visiting Katie in the Bay Area, Molly returns to Mexico as a live-in guest in a real home -- which happens to be Diego's.

Immediately smitten with what for him is an older woman of the world ("She has a gringo ass, and she talks like a Mexican!"), Diego works various angles to get closer to Molly, especially when they visit the beach. Reality gets in the way --his grandfather is slowly dying of cancer, his cat must be spayed and neutered, Molly must return to New York -- but that doesn't stop determined Diego from managing to get in a day's charms with Molly in Gotham in the spring. By then, Molly senses that they could, if everything worked, fall in love.

But "Year of the Nail" (title derives from an ingrown nail that bothers Diego for much of the timespan) is about life's fleeting moments, the sweeter for being fleeting. While the edited series of photo images may strike some viewers as either a mere device or an affectation, it actually underscores the sense of the story as a kind of photo-album memoir.

The richly developed soundtrack serves an unusually crucial purpose, providing not only the characters' often roiling inner thoughts and their outward dialogue, but natural sounds and music suited to each scene. Vocal perfs are nicely low-key, with the more sober Harper in ideal pitch with the more excitable Catano.

Post work is superb, with Cuaron's free and easy photographic images beautifully printed to 35mm.

Camera (B&W/color photographs, Deluxe prints), Jonas Cuaron; editors, Jonas Cuaron, Eireann Harper; music supervisor, Annette Fradera; sound designer (Dolby Digital), Martin Hernandez; supervising sound editor, Hernandez; re-recording mixers, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc. Reviewed at Guadalajara Film Festival, March 25, 2007. (Also in Tribeca Film Festival.) Running time: 79 MIN.