![]() Gustavo Rondon Cordova's debut feature is reportedly the first film from Venezuela to ever be part of the Cannes Critics' Week competition. A father and his 12-year-old kid from the outskirts of Caracas have to run after the son knifes down a peer from a potentially vengeful family in the slums in La familia, a lean and mean debut from Venezuelan writer-director Gustavo Rondon Cordova that clocks in at a fleet 82 minutes. Over the course of just a couple of days, Cordova follows the child protagonist as he’s introduced to the life of his single father, who is trying to hold down several jobs and doing a little illegal hustle on the side just so he can put food on the table for his kid. Though neither is really the talkative type, Cordova and his leads manage to convey a wealth of information between the lines as the wayward son gets his first real peek at some of the responsibilities that come with adult life. Often quick on its feet and energetic rather than melodramatic or inward-looking, this is a promising debut that not only suggests Cordova is a name to watch but that also, after Venezuela’s Golden Lion win for Lorenzo Vigas’ From Afar, the country could be breeding a filmmaking generation that finds inspiration in the tough everyday lives of the masses. In the opening moments of La familia, Pedro (intense newcomer Reggie Reyes), is but one of a group of loud 12-year-olds that are into roughhousing, calling each other names, talking about drugs and sex as if they were experts — and maybe some of them are — and wielding weapons, or at least toy versions of the same made out of wood and then covered in black paint. Cordova doesn’t comment on the behavior of the kids or their environment but his strictly observational approach speaks volumes nonetheless. These are children from rough neighborhoods, whose circumstances are forcing them to grow up fast and who try to copy what they see as adult behavior in the hope of being taken as seriously as they are. Being kids, however, there’s a certain naiveté to their worldview and a level of petulance and stubbornness in how they try to negotiate and engage with adults that betrays that they do not yet fully understand the complexity of the world of grown-ups and how it operates. Normally, children slowly grow into a better, more mature understanding of the world as they grow from adolescence into adulthood. But this is not the case for Pedro, who stabs a boy after a brawl about a mobile phone that will probably leave the child dead or at least severely injured. Pedro’s father, Andres (Giovanni Garcia), in his mid-thirties, understands the gravity of the situation and realizes that the family and friends of the boy, from a shantytown, will almost certainly want to vindicate the boy’s injuries or death, so he tells Pedro to quickly pack a few things and they immediately leave for downtown, where Andres works renovating a bourgeois home during the day. ![]() In scene after scene, Cordova and cinematographer Luis Armando Arteaga, shooting in loose, hand-held smears, simply observe the characters’ behavior and faces. Pedro initially tells his dad he lets people walk all over him, but he then doesn’t really notice how his old man negotiates a pay raise when his tasks and the deadline are redefined. But over the course of the days spent together, they get to know each other better as they are now forced to spend all their time together, with Pedro accompanying his father in the evening to another job as a waiter at a fancy party. Like in the new home they are renovating, there’s no direct evidence that Pedro has never moved in these circles or been in these areas of the city but there are smaller details that help suggest he’s a fish out of water, both fascinated by his new surroundings and with an ever-increasing desire to go home to what he knows. The director, who also wrote the screenplay, keeps everything resolutely in the present, which gives La familia its sense of urgency, but which also means there’s practically no backstory for the characters. As a single father, Andres has probably left Pedro to his own devices a lot while he was out earning money or looking for jobs, and there’s a sense Pedro often stayed at a friend’s house in the ‘hood. Though the film’s relatively light on plot, this seemingly innocent scrap of information will play a key role later on, with Cordova orchestrating Pedro’s final fall from innocence with a narrative simplicity that belies its emotional impact on the viewer. This kind of film wouldn’t stand a chance if the actors weren’t believable but Garcia (who starred in El Amparo, which Cordova edited) and non-professional Reyes are both understated but utterly authentic. Reyes displays the kind of cockiness and attitude that mask an inner vulnerability that a hard life has taught him to hide, while Garcia is a kind-hearted but also very realistic man who knows that life in Caracas isn’t easy for someone like him and his son. Their growing complicity and comprehension is beautiful to behold, with a silent moment after an unexpected dip in a swimming pool especially impressive. Cordova’s film is filled with small snippets like that, in which the oft-pedestrian dialogue takes a backseat to the reality of the moment. Production companies: La Pandilla, Cine Cercano, Factor RH, Avila Films, DHF Cast: Giovanny Garcia, Reggie Reyes Writer-Director: Gustavo Rondon Cordova Producers: Natalia Machado Fuenmayor, Marianela Illas, Ruben Sierra Salles, Rodolfo Cova, Gustavo Rondon Cordova Director of photography: Luis Armando Arteaga Production designer: Matias Tikas Editors: Andrea Chignoli, Cristina Carrasco, Gustavo Rondon Cordova Music: Alejandro Zavala Sales: Celluloid Dreams In Spanish No rating, 82 minutes. Gustavo Rondón Córdova. 82mins The unspoken tension between a father and son fuels La Familia, an unconventional chase picture in which the characters are fleeing retribution but also, in a larger sense, a culture in which violence is indiscriminate and rampant. Making his feature debut, writer-director Gustavo Rondón Córdova emphasizes an understated, realistic style and lets the silences speak volumes — an apt metaphor for how a lack of connection can bring down families and communities in equal measure. A portrait of a society in which poverty and lack of law enforcement have reduced vulnerable communities to brutal proving grounds This Critics’ Week offering should receive supportive word of mouth out of Cannes, leading to further festival appearances. No stars (and a lack of a sexy marketing hook) may curtail commercial prospects, but La Familia certainly suggests a young filmmaker worth following. Non-professional Reggie Reyes plays Pedro, a scrappy 12-year-old living in Caracas. Raised in an environment that prizes exaggerated macho swagger, Pedro gets involved in an altercation with a boy waving a gun and demanding his cell phone. In the ensuing skirmish, Pedro stabs the kid in the neck, provoking his distant single father Andrés (Giovanni García) to take his son and go into hiding, fearful that there will be retaliation from the victim’s family or gang affiliates. Born in Caracas himself, Córdova clearly feels a kinship to his subject matter, showing the Venezuelan city as a grim place where crime is a fact of life and boys are left to become men on their own. After an extensive casting search, the filmmaker tapped Reyes, a Caracas native, and the unpolished adolescent complements García, a working actor. Pedro is all surly, twitchy yin to Andrés’ pensive, regretful yang. La Familia doesn’t shed much light on Andrés and Pedro’s relationship prior to their journey, letting discomfort dominate their interactions. We deduce that the boy dislikes his father for myriad reasons — his absence in Pedro’s life, his unwillingness to mimic his son’s macho demeanour — while the inarticulate Andrés can’t quite make Pedro understand that glamorizing a violent lifestyle will lead to ruin. Andrés takes Pedro along on his different menial service jobs, deducing that his son’s pursuers won’t think to look for him there. As a result, La Familia doesn’t sport anything resembling traditional chase scenes — we never actually see who’s hunting the pair — but that only adds an existential tension to every seemingly mundane scene. While the characters work as servants at fancy parties or help remodel a rich client’s house, there is always the possibility that gun violence could erupt from the phantom pursuers. The violence is never stylized, Córdova showing its subtle, corrosive force in these people’s lives. Whether it’s Pedro and his friends playing assaultive video games or aggressively taunting each other’s manhood while hanging out on the street, the film crafts a portrait of a society in which poverty and lack of law enforcement have reduced vulnerable communities to brutal proving grounds for young men. ![]() At his young age, Pedro has decided that acting tough is the only way to survive, which contributes to Andrés’ sadness. Maybe this father could have taught his son better — if only he’d been able to be around, not stuck hustling meagre jobs to eke out a living. Jul 13, 2017 - 3 min - Uploaded by La FamiliaVideoclip oficial cu La Familia interpretand single-ul 'Portret de Politician' in. Home page of Little Joe Y La Familia, a latin group from Temple, TX. Official home of 5 Time Grammy Award winning Little Joe Y La Familia. The La Feria de la Familia 2017 will take place in Telemundo Tampa invites you to the thirteenth celebration of #LaFeriadelaFamilia presented by Fuccillo Kia. Come and enjoy a day full of fun, live music, information and delicious Latin food. Córdova's film brings little that's new to its stylistic school of observational realism - but hits the Caracas sidewalks hard and purposefully enough to compensate. September 25, 2017| Full Review Guy Lodge Variety. Intense, visually dynamic, and perfectly acted. [Full review in Spanish]. August 9, 2017| Full.
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