LFF 2011 Diary, Day 3: AMERICANO

LFF 2011 Diary, Day 3: Americano (Rating: ****) Americano is a more than admirable feature debut behind the camera by actor Mathieu Demy in what is clearly a personal project about grief and memory. If Demy has at all lived in the shadow of both father Jacques Demy and mother Agnes Varda’s legendary reputation, then Americano is Mathieu’s moment in the limelight, displaying a startilingly accomplished visual eye and style for someone making their first feature film. Perhaps by way of osmosis, it was inevitable that Demy would inherit the same high standards of filmmaking than his parents. Should Demy decide to follow them into a long and distinguished career of filmmaking, Americano might just be the start of something special. If not, be sure to embrace the sincerity with which Demy depicts the emotional turmoil of losing a loved one.

When Martin, played by Mathieu Demy, learns of his mother’s passing, he travels to L.A. to tke care of her posessions and her apartment. Though not immediately grief stricken by her death, Martin makes a conscious effort to resolve the untied ends in her will. One of which is the matter of fulfilling her wish to leave her apartment to a long forgotten friend Martin knew as a child in L.A. In his pursuit of the elusive ‘Lola’, Martin is taken on a jouney to Tijuana, Mexico, where danger and desire threatens to derail his mother’s wishes.

Inspired somewhat by the L.A. films that Varda and Jacques Demy made when Mathieu was a child, Demy’s direction uses faux-home video style flashbacks of Martin’s childhood with his mother, but also echoes a personal truth about Demy’s own memories of his childhood times. Demy constantly reflects some of his own experiences onto the screen; while the on screen death of a parent is a mother, Demy’s recent loss of his father is clearly an influence on the story and the disillusioned memories of living in America, a period that wasn’t always a smooth one for Varda and Demy, are patently clear. Thus, Americano will feel particularly pertinent to those who are followers of the Varda/Demy legacy, but may ultimately underwhelm those who aren’t.

An added highlight is Salma Hayek making a return to the low budget fair, such as Dusk Till Dawn and Desperado, that shot her to stardom. And though meandering at times in the Tijuana scenes, Hayek gives the film an added jolt with sexual flair and potency. A personal and moving film, Americano has a human beating heart. JJ