The human spirit is an incredible thing. It can cause individuals to perform extraordinary feats they may not otherwise even try under normal circumstances. Sometimes it means doing some that should seem impossible, such as lifting a car or bending a pipe (a.k.a. super strength). In the case of Alex (newcomer Anyelo López), it is his ability to create music, even though he has been deaf since birth. His passion and energy fuel his desire so strongly that he enlists his brother, Leo’s (Carlos Manuel Gonzalez; Otro Hombre), to help enter a contest to win $5,000. Once the lead singer in a band, Leo now scrapes by doing odd jobs in the town in which they both live.
When Alex was young, his parents were killed, and his much older brother Leo took on the responsibility of caring for Alex, who was born deaf. Leo, once an aspiring singer and musician, left all that behind to work in a factory in the town Alex and Leo grew up in. Alex, now an adult, works in the bakery but dreams of making music, just like his older brother Leo. One day, Alex comes to Leo with the idea of entering a music competition in Caracas. First prize is $5,000, and with Leo singing Alex’s song, Alex thinks they can win. However, the drug dealers and bullies they are surrounded by have other ideas.
Leo calls in favors from his old bandmates and saves enough money to buy instruments. They find an abandoned shack to use as a rehearsal space and begin the process of making the song a hit. Leo’s partner, Yolanda (Greasy Mena; The Precocious and brief life of Sabina Rivas), is constantly fighting with him and, much to Alex’s chagrin, belittling Leo, yet he never does the same to Yolanda. Everything seems to be going well until a local gang burns down the rehearsal shack only a few days before the competition. Determined, Alex goes to Caracas anyway, only to find Leo there to support him.
Manuel Gonzalez is well cast as Leo. He has the look of a man who has been worn down over time by life, but also has the voice to pull off a beautifully sung song. López is good for someone who has not acted before, and the two men have an easy rapport as if they were real-life siblings. In fact, rumor has it that Manuel Gonzalez learned Venezuelan sign language for the role. Meanwhile, Mena is so bitchy as Yolanda that you can’t help but hate her from the minute she opens her mouth.
Director and co-writer Miguel Angel Ferrer (Tempus) has a feel for the words he wrote and a vision of what he wants to portray. The gritty streets and buildings of Acarigua create the backdrop for a story about family and heart. There is also anguish hidden underneath the surface, as well as anger that is presented in various ways by the actors. The emotions they feel, from frustration to love, are brought into sharp focus by Ferre’s direction.
There is a reason The Shadow of the Sun was Venezuela’s official entry for best foreign language film at last year’s Academy Awards. It combines the human interest story, complicated by a deaf brother, with the determination to prove everybody wrong. It is a feel-good tale that doesn’t end as the audience may originally hope but yet, but is still satisfying overall.
Filmed in Spanish with English subtitles, it is a movie that draws audiences in and keeps them engaged throughout its hour and 40-minute run time.
Grade: B
Tags: the shadow of the sun, movie review, allison rose, outsider pictures, venezuelan cinema, foreign language films