Eureka
Three stories, three periods, three treatments. All connected by a blurred frontier between life and death.
A gritty black and white western condensing most of the usual tropes of the genre in a badass and powerful first part.
A clever transition to a more naturalistic Fargo-like main part where we follow a police officer played by (very believable because she's an actual police officer) Alaina Clifford. She's on duty at night in the freezing cold of Pine Ridge Reservation South Dakota dealing with a native population struggling with poverty and slow suppression.
Alaina's character niece, a young basketball trainer played by very talented and poignant Sadie LaPointe will lead us to a third part through a more symbolic and spiritual treatment.
Like the first two, the third act is also treating the theme of colonial oppression on a native population. This time in the 70s somewhere in Brazil (and/or different locations?) following a young man who has to leave his village and work with gold prospectors.
This is unconventional storytelling, sometimes pushing the shot economy to the limit of bearable, working partially with non actors, improvising a lot, leaving open questions and resolutions.
This can be frustrating or confusing. But there's definitely beauty, spiritual elevation and powerful images in this cinema, which is in my opinion precisely made to be experienced in cinemas.
