Historias extraordinarias

Extraordinary Stories offers the spectator a multiplicity of glances around the same event, the problems suffered by the protagonists, which triggers interesting consequences. It is divided into 18 chapters, with novel titles. Each has main figures which elsewhere have secondary functions. It is a secular film, neither choral nor Manichean. Ordinary characters, almost all of them, in extraordinary situations that sometimes lead them to behave in ways, even violent, in contradiction with their principles. Frequently felt in the narrative lane of SABU, Aki Kaurasmaki, Takahisa Zeze with the constant narration and mild dry humor with Kafkaesque letter names, who solve one mystery only to see another open before their eyes. Each character is different, and every secret conceals links with the precedents which often border on the most total improbable. Between the dreamlike narrative and the naturalist tale, the film plays on a constant ambivalence. Its staging, sometimes extremely virtuoso sequence shot (especially during the final scenes) is obviously enhanced by a perfect cast. What else can I say, except that Mariano Llinás's Extraordinary Stories is an amazing cinematic experience produced with a modest budget.