Gigante

It starts off with a bang, the opening credits you see the title of the film GIGANTE playing to a hard rock tune and as it peters out, you see the protoganist of the film 'Jara' on the bus going to work with a set of big headphones stuck to his head, lost in his own world.

He is big and mean looking, a bruiser who earns a living being night security at a supermarket as well as a nightclub bouncer his looks are deceptive - he is quiet and shy. A lovable lump who dotes on his nephews - he has a huge crush on one of the night cleaners at the supermarket but he has no idea how to approach her, so he starts to follow her movements because that is the only way he knows how to learn more about her.

And it is with that he plays a part in her life without her knowledge, saving her more than once with his actions without her knowing anything about it. It is only at the end we realise she knew he was there all along. How could she miss 'gigante' he isn't the most inconspicuous man in the world but because of his lack of self confidence, he thinks he is.

A wonderful film, well worth a watch.

Set in Montevideo, Uruguay, Gigante carefully unravels the story of Jara, a heavy metal-loving, lionhearted security guard who works the graveyard shift at a grocery store. As he fights the boredom and monotony of a job monitoring the store via surveillance cameras, he begins to fall for a janitor named Julia. Too shy to approach her, Jara dotes over her from afar following her to and fro around town. When he begins to gain the courage to make contact, competition rolls in.

I knew nothing about Gigante when I began to watch it other than what the short plot summary on IMDb.com describes. The tempo of the film is a bit slower, but steady and the unknowing of what lies around each corner snagged me in and held my attention through-out. It was easy to relate to Jara, a very likable character, and the agony of his obsession for Julia and one cannot help but develop a fondness for her as Jara becomes more and more familiar with her.

Gigante isn't for everyone, but if you have ever become enamored with someone, but lacked the self confidence to act on it, I think you will appreciate this film.

Jara is a gentle giant (hence the film's title)of a man,with an equally big heart,who loves heavy metal music,loves hanging out with pretty much himself,and has two jobs. One is working the night shift as a security guard at a supermarket,during the store's closing hours, with only fellow security guards & the cleaning staff (the other is a bouncer at a local bar). Jara is quite taken by Julia,a pretty,young cleaning woman,who although somewhat of a klutz,seems to tread the same path as Jara (both are pretty much loners,'tho Julia does get around during the day,while Jara is content to just stay home & sleep,or play video games with one of his nephews). Jara is determined to get to know Julia better,to the extent of following her around,acting as some kind of bodyguard (at times,it seems that Jara could be stalking Julia). Does Jara finally meet his heart's true love? That's for you to find out.Horacio Camandulle is Jara,a quiet & somewhat introverted man that adores Julia (played by Leonor Svarcas),another quiet,withdrawn soul,and wants to know her better. Adrian Biniez writes,directs & composes the film's original music score (Biniez,in addition to being the film's director,is also a musician). The film's pacing will probably be a bit too slow for most American's who are used to fast paced Hollywood films (Jim Jarmusch & Finland's Aki Kurismakki is a major influence here). Spoken in Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated by the MPAA,this film contains some outbursts of strong language & some comic book violence

With few images and a strong impression of calm the director depicts how love can actually arise from a very simple relation. The simplicity of the characters is actually what make this relationship so beautiful. The shyness of the principle character is greatly interpreted and does match really well with the social context of Montevideo presented as a very quiet city. The movie relies mostly on the suspense regarding the expectation from the principle character on his love that he only sees through the glass of a modern and inhuman computer.

The movie depict really well the social context of Uruguay: it's a wonderful immersion in the city of Montevideo and a great opportunity to discover a wonderful country which cinema appears to be both pretty rare and developing a great artistic quality.

A film from Uruguay about a stalker who is a gentle giant yet one tough mean hombre who just wants to love his fellow grocery store worker. But she doesn't really know he exists. Who doesn't know that story, right?! So he follows her. Yes, in America this is stalking and could get you hauled in for questioning by the police and possibly a restraining order. But in Montevideo in this movie it's sweet. We get a great performance from our lead actor, even if it's just through his actions that we get to feel him. It's not so much a dark and disturbing stalking story as it is a love story but far from the sappy romancey crap girls wanna drag you to the theater to pay twenty bucks to see. This has a fantastic indie film feel and how often do you get to see what Montevideo looks like?!

6.8 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener