Well, CONDUCTOS, like cigarettes, should come with a very clear warning label: ALL THOSE ALLERGIC TO ART HOUSE MUST AVOID THIS FILM LIKE THE PLAGUE! Hmmmmm.... Just WHERE(¡?¿?!) do I begin??? To me it is PAINFULLY (Literally!) obvious that director Camilo Restrepo had quite a number of unique and intense ideas bouncing around in his head for a rather prolonged period of time before actually taking on this ARTSY project!
Certainly, he must have been keenly obsessed to create the ultimate Colombian Art House Film PAR EXCELLENCE!
....A truly inspired cinematic MASTERPIECE which would serve as the benchmark for scores of other Colombian films for a decade or two to come! Consequently, this review must grapple with the following conundrum: Did Director Carlos Restrepo succeed in achieving his ever so lofty of goals??? My Answer....7******* ! (READ: Well....
Let´s give him 7 Stars for a most heoric effort = ALMOST!
My honest opinion is this film speaks for itself! It is painfully obvious that his effort was monumental... But fell, when being brutally honest, somewhat short of what RESTREPO keenly envisioned and strived for! Most certainly, if nothing else, Restrepo demontstrates his awareness that a DARK, rather opaque screen, tends to make the audience suffer and feel most uncomfortable. He applies this knowledge with an obvious emphasis on what results as overkill!
Another inkling I get from CONDUCTOS is that most of the dialogue is ad-libbed! He must have painted an outline of each scene in very broad stokes and then let his rather talented actors pretty much take it from there! Notice that RESTREPO is also credited as Film Editor. Thusly, he could allow himself to put the all the finishing touches on his truly DARK vision!
We should look forward to his next cinematic venture... Which could very likely be much closer to the Cinematic Masterpiece for which he yearns so desperately!
