If it comes to motion (pictures), then we are facing a tangibly magnificent one. Extremely fascinating cadres that impart to the audience an independent visual value, apart from being parts of a cinematic narrative. The narrative gaps left on purpose coerce the viewer into partaking of the building of meaning. Examples for these gaps include the nature of the relationship between Silvestre and Serafina (his supposed wife and mother of his sex mate Angelis), the everyday (salty) puzzle work of the guy (Parra) and the nature of Angelis' feelings when she succumbs to her salt baths on a daily basis. Director Jorge Solano makes extensive use of the local customs of that secluded village and builds a network of symbols that serves the dramatic onward movement of his movie, e.g. the tradition of putting umbilical cords of the newborn into small wicker cases and letting them hang on nearby trees. We see the returning husband finding out the truth about his wife's condition through discovering the third wicker case hung by the tree, alluding to a third baby that is not his. Later, we see Adriana Paz (Cheba) letting that case go away with the current of the river, as a token of forsaking her third baby for the sake of continuance of her marriage. Imperial and capitalist strength is evident, first through the candidate who runs for governor of the county or whatever, unheeding the true maladies of its poor forlorn inhabitants, and secondly through the unnamed destination of Cheba's husband (Carmelo) as he returns and we hear the only English statement in the movie from him when he says: "I'm hungry" in his native Mexican dialect. He refers to that unnamed destination that is evidently USA when he had just made love to his wife, saying she would have never dreamed of the cruelty with which he was treated there. On the whole, it's a movie that is definitely worth watching. Great acting by the main characters also.
Review of Perpetual Sadness
