Daniel, a man in his forties lives alone in a Havana apartment. He seems to have no friends of social life, although he is in good terms with neighbors. The apartment is Spartan in its appointments; there is no hot water, and the only amenities are an old radio and an old television lying unused. Daniel is successful in his work, as a newspaper report indicates. His only pastime: he makes strangely graceful figures from discarded electric wire and pieces of paper. We also learn (or guess) from a photo that he has a small daughter and separated from his wife in bad terms.
One night he is asked by his neighbor Raúl to give temporary shelter to Raúl's niece Ana, who is hiding from her violent, abusive husband. He does so, and a story begins. There is nothing totally unexpected in any step but director Alfredo Ureta tells the tale in a slow, deliberate, mesmerizing way with a minimum of dialogue. We witness a gradual transformation of Daniel, evident for instance in the way he prepares meals for himself.
There is an excursion into the realm of the fantastic. A loose tile in Daniel's apartment seems to became more and more conspicuous, until Daniel decides to fix it. He discovers a subterranean passage, probably an abandoned storm drain and sees things that are not there, but symbolize or touch upon the change in his life. Maybe this is just a dream or a phantasy. Maybe this is the guarida del topo, the mole's lair of the title, and his peeking through openings is how a mole would see the outer world.
I found the movie endlessly fascinating. It sustains your attention in spite of its deliberate slowness The director weaves a fascinating tale out of everyday materials, supported by excellent cinematography by Alejandro Pérez Gómez and superior acting not only from the leads (Néstor Jiménez and Ketty de la Iglesia) but from the entire cast.
One night he is asked by his neighbor Raúl to give temporary shelter to Raúl's niece Ana, who is hiding from her violent, abusive husband. He does so, and a story begins. There is nothing totally unexpected in any step but director Alfredo Ureta tells the tale in a slow, deliberate, mesmerizing way with a minimum of dialogue. We witness a gradual transformation of Daniel, evident for instance in the way he prepares meals for himself.
There is an excursion into the realm of the fantastic. A loose tile in Daniel's apartment seems to became more and more conspicuous, until Daniel decides to fix it. He discovers a subterranean passage, probably an abandoned storm drain and sees things that are not there, but symbolize or touch upon the change in his life. Maybe this is just a dream or a phantasy. Maybe this is the guarida del topo, the mole's lair of the title, and his peeking through openings is how a mole would see the outer world.
I found the movie endlessly fascinating. It sustains your attention in spite of its deliberate slowness The director weaves a fascinating tale out of everyday materials, supported by excellent cinematography by Alejandro Pérez Gómez and superior acting not only from the leads (Néstor Jiménez and Ketty de la Iglesia) but from the entire cast.
