Reviews

Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait is a meditative and imaginative look at the cracks within the foundation of a family gathering to take a family picture.

9/10

I’ve had a lot of films that have resonated deeply with me this year. Films like Killers of the Flower Moon shook me to my core, Oppenheimer’s grand display of the troubles inside our protagonist’s head surprised me, but none of them as much as the feeling I got from Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait. I walked out of this film with a sense of familiarity with the story of the picture. I could not shake off the feeling that I was shown something too intimate that I did not have the right to view. It almost felt like spying on the home of a family as it starts to crumble apart and you don’t have any choice but to keep looking. Movies like this are hard to come by and when they do it’s a delight to be able to witness their magic before it reaches the whole world. This was one of the last films I watched at the festival, and after having a conversation with the director I knew that this would be one of my favorite films of the year.

Family Portrait is directed by Lucy Kerr and written by Kerr and Karlis Bergs. The film stars Deragh Campbell (Possessor) who plays Katy whose boyfriend Olek played by Chris Galust (Give Me Liberty) is supposed to take a family picture at their lake house. That’s a pretty simple premise, right? Well, as the family is trying to get this picture situated the family’s matriarch goes missing. While everyone seems to be off in their own world, Katy sets off on a surrealistic journey to find her mother. The film was shot by Lidia Nikonova and edited by Karlis Bergs. I also have to shout out the sound team composed of Nikolay Antonov and Andrew Siedenburgh.

I could talk for ages about the beautiful cinematography of Family Portrait, its invasive sound design that shakes you to the depths of your skin, and the pensive body language from our lead Deragh Campbell. Yet, none of that comes close to the feeling of watching this movie progress and fly by its almost 80-minute runtime. The film’s meditative pace reminded me of the patience found within Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (a film that changed my life after watching it and the director echoed this same statement) but with the technical language of Ingmar Bergman. Lucy Kerr took a lot of inspiration from Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel’s La Cienaga along with Hungarian director Bella Tarr’s Sátántangó. Kerr loves her long takes and continuously shifts the viewer’s focus as opposed to the camera’s focus on the multiple members of the family. Some aren’t as concerned as Katy and that begins to stress her out. I sat there just dumbfounded that no one cared enough to search for their mother/aunt/wife with Katy. Yet, is that not the point of this film?

I wonder if Lucy Kerr’s answer to her thematic question is that we must venture outside of what we know to fix what’s broken inside? Are we only spectators to the dysfunctional nature of our family especially as the pandemic raged on and a lot of us were forced to stay home pondering these very questions. This is one of those occasions where I think it’s fine that the film doesn’t answer everything. Lucy Kerr wants the audience to continue to feel her narrative and the conversation surrounding this surrealist dreamscape. Make it a mission to watch Family Portrait whenever it’s playing at a cinema near you.

Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn’s Going Varsity in Mariachi is a masterful look into the world of UIL Mariachi competitions.

9/10

As I’ve stated before, I was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas on the border by the sea located in The Valley. No, I do not mean those in California but the Rio Grande Valley in deep South Texas where the humidity is a method of torture, you can find the best Mexican food that’s not in Mexico, and where ranchero music is a staple of our culture. When I heard about Going Varsity in Mariachi I was very aware of its subject matter. My high school did not have this program since it was a charter school but all the schools in BISD had their own estudiantina program. When I was in elementary school some of those schools actually came to perform for us. It’s a big part of the culture back home so to see it highlighted in this documentary easily shot it up on my list of most anticipated titles at the 15th annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival.

Going Varsity in Mariachi is directed by the duo behind Folk Frontera, Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez. I had the pleasure of watching their short film Folk Frontera at last year’s Houston Cinema Arts Festival as part of the Borders No Borders short film program. The film is shot by Michael Crommet and edited by Daniela I. Quiroz. The film follows the students in the “Mariachi Oro” (Mariachi Gold) from Edinburg North High School. Some of the students are there because of their passion for the music and some are there for the hell of it. By the end of the film you’ve followed their journey to the top of these competitions and as these students grow a deep appreciation for musica ranchera.

It’s almost impossible for me to gather enough words to describe what I love so much about Going Varsity in Mariachi. Its visual language sets it apart from other documentaries I’ve seen. The frames are always well-composed and colored to bring out the bright colors of the Rio Grande Valley. There are many heartfelt moments within the film from students failing to follow rules, watching students as they get ready for their proms, and of course, the grand moment of watching Mariachi Oro reach second place. The journey is rough for these students but throughout the documentary, they never lose sight of what they want. It’s all powered by their coach, Abel Acuña. Mr. Acuña’s guidance sometimes feels like tough love but it’s always for the best of his students. He reiterates time and time again that there isn’t a “plan b” for them as they’re not a well-funded program. These students need to make the best out of what they have and the film shows that they do.

Going Varsity in Mariachi will go down as one of the best films of the year and as of right now my favorite documentary of the year. I felt all of its warmth as it reminded me of home. At times, I also felt the devastation these students felt knowing they failed. It all makes up for a marvelous third act where it all culminates for them. Make sure to watch Going Varsity in Mariachi when it is released in a cinema near you.