Julien Neaves, Caribbean Head Writer
In my never-ending contest to cover Caribbean content (Cariwood) I have done reviews from Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica (a few), Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago (quite a lot from TT, where I’m from). And today we expand that list with my first ever review from Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten.
The film is Alto Vista (view from above) which was released in 2015 and directed by award-winning Aruban filmmaker Juan Francisco Pardo. The logline reads, “Souls trapped in a moment, searching for love, satisfaction and forgiveness. Alto Vista is a place that not only unites a family, but also divides them, repeating their past and reflecting their future.” Yeah, so a bit cryptic. But the film is only five minutes long so to get into plot details would inevitably venture into spoiler territory.
I will say the film touches on themes of time, family, abuse, loss and regret. And despite the short runtime it fits in quite a lot of story, one that I only truly figured out (or I believe so) after having it roll around in a head for awhile. That is always a pleasant experience. Oh, and the cinematography is stellar.
I know I haven’t you guys a lot, but suffice to say it is a very well-made film with an intriguing story and some striking visuals. You should definitely check it out.
Editor Jules’s Score: 7 out of 10
You can watch the film for yourself on Studio Anansi by clicking here. And you can check out more Caribbean short film content below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.