Blank and Blank (2019)

Directed by: Theo Court | 100 minutes | drama | Actors: Alfredo Castro, Ignacio Ceruti, David Pantaleon, Esther Vega Pérez Torres, Lola Rubio, Lars Rudolph

Tierra del Fuego or Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago south of South America. It is the special location of Théo Court’s second feature ‘Blanco en Blanco’, after ‘Ocaso’ (2010), which was also included in the Previously Unreleased program of the Eye Film Institute.

‘Blanco en Blanco’ is set around the turn of the century, late nineteenth, early twentieth century. Photographer Pedro (a masterful Alfredo Castro) was told by a wealthy landowner, Mr. Porter, invited to film his wedding. Board, lodging and part of the salary in advance, the rest of the payment follows afterwards. However, it is not yet known when the wedding will take place. Also mr. Porter himself remains a mystery; we only see his very young bride Sara, who is photographed by Pedro quite soon after his arrival at the remote estate. Her high-necked wedding gown is quickly adjusted for the photo by Pedro’s skilled hands; with her shoulders bare, the girl – still a child actually – looks like a pin-up avant la lettre. The male domination is dripping from it; “He will like this much better,” Pedro defends his actions to the housekeeper. A considerable assumption, because he has never seen or spoken to his client.

Uncomfortable applies to many of the scenes in “Blank and Blanco.” Pedro’s conversations with one of Mr. Porter’s employees, for example – in English – never provide real insights, because the interlocutor seems like an unreliable man, who usurps more power than his boss probably knows. But the true abuse of power is shown in the scenes with the locals; slowly but steadily the entire Selk’nam population is being massacred and Pedro captures this with his camera. He is here now, waiting for the wedding feast. Does this make him complicit? Or should we be grateful to him for recording history…? Mind you, this isn’t photojournalism as we know it today, killers pose for minutes with their guns at the ready; the limbs of their victims are draped slightly differently so that it all comes into view.

Court cleverly chooses to keep the main culprit out of the picture; his character thus symbolizes history – and not just that of this particular genocide. Can’t there always be a main culprit, behind which the executors of laws, rules and orders hide? ‘Blanco en Blanco’ provides so much material to think about, but does not explicitly address these issues. In any case, this is not a film where you can expect answers, nor a clearly rounded plot.

The hypnotic sights and sounds (the howling wind, the footsteps on wooden floors, the barking of the dogs) complement each other seamlessly; Court clearly focuses on atmosphere over story. The slow pace of the film again contrasts with scenes that feel unfinished. Sometimes you wish a dialogue went on a little longer so that we could get to the heart of the matter, but that is clearly not Court’s intention.

It is difficult to estimate whether this makes ‘Blanco en Blanco’ a must. The film won both the Fipresci Prize for Film Criticism and the Venice Horizons, the prize for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, but whether this cold, pessimistic work finds a connection with film lovers depends on its willingness to look at beautifully captured moral reproach. watching without retaliation. Not an easy film, but one you won’t soon forget.