Tarde Para Morir Joven (2018)

Directed by: Dominga Sotomayor Castillo | 110 minutes | drama | Actors: Demian Hernández, Antar Machado, Magdalena Tótoro, Matías Oviedo, Andrés Aliaga, Antonia Zegers, Alejandro Goic, Eyal Meyer, Mercedes Mujica, Gabriel Cañas, Michael Silva

Just as in her first feature film ‘De jueves a domingo’ (2012), which was also programmed in the Netherlands that year as part of Previously Unreleased (and also screened at the IFFR), the themes of ‘Tarde para morir joven ‘ (2018) close to filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor Castillo herself. Family ties, divorce, the feeling of freedom during the holidays, a young person’s view of the world around her, the Chilean environment… In ‘Tarde para morir joven’, however, the focus is more on drawing the atmosphere than on the characters. In addition, this second feature film by the Chilean director has several main characters, making it more difficult for the viewer and the filmmaker to get a grip on the various characters.

‘Tarde para morir joven’ starts with a trip: the father of sixteen-year-old Sofia picks up a number of children, apparently it has been agreed that they will ride with him. In addition to Sofia’s brother, ten-year-old Clara and Sofia’s peer Lucas are also in the car. Clara’s dog Frida runs after the car. Destination is the community where a number of families move in for an unclear period of time. At the foot of the Andes in the middle of nature, there is no electricity or running water, the living conditions are primitive. Gradually more families are trickling in. They are mostly artistic people – painters, musicians – who make plans for a big party during New Year’s Eve (which falls in the middle of summer in Chile) and make agreements about installing a permanent water supply. Sofia and Lucas seem in love; meanwhile Clara searches for her dog, which apparently didn’t make it to its final destination.

A little later, things get a little more tense when Sofia suddenly shows an interest in the older Ignacio. It also becomes clear that Sofia’s dissatisfied attitude has mainly to do with the absence of her mother, with whom she wants to live in the new year. The fact that Lucas is very jealous is beautifully subtly portrayed. And the nice thing is that you feel that it is not out of selfishness: of course he wants Sofia for himself, but he is also concerned about her well-being.

Sotomayor portrays the atmosphere in the commune well, with everyday actions and conversations that seem insignificant at first sight, in which the characters pretend they have all the time in the world. They eat, swim and make music together. The camerawork is beautiful, the whole movie looks as if the colors have been bleached by the sun, so you can almost feel the warmth.

Due to the running time, the meandering plot, which has no big surprises, does get in the way of the film a bit. ‘Tarde para morir joven’ is therefore more atmospheric than drama, but the film is certainly worth watching for film buffs who like to look below the surface and not have everything handed to you on a silver platter. It is advisable to read in advance about the history of Chile in the last two decades of the twentieth century. Sotomayor was the first female director to receive the Silver Leopard from the Locarno Film Festival for this impressionistic-feeling film.