In this new Thursday of Chilean Cinema we have the honor of sharing with you two gems of Chilean cinema: Bonsai, by Cristián Jiménez and The Simple Things, by Álvaro Anguita, two films that humorously portray complex themes of life. Both films ask themselves and the audience about the limit between truth and the deception, building a filmic universe lush with photographic details pertaining to the geographical area of each production. Bonsai was filmed in the southern city of Valdivia and The Simple Things in Machalí, and each are a tribute to the director's homeland. Additionally, both works reflect on love, loyalty and the emotional capacity of memory.
Based on the novel by the Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra, Bonsai is Jimenez's second feature film and it premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, marking the return of Chilean cinema to that section since Miguel Littin screened his film Tierra del Fuego in 2000.
The film is a love story that takes place in two different points in time, one in the present and another 8 years before. Julio studies literature in Valdivia and falls in love with Emilia. Years later, due to the twists and turns of life, he builds a literary plot based on the romance that linked him to Emilia way back when.
Produced by Jirafa in co-production with Rizoma (Argentina), Rouge International (France) and Ukbar films (Portugal), Bonsai stars Diego Noguera, Nathalia Galgani and Trinidad González, while the Director of Photography was Inti Briones and the editor was Soledad Salfate.
In 2011, Jimenez told EFE that the film "is not just an adaptation of a novel, but a work whose theme is the literary gesture." In the movie the book "play a role that goes far beyond its content." Bonsai deals with the existential dimension of loneliness and its characters taking refuge in books. In 2010 Jiménez was part of the residence of the Cinefondation de Cannes, during which he developed the script for the film.
The film has received, among others, the Fipresci Award for Best Film at the 2011 Havana Festival and the Best Ibero-American Film Award at the 29th Miami Film Festival. Jimenez’s films have screened at the Toronto Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival, Tokyo Film Festival, BAFICI, among others.
Jiménez has been the winner of the most important national awards such as the Pedro Sienna and Altazor Awards. In addition, he has directed television and made video clips for artists such as the singer Mika and the French band Indochine. He has also had an impressive career in television, directing series such as Weirdoes and The Substitute. He is currently developing Evasión, a science fiction drama produced by Parox.
Click here to watch Bonsai
The Simple Things is a 26-minute short film that tells a moving story about the effects of Alzheimer's. Starring Catalina Saavedra, the narration weaves the themes of identity and memory through multiple emotional layers. Penelope (Saavedra) works at a bureaucratic office giving citizen’s their identity cards, and in the afternoons she takes care of her mother, a woman with Alzheimer's who is about to forget her own name. One day Penelope meets Ulises, a man who has no memories, and convinces him that he is her father. Once they arrive to the house, hilarious and touching situations occur between the three of them, revealing that reality is simpler than it appears, depending on where you look at it.
The short film received the Grand Prix of the Clermont Ferrand Festival 2014. It was also exhibited at the Havana Film Festival, Biarritz Festival, among others.
The Simple Things was produced by Pablo Calisto of the production house Equeco, known for making a young and innovative cinema and which found international success with The Little White Lie by Tomás Alzamora, selected at the Miami Film Festival and the Malága Film Festival in 2017. Alzamora was the Director of Photography of The Simple Things.
Anguita is a director and scriptwriter of short films as well as a cinematographer, cameraman and electrician in different national productions, including Un cuento de amor, locura y muerte (2015). He is currently working on his long-awaited ópera prima Los vasos rotos produced by Pablo Calisto.
