Film Movement are prepping their Fall slate by including a triple Berlin Film Festival award-winner debut film from Uruguay in Adrián Biniez‘s Gigante. The company announced the pickup of a film with a premise (see below) that sounds delicious – I’m thinking of Latin American version of Andrea Arnold‘s Red Road but obviously working from a totally different POV. From what I gather from the trailer and synopsis below is that there are strands of the socioeconomic crisis (a recurrent theme in Uruguayan cinema), but it is less central than the idea of isolation and longing. For a brief idea watch the clip-filled trailer and avoid the last two minutes for possible spoilers.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize Silver Bear, Best First Feature Film and Alfred Bauer Prize in Berlin, Gigante sees Jara is a 35 year old shy and lonely man, who works in a suburb of Montevideo as a supermarket security guard. It’s his job to keep an eye on the security cameras installed throughout the building, but during his graveyard shift he rarely has a great deal to do. This gives him plenty of time to pursue his favorite pastimes: watching videos, doing crossword puzzles or listening to music. And so his life continues—until one day Julia enters his field of vision. Julia works at the supermarket as a cleaner, and Jara immediately feels a strong attraction towards her. At first he spends hour after hour in front of the security monitors watching her work. But, before long, he starts following her after work: when she goes to the cinema, to the beach and even when she meets another man. His whole life gradually begins to revolve around Julia’s daily routine. One day rumors begin to spread among the staff that the company intends to lay off some of the workers. When Julia is finally made redundant, Jara is faced with a difficult decision: Should he drop his obsession? Or should he admit his feelings to Julia?
