Parque Via

Parque Via
Parque Via

Mexico 2008

directed by
Enrique Rivero
screenplay
Enrique Rivero
cinematography
Arnau Valls Colomer
music
Alejandro de Icaza
sound
Raul Locatelli
editing
Javier Ruiz Caldera,Enrique Rivero
cast
Nolberto Coria, Nancy Orozco, Tesalia Huerta
producer
Paola Herrera, Enrique Rivero
production
Una Comunion
world sales
Fortissimo Films
Van Diemenstraat 100
1013 CN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
T +31 20 627 32 15
F +31 20 626 11 55
E info@fortissimo.nl
format
35mm, barvni/colour
running time
86'

Beto (Coria), a solitary caretaker, has spent decades maintaining a mansion surrounded by high walls, which its owner cannot sell. The monotonous rhythm of waking up to the sound of an alarm clock, taking a shower, having breakfast, making repairs and ironing shirts suits him. Only rarely is his isolation disrupted by the visits of the elderly owner (Huerta) or the prostitute Lupe (Orozco). The monotony is finally broken when the house is sold, placing the agoraphobic Beto at a crossroads between social life and further isolation.

Typically for the Mexican New Wave, Enrique Rivera's directorial and scriptwriting debut constantly moves between documentary and fiction. The long, completely static takes realistically depict the solitary life of a real caretaker, while the handheld close-ups show more emotion in the untrained actor than the rare but thoughtful dialogues. The documentary 16-milimeter camera follows Beto's mood; in the safety of the mansion, it appears cool and calm – shooting from classic camera angles – while, in the outside world of Ciudad de México, it explodes into a rainbow of warm colours and epileptic cutting from shot to shot. Through the repetitive scenes of never-ending maintenance tasks, we get a picture of the main character, who is not only the inhabitant of the mansion, but an integral part of it, essential to its existence. The rare but precisely timed classical music complements the dialogues and underlines the cinematography, creating an atmosphere of anxiety caused by open spaces.

The social disparity between the Native American caretaker and the wealthy white owner – common in contemporary Mexico – is perceptible throughout, but it is not problematic. They are both reconciled with their social positions and sterile interpersonal relationships and do not desire any changes, which are inevitable in the long-term.

»This was my first script and I am happy that I was able to shoot it. For me, the experience of directing someone else's film is over, because it is really fun to film whatever you write, with the freedom this enables. It is a story about a lonely character, a caretaker, who plays himself in the film. This is why I wanted it to look like a documentary as much as possible, so I used a 16mm camera. I think that if there is a documentary feel to the film, then you definitely get more involved with a character.« (Enrique Rivero)

Enrique Rivero

Enrique Rivero was born in 1976 in Madrid. After finishing his studies in industrial engineering in Mexico, he started working in the banking industry and then moved to the US, where he got a one-year job. There, he decided to change his life and started studying film. He has worked in different areas of film production, technical as well as artistic. He directed two short films: Nidra (2004) and Schhht (2005), both produced by Sinsan Productions. In February 2005, he worked as first assistant director on the feature film La Influencia (2007) directed by Pedro Aguilera and co-produced by Mantarraya.