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My God is the opening of Polvo Seran (showing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, English: “They Will Be Dust”) dazzling! I watched a screener so I was able to rewind it and immediately watch the first few minutes again. You know what’s also nice? The movie starts right away. The chaos of a cramped apartment and parademics so organically and seamlessly combining into Pina Bausch style choreography. Then a seeming calm amid the disarray, focus on half a set of dentures lying on the carpet, the chattering percussion of a transitional song sneaks into your ears. I’ve paused the movie at 5 minutes in to write the opening paragraph of this review. I’m feeling thrilled right now. Let’s see how the rest goes. Pressing play now.
“I have a lot to say, but I don’t want to.” I’m back and I have watched the whole movie by now from director Carlos Marques-Marcet, from a script by the director and Clara Roquet and Coral Cruz. Here we go: A good performer puts you at ease as they stride out on the stage with confidence, letting you know that you will be competently entertained. And I can reassure you, if you’re reading this review right now, that I have the bonafides to discuss the content of this movie. Because I was by my own mother’s side as she died from the complications from the stem cell transplant she got to treat her leukemia.
Claudia (Angela Molina) is a dancer and actress in her 60s who will die eventually from cancerous tumours. She has her husband Flavio (Alfredo Castro), also an actor, and one of her daughters Violeta (Monica Almirall) by her side.
Having seen my own mom go through chemotherapy, a very blunt procedure in which they pour powerful chemicals directly into your veins (which also takes your energy and makes food taste like metal), I’ve been upset in the past by videos of chemo patients dancing for the enjoyment of Ellen Degeneres. I respect that that is their experience, and that optimism is nice, but it is not everybody’s experience.
This movie was never that for me. The performances, the complexities of the character relationships, the musical numbers, the dialogue, were all near perfect for me. They really worked a miracle here. Death is ridiculous and stupid and tacky and dramatic so why can’t we also be all these things along the way?
The tension of the film is are we heading towards a full on assisted suicide song and dance number? Please don’t show restraint. You are performers so please perform for me. Give me that Roy Scheider Ann Reinking Ben Vereen All That Jazz ending but a thousand times crazier. That would have healed me. You gotta close the show.
But I still liked the ending. The uniqueness of the situation allowed for some great jokes and moments. But they fumbled. They had a chance to be grotesque in a good way, it was there on a silver platter, but good taste won the day. Who cares if it’s predictable? With all that talent on display give me that scene! Show me your magic. Maybe a deleted scene exists?
I only get mad because I care. I really love this movie. If I were asked to write a pull quote for it I might just say “Polvo Seran makes La La Land look like Blah Blah Bland. Run, don’t walk to see this movie.”
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