Que tan lejos: Ecuador's cinematic pride and joy asks "Are We There Yet?"
Written: Dec 28 '08 (Updated Dec 28 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful Scenery, realistic portrayal of Ecuadorian life--flaws and all
Cons: Sub-par acting outside of the four leads
The Bottom Line: Que tan lejos offers the most realistic look into Ecuador you will be able to find, short of an airplane ticket.
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If you travel to the South American country of Ecuador, you will have a hard time finding a "real" DVD of any movie. The reason for this is that piracy has made DVD's extremely cheap. On a Saturday, you can get a copy of a movie that hit the U.S. theaters the day before, for no more than $3.00. So, on our last trip to Ecuador, when everyone we knew kept talking about the movie Que tan lejos (How Much Further), we thought it would be a piece of cake to find a copy to take home.
It wasn't. Actually, we couldn't get our hands on this one until my in-laws brought it back earlier this year. After hearing so much from every Ecuadorian person we knew about how excellent this movie is, my husband and I finally got to find out for ourselves...
...and my feelings on Que tan lejos differ depending from which aspect I view it. In this movie, Tristeza (Cecilia Vallejo) finishes her school week, only to learn that the love of her life is going to get married in Cuenca the next day. Cuenca is a half hour from Ecuador's capital city (Quito) by air and about five hours by bus. On the same day, Esperanza (Tania Hermida, who also wrote and produced the film) arrives in Quito, on vacation from Spain. Both women end up on the same bus to Cuenca, where they befriend each other. Since there is a paro (strike) going on, the bus gets detained south of Quito, and the two women look for other methods of getting to Cuenca, mainly by foot, hitchhiking and, later, other buses.
Their journey takes them out of the way from where they should be (I'm still not sure exactly how they ended up on the beach at one point), but they both learn a lot about themselves in the journey, making a couple of friends along the way.
People who have never been to Ecuador will be amazed at the beauty of the countryside shown in this movie. Everything was filmed on location, and aside from the four main actors, everyone in the film is an Ecuadorian local (non-professional actor). This is where my mixed feelings begin. Knowing the political and economic history of Ecuador, I think it is really great that the filmmakers hired local talent. My 'movie lover' side can't ignore how bad the acting is in the scenes with the locals. In particular, there is a scene between Tristeza and a young girl that reminds me of an elementary school play. It felt like the girl was either quickly repeating everything she had been told two seconds prior to filming, or getting the lines read to her by a stagehand.
But, is it a good movie?
On its own, Que tan lejos would not normally be considered a good movie. It really has no plot, since all mention of Tristeza's boyfriend's wedding is few and far-between. No, the reason all of Ecuador thinks this movie is excellent is that it is as real a portrait of Ecuadorian life as one can get. The problem with this is that viewers who have not been to Ecuador might not "get" it.
One relatively harmless example of this is when the heroines get a ride from Andres, a guy who is on his way to a wedding in Cuenca, along with another friend they made along the way (Jesus). Andres is listening to a soccer game on the radio, and when it is announced that his team won the game, Andres stops the car in the middle of the highway, grabs a giant flag of Ecuador and runs in circles around the car shouting how happy he is for his team. Having been to Ecuador's first appearance at the World Cup, I can vouch for the validity of Andres's reaction to victory.
A major reflection of the way of Ecuadorian life (which could also be seen in a negative light) has to do with the paro. Usually, when there is a strike in Ecuador, all of the roads are blocked off, and people burn tires in the middle of the road. Tristeza is in complete agreement with the strike. When Esperanza asks her what the strike is about, Tristeza can not really explain it logically. Then, when pushed further by Esperanza, she confesses that she is against everything. This is something that I think is pretty common worldwide: people jump on the bandwagon to oppose the establishment, but do not often understand what exactly they are opposing. In Ecuador, it feels like people are always finding some reason to strike.
On a technical note...
This movie is in Spanish, with English subtitles. Most of the subtitles are pretty accurate translations, with a few minor niggles. There are very few extras, a short about the music in the movie (mainly acoustic guitar solos), and a short on the scenery in the movie.
I mentioned before that piracy is rampant in Ecuador. Ironically, this was the one movie we could not find a copy of while it was still in theaters in Ecuador. The reason for this, as told by a DVD store owner, is that "we could never do that to an Ecuadorian film." Our relatives felt pride that at least the pirates had a sliver of respect for "their own people," but I found it hypocritical. The copy I have is an "original," but the disc quality is very poor. It kept skipping in my DVD player, so that I could only play it straight through on my computer. The pirated DVD's found in Ecuador are better quality than a "real" copy of Que tan lejos!
In the end...
If you are at all interested in knowing Ecuador, Que tan lejos is a good snapshot into the beautiful landscapes and complicated mindset found in the country. Just know that absolutely none of the details are exaggerated for humor. They are what they are.
Special thanks to millinocket for adding this to the database eons ago.
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
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