Crab Trap/ El Vuelco del Cangrejo

image

This year’s festival has a special section, Tribute to Colombia, showcasing the cinematic talents of this north-western South American country, whose geography gives it a mix of Latin American and vibrant Caribbean culture. Set in the isolated village of La Barra, Oscar Ruiz Navia’s debut feature film is a slow paced examination of this community through the eyes of an interloper, Daniel (Rodrigo Vélez). Seductive in its languid, simplistic style, Crap Trap lures you in, without ever letting you really get a grasp on the full story.

image

Daniel walks us into the seaside village, in need of a motorboat to get him out of the country. Daniel is only the second white man in La Barra, a black community. The first is El Paisa (the White Man, played by Jaime Andres Castaño), who is trying to turn the area into a beach resort. His incessantly blasting of reggaetón, through large speakers in front of his property, is slowly driving the community members mad. Daniel must wait for the fishermen, driven further and further out to sea to catch fish, to return before buying his way out on a boat. Daniel stays with Celebro (Arnobio Salazar Rivas), the informal head of the Afro-Colombian community, doing odd jobs to pay his way, saving his own money for the illusive escape vessel. Whilst waiting, Daniel is befriended by Lucia (Yisela Álvarez), a young girl desperate for him to spend some of his money at her mother’s makeshift restaurant.

image

With a similar visual style to Fernando Eimbcke’s Lake Tahoe (2008), Navia’s shots linger after the action/characters have moved out of frame. This technique is surprisingly affecting, with the landscape given time to exist on film in its own right. Navia’s fascination with this unique area of Colombia has obviously developed over time. He filmed a short film there previously called There Is a Brain at La Barra. Crap Trap, made using mainly non-professional actors from La Barra, is an excellent introduction to Colombian cinema for many Australians, lucky enough to catch this film at SPFF. Hidden under the surface, this clever mood piece contains vastly complex political, cultural and environmental issues.

First Published on the Spanish Film Festival Blog 14/05/10