When speaking of Costa Rican movies, itโs become the norm to measure the achievements of the latest release by comparing them only to the local movies that came before it. Most of the moviesโ shortcomings are justified with the notion that itโs OK for local productions to be mediocre because of the economic struggles their creation implied. โItโs good…for a Costa Rican movieโ has become the default reply whenever you ask someone their thoughts on a local film.
While it might be true that the country still doesnโt have the means to proclaim that a โmovie industryโ exists, audiences and filmmakers alike seem to be forgetting that art is a universal language. If Costa Rican music and literature can live up to universal standards, why should we conform ourselves with anything less than that when it comes to their movies?
Therefore it was absolutely refreshing to watch Francisco Gonzรกlezโs โTr3s Marรญasโ, the very first movie made in Costa Rica that does not adhere to the self-imposed limitations that seem to plague other projects developed in the country. Gonzรกlez understands that art, in every form, is meant to be processed beyond the confines of a specific geographic location and should always aim to communicate its message to whoever feels like receiving it. His movie doesnโt have the glossy, made for TV feel of the fantasias set in Costa Rica that we have become used to watching, and effortlessly can be called an entry into the โworld cinemaโ genre.
โTr3s Marรญasโ is set in a San Josรฉ that feels both remote and familiar (the cityโs name is never uttered in the movie aiding in its purpose of universality) and follows three interconnecting stories whose major dramatic motivations are triggered after the murder of a neighbor. Marรญa Victoria (Abril Reyes) is a young woman planning to commit armed robbery with her boyfriend Cรฉsar (Pablo Morales) in order to pay off a debt. Marรญa Josรฉ (Ariadna Retana) is a prostitute trying to support her daughter and her do-no-good mother Esperanza (played with Fellini-esque gusto by Rosibel Carvajal). Marรญa Elena (Madeleine Martรญnez) is a religious woman trying to cope with her violent husbandโs (Carlos Alvarado) apathy and her sonโs (Erick Calderรณn) estrangement.
During the course of a single night, the lives of the three title Marรญas cross paths reminding us not only of the tribulations people in Latin America endure on a daily basis, but also of the strange notion that urban expansion has not prevented the world from getting smaller. The film is erected on the foundations of a fantastically written, tightly constructed screenplay that succeeds in fulfilling several purposes, among them providing observations on social injustice and issues generated by violence, drug trafficking and disregard for education. All of this while delivering an entertaining product that complies with basic notions that assume audiences still want to laugh, feel and cry, even while digesting didactic commodities.
Gonzรกlezโs screenplay, in particular, stands out because of its remarkable economy. Instead of dwelling on irrelevant details he goes straight to the heart of the matter and suggests the creation of entire backstories for his characters with few words. A recurring joke in the movie is that whenever someone asks someone else for a favor, they instantly reply โdonโt ask me for moneyโ. With this seemingly innocuous reply, the filmmaker makes us understand that basic survival is something these people can not take for granted.
His insistence on focusing on his characters becomes even more obvious because of the filmโs cinematography, which consists mostly of tight close ups and a recurrent use of Dutch or oblique angles, which provide the movie with extremely rich textures that – like the stories being told – catch us off guard and demand we pay exclusive attention to whatโs unfolding onscreen.
Beyond showcasing the filmโs thought-out artistry, these tight shots work because they donโt let us become distracted by peripheral elements. For people watching the movie in Costa Rica, โTr3s Marรญasโ wonโt become a checklist of iconic sights or national landmarks, because most of the time they will have no idea where they are.
Because the film doesnโt aim to touch specifically national sensibilities, it might feel like itโs exerting tough love on a society that might not be completely ready to open its eyes to the tragedies and misfortunes of the larger world. This by no means implies that โTr3s Marรญasโ is in any way a miserabilist take on Costa Rican life, instead it should be seen as a beacon of hope that ought to remind other artists that even if at one point or another they might all have to deal with the painfulness of daily existence, art ,to this day, still remains the one true source of inspiration that violence and injustice can not destroy.
– โTr3s Marรญasโ opens nationwide on March 23, 2012 and will play in the following theaters: CCM San Pedro, Cinรฉpolis Terramall, Cinรฉpolis Desamparados, Cinemark Escazรบ, Cinemark del Este and a copyย with English subtitlesย will play in Sala Cine Arte Lindora.
By Jose Solis