The otherworldly allure of heaven tugs at every character, moment, and gesture within Alberto Sciamma’s latest film, Cielo. The Spanish director’s latest feature is set in the Bolivian countryside and follows a young girl named Santa (Fer Monserrat) in her unwavering pursuit of finding heaven.
Films that hinge on the performance of a central child actor are typically prone to losing audience interest. It’s a tall task to ask someone so little to carry the big weight of a feature length film. However, Monserrat is more than up to the task here. Big shoutout to casting director Yara Gutierrez for finding the young star, and to Sciamma’s direction for allowing her to flourish in the role.
Monserrat’s performance fully draws you into the world of young Santa. Her journey is simultaneously harrowing and affecting; featuring moments of both heartbreak and heartwarming. Before you know it, you’re fully invested in her tale.
A tale of a young girl with an abusive father, searching for some salvation for her and her mother. The film begins with Santa freeing herself and her mother of her father’s tyrannical tendencies and kickstarting her journey.
Along the way Santa befriends a group of traveling lady luchadores, a down on his luck cop, and a priest. Although it sounds like the bad setup for a joke about a group of people who just walked into a bar, the adults who encounter Santa all learn just as much from the little girl as they attempt to teach her.
Between the main luchadora, La Reina (Mariela Salaverry), and the widowed cop (Fernando Arze Echalar), Santa finds a new pseudo family unit. La Reina as the warrior fighter mother figure, and Gustavo (the cop) as the sensitive protective father figure. Santa’s new family is able to provide her with the love, guidance, and support her birth parents were unable to provide.
As sweet as Cielo’s central story is, the film’s visual presentation is what truly makes it succeed. Sciamma and cinematographer Alex Metcalfe capture the beauty of Bolivian landscapes from the first frame of the film.
A wide shot of Santa sitting lake side against the backdrop of some small mountains is how the film opens. Countless shots with the sun serving as a natural back lighting fill the film. As Santa travels through the Bolivian countryside, the country’s stunning geography is highlighted time and time again.
Equally as stunning as the natural beauty of the film is the way human beauty is captured. Not only in how Sciamma and Metcalfe shoot the simple joys of the faces that fill the screen, but also with breathtakingly gorgeous costuming. The colors of characters’ wardrobes pop off the screen as much as any shot of the majestic natural world.
Cielo does happen to feature a healthy dose of magical realism. There’s a bit more to Santa that meets the eye. You’ll have to watch for yourself to find out what it is exactly. But the journey taken with her is a wholly satisfying one.
The spiritual journey here is as noteworthy as the physical one. Both clashing and converging until there is no choice but for them to coexist. And once we get there, things seem to fall into place as needed. The charm, wonder, and earnestness presented in Cielo is something all should encounter.
Cielo premiered earlier this year at SXSW London, and made its North American premiere this month at Fantasia Festival.
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