The Sky, the Earth and the Rain

Very understandably dubbed, by Sight and Sound editor Nick James, as an impressive if regrettable example of the ‘cinema of inconsequentiality’, this slow, subtle, overly studied sketch (portrait’s too strong a word!) of the lives of a handful of folks living in and around a Chilean river village is strong on mood and striking imagery, short on narrative propulsion and, well, incisive insight. Needlessly obscure in places, it’s undeniably ‘beautiful’ but also far too arty for its own good. Entertainment is certainly not high on the agenda; one for Vertigo readers, one suspects.