Virus Tropical at Sydney Latin American Film Fest
Sydney Latin American Film Festival’s 14th year focused on migration and the individuals and communities who are impacted by a wide range of social justice issues. Addy Fong caught a screening of Virus Tropical:
Growing up, many of us stumble through an array of relationships, mistakes and memories in the hope of finding ourselves and understanding our place in the world. Santiage Caicedo’s Virus Tropical is a film adapted from Colombian-Ecuadorian cartoonist Power Paola’s biographical novel. It is a coming-of-age story that follows Paola’s life from birth to adulthood as she tries to navigate the meaning of who she is and who she will become.
Animated in a style that uses hand-drawn, felt tip illustrations, a palate of black and white evokes a sense of nostalgia and playfulness to a film which deals with adult content and themes, including depictions of nudity, sex, and recreational drug use. Virus Tropical’s creative use of animation plays homage to Power Paola’s style and allows for a surrealist representation of life and transitions cleverly highlight the emotions felt by Paola in many of the situations she finds herself in.
The youngest of three and living in a female dominated household, Paola finds refuge in illustrating, a constant throughout the changes she goes through. A sequence in the film shows her drawing whilst her oldest sister argues and then reconciles with her mother Hilda over the course of what seems many years. Through the film’s ups and downs, Paola’s story speaks about her family who eventually reconcile, perhaps through fate or circumstance, and end up living together under the same roof again. Past mistakes taint the future and things don’t seem to be the same as they once were.
Moving schools and being a foreigner in a new country, Paola is subject to bullying and eventually conforms to social pressures of underage drinking and rebelling against the wishes of her guardian, her older sister. Perhaps a rite of passage in the form of teenage rebellion, Virus Tropical cleverly presents Paola’s story and pairs with an indie score that seems at times unpolished and rough, which reflects the harsh and messy nature of one’s teenage years.
Having grown up, lived through and shared in Paola’s life stages and experiences, audiences cannot help but empathise with her struggles and joys. Virus Tropical is a fascinating film with an intriguing animation style that depicts quite personal subject matter that deals with sexuality, femininity, personal identity and what it means to be part of a family.
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Sydney Latin American Film Festival has one more night to run, 21st of Sept – encore screenings in Casula. Details here: http://tix.sydneylatinofilmfestival.org/Events/
Review by Addy Fong
