Jauja

Argentine director Lisandro Alanso's Jauja (2014) was one of the more highly praised films of last year.  There is much to admire here, especially the stunning location scenery captured in the Argentine pampas of Patagonia. It was shot in 35mm film and framed in 1.33 screen, with rounded corners-an unusual choice and I cannot remember seeing another film in this format, but it seemed to work, because the most compelling aspect of the film for me was the exquisite cinematography. It is not for everyone, it contains many of the hallmarks of an art film: long shot cinematography, long takes, a two hour running time, limited dialogue and action, a simple plot, an inexplicable shift in time near the end, and little action. It is a Argentine revisionist western about a Danish Captain Dinesen (Viggo Mortenson) assigned to the Patagonia region. Even though never it is never expressly stated in the film — it is set in 1882, near the end of the "Conquest of the Desert," a violent campaign designed to rid the jungle region of the indigenous people  (referred to as “coconut heads” by the army) and make it hospitable to the European settlers. He has brought his teenage daughter, who is on the verge of a sexual awakening and tries to elope with a young soldier. Thus begins the journey and battle of man against the rugged nature of the region as Dinesen follows in pursuit. There is a sudden shift near the end down a rabbit hole that felt as though it ruptured the film’s hypnotizing atmosphere.